'I don't even have kids': Guy blamed for unruly behavior of the kids seated next to him while their irresponsible parents were sitting behind them

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Sep 16, 2023 4:00 PM EDT

There are two kinds of flights: decent ones and flightmares. If you're someone who genuinely enjoys getting on a plane, you're probably kidding yourself or perhaps you didn't have to pay for your own ticket. Now, if I seem jaded or pessimistic about all of this, let's be clear about a couple of things: (1) without fail, I am always in the last boarding group; it doesn't matter how much I have paid for these tickets because this always happens to be the case; (2) I am also always seated next to the bathroom, so there is always going to be a long line of folks waiting by me and potentially grabbing hold of my seat for balance throughout the flight; (3) by the time I board a plane, the overhead compartments are always full. 

At the very least, it seems like I am not alone. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit by u/h***uvaresearcher, who was on a return flight after an emotionally distressing weekend when he learned that he would be seated next to two poorly behaved kids. They were loud, disruptive, and annoying the entire time, and yes, they were old enough to know better. To make matters worse, their parents were seated directly behind OP and refused to take care of their own kids during the nearly three-hour flight. Furthermore, everyone else on the plane seemed to think that OP was the father of these children, so he kept on receiving glares from strangers. Meanwhile, the real parents did absolutely nothing to correct them.

Keep scrolling below for the full story. For more, check out these top mildly infuriating moments of the week!

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  • 01
    Musical instrument
    via Aleksei Zaitcev
  • 02
    Font - r/mildlyinfuriating. Posted by u/Oivaresearcher 21 hours ago 2 Two parents intentionally sat behind their poorly behaved kids on the airplane while I was seated next to them. Everyone assumed they were my kids and glared at me/made comments. I didn't know them nor do I have kids.
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
  • 03
    Font - I had to take a flight home this weekend unexpectedly because my dad just suffered a stroke. I spent the entire weekend deep cleaning the house/meal prepping for my mom and then having quality time with my dad when they eventually discharged him. By the time my flight back came around, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I had managed an aisle seat on booking the ticket and assumed the two blocked out seats next to me would be a couple. Wrong.
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
  • 04
    Font - They were two kids, later elementary aged, and their parents sat together in the seats behind them so they could sit together as a couple. These kids whined the entire flight and fought. They made crude jokes and used electronics (iPad, phone, Nintendos) without headphones.
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
  • 05
    Font - They fidgeted in their seats, wrestled each other, and were LOUD. It was also a late evening flight, so I was hoping to get a nap in or close my eyes before my fiancé picked me up for the drive home. However, even with my noise cancelling headsets, I got no sleep due to them yelling or their arms/legs hitting me during their "wrestling." They were definitely old enough to know better. I looked back at the parents once during the 2.5 hr flight and asked them if they could quiet down their
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
  • 06
    Font - The mildly infuriating part? Due to a few factors: our ages, my engagement ring was on, us all sitting were together in a row, and them having the same hair color/skin tone as mine, everyone near us assumed they were MY kids. Even the crew. I got so many bad looks and comments around me for "how loud I was letting them be" and "some people can't control their own kids" but I don't even HAVE kids. Their parents were behind us drinking seltzer and I was getting flack for their poor parentin
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
  • 07
    Font - So on top of an emotionally charged weekend, I not only didn't get to rest and relax on my flight back, but also got flack for kids that aren't mine. I probably could have said more, but I was mentally exhausted and zoned out.
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
  • 08
    Font - TL;DR Parents intentionally sat behind their poorly behaved kids on the airplane and I was seated next to the crotch gremlins. Everyone assumed they were mine and added stress via glares/comments while I was dealing with my own stressors. I don't even have kids.
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
  • 09
    Font - burblicolforx. 23 hr. ago edited 22 hr. ago I would have nicely asked an FA to swap me or the kids with one of the parents in the other seats. Would have done it loud enough so that even if they couldn't accommodate, the parents and those around know what's up. Broken that little honeymoon right the O up. 13.7k Reply Share
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
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    Font - andicandi22 22 hr. ago I was going to say something similar. I'm a petty with a voice that carries so I would have been loudly replying "OH SORRY, THESE AREN'T MY KIDS." Or "DON'T LOOK AT ME, THEIR PARENTS ARE BEHIND US." Any time someone shot me a dirty look. that noise. I have zero tolerance for parents that won't parent. 6.9k Reply Share
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
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    Font - Oldpuzzlehead. 23 hr. ago Horrible. I've sat next to a mom and her kid so everyone looked at me like the dad who didn't do anything for their kid but for the parents to sit behind them and still do nothing is disgusting. Sorry about your dad, hope he is doing better. 2.5k Reply Share
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
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    Font - Qvaresearcher OP. 23 hr. ago Thanks for the well wishes! He's doing a bit better. And yeah, I was pretty mad. Had I been a bit more awake and not so exhausted from the deep cleaning and an emotional weekend, I would have put on my imaginary Karen wig and insisted a parent sit with each kid. Or talked to a FA separately. It was just so uncomfortable. 889 Reply Share
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
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    Rectangle - HankThrill69420 23 hr. ago that's not a night flight, that's a nightmare flight flightmare 2.4k Reply Share
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    Font - helluvaresearcher OP. 23 hr. ago The "flightmare" got me hahahaha! I'm definitely adding that to my rotating vocabulary whenever I fly and a bad situations arises. 837 Reply Share
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
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    Font - ElectronicAsk92 · 23 hr. ago 3 things. 1. Those parents are Oholes. And they deserve all the hate you were getting. 2. The people around you for being so oblivious they couldn't figure it out. 3 em all you'll never see these people in your life again. 1.2k Reply Share
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
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    Font - goagod 22 hr. ago That's when I look back at the people glaring and say "I feel you. They aren't my kids. I'm as disgusted as you are". 887 Reply Share
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
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    Font - MishmoshMishmosh 21 hr. ago Dumb Oparents. Each parent sits with one kid. Divide and conquer 613 Reply Share
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  • 18
    Font - Ouvaresearcher OP. 21 hr. ago The only handful of times I sat away from my parents on flights, I was basically threatened to sit down and shut up or I'd be in big trouble. If I acted up, there was no vacation, so I didn't act up. I had my book and a blanket, and that was it. I was so worried about bothering the people next to me that I once internally panicked about whether or not to say yes to the old lady sitting next to me offering me a piece of gum from her pack, haha. 260 Reply Share
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
  • 19
    Font - LadyNova01 22 hr. ago Some parents can be true Don planes. I remember a story on here from a while ago where somone was on a flight next to a mom and her kid and the mom sorta demanded that the OP(of that post) had to give HER Ipad to the kid so that HE would calm down. Like is wrong with people like this?. Hopefully you had a good rest once you got home and you feel good again 539 Reply Share :
    via u/h***uvaresearcher
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    Font - Quvaresearcher OP 22 hr. ago Yikes, the entitlement! And yeah, my fiancé picked me up, got me a burger at the late night local drive-in because I was starving, and I fell asleep in the car pretty quick after that. Had to wake up when we got home, but conked out for a full 8 hours that night. Woke up and felt like a new human being. 227 Reply Share
    via u/h***uvaresearcher

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entitled parents flight attendant flight plane mildly infuriating entitled reddit thread Reddit airplane entitled people
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