Mother of 3-year-olds twins refuses to parent them during 5-hour flight: 'The couple next to me moved'

Is it true that "Parents just don't parent anymore?" Some people think that after reading this person's airplane story: they had the most annoying flight ever, thanks to some very young children who were allowed to run wild. 

What is it about travel that brings out the worst in people? Is it the stress of getting to your flight on time while carrying your heavy luggage? By the time you get to your gate, you're already cranky and hungry, so then you have to pay a small fortune to eat awful airport food. For the parents who are traveling with children, their kids are going to start asking to go to the bathroom, whining about wanting to go home, telling them they're bored, and running laps around the gate. Some kids will start crying and carrying on before they've even set foot on the aircraft! By the time their flight gets delayed once or twice, and they board as slowly as humanly possible, those kids are crawling up the walls. Bringing something to occupy them during the flight is starting to sound like a good idea! 

Up next, read about some people whose giant mistakes got them immediately fired, like one person whose mistake caused "total damage [that] was almost $1,000,000." 

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Author image for Remy Millisky Remy Millisky
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    Cheezburger Image 10470642688
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Parents not controlling their kids during flights I was unfortunate enough to be sitting in front of a mother with two young twins (around 2-3 years old) for my 5 hour flight. As soon as they board the plane and sit down, the kid starts kicking my seat. I stay quiet assuming the mother would stop him, she
    via u/emotionlessyeti
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    did not. Eventually the kid stopped but me and the people next to me noticed there were a lot of empty seats, so if the kids started to be annoying we could move. For the next two hours the kids sleep but when they wake up, one of them starts pushing the armrest of my seat down WITH
    via u/emotionlessyeti
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    HIS FOOT repeatedly. (at that point i had all 3 seats to my self as the couple next to me moved, and i really didnt wanna give my free row up) Then, and I wish i was joking, the kid crawls under my seat and under my legs. All the mom did was say "no!" and then proceed to stare at the kid without actually saying or doing anything
    via u/emotionlessyeti
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    more. The kid remained there under my legs, for a whole minute before i decided to get up, so the kid starts crawling under the next seat bothering the woman in the seat in front of me, and thats when the mother came to pick him up.
    via u/emotionlessyeti
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    During the flight, the kid has also thrown Cheetos over to my row, as well as stood on his seat, look over at mine and coughed in my direction multiple times.
    via u/emotionlessyeti
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    Parents, it is your responsibility to bring entertainment for your kids during your flight. Yes you cannot always control their tantrums, but this mother did not really care to even try to control her kids.
    via u/emotionlessyeti
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    P UM
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Numerous commenters echoed this sentiment

    TheaterKid578 One kick in and my mom would have yelled at me. Parents just don't parent anymore.
    via u/TheaterKid578

    Maybe every generation says some version of "parents don't parent like they used to." However, kids today are growing up glued to iPads, which prior generations of parents never had to deal with. It's a whole new world out there! Plus, if you said to a parent in 1980, "What if you could hand your child a magical tablet that would make them stop whining and crying indefinitely?" I bet a lot of them would take you up on that offer. 

    The parent on this plane seems to have just given up and let her kids take over. As the annoyed flyer near her mentioned, the kids just didn't have enough to keep them preoccupied. Sometimes, it's okay for the kids to have a little screen time (like when they're on a multi-hour flight!). And even if you're a very anti-screen parent, there are plenty of little toys and games you can bring on a flight to make the time pass for your toddler. 

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    While some people offered advice, others had jokes

    Perfessor_Deviant Was there room in the overhead compartments?
    via u/Perfessor_Deviant
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    Daytime_Mantis This seems insane to me. I just flew with my 3 and 5yr old and they had their iPads and just chilled. I don't even think they knew we were flying. I bought them headphones so they wouldn't disturb people with noise and it was honestly a non issue. Some parents S k. I would have been mortified if I were that mom.
    via u/Daytime_Mantis
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    KateMaxwell1 The kid did what? Nope! OP, you had more patience than me! I would have called the flight attendant as soon as the kid started with the armrest! People would say that train & planes are different, as its easier to kick people off trains for disruptive behavior ( seen it done here in the UK ) .. But it doesn't excuse the
    via u/KateMaxwell1
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    lack of manners or respect on public transport.. something that is seriously lacking these days! (that and common sense) Parents don't parent, no matter where they are in the world.. Just work in retail & you'll see it all.. especially with parents not watching their kids
    via u/KateMaxwell1
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    CaMeLeOnnn I said and I will keep saying it, I would gladly pay more for an adult flight only
    via u/CaMeLeOnnn
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    ChanceCharacter The moment a kid kicks my seat for the first time, I turn around and say nicely, "Please don't kick my seat." It sets the tone for my expectations and gives me a read on how the parent(s) are going to behave. If/when it happens again, I call the flight attendant.
    via u/ChanceCharacter
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    GiddyGabby We flew with our 4 year old son and twin 2 year old sons and people were shocked when we stood up to deplane because one even realized there were young kids on the flight. We brought a backpack full of small toys, coloring books, puzzle books etc. It's work to keep kids entertained for a couple of hours but that's your job as parents!
    via u/GiddyGabby
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    florida_born I have been the mom with the crazy toddler on a plane. It drives me crazy when parents don't parent. My kid kicked and pushed on seats and I was right there saying "no" and literally holding their legs down because they "wanted" to keep kicking. I apologize to the
    via u/florida_born
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    person when this happens. and more than once I have been told "it's ok, I know you are taking care of it" ie parenting. Edit: I mean people are understanding when they can see you are not tolerating bad behavior.
    via u/florida_born
  • 19

    This person called the irritated flyer out

    me... Did you at any point during this 5 hour flight open your mouth? As much as I agree that this is not acceptable behaviour maybe you should step up for yourself. You know, tell the mother to please stop her child from being annoying. If this does not work, you could escalate from there.
    via u/mediocre-climber
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    Also: If my kid looks over someones seat and the person seems okay with this, I would also see no need to stop it.
    via u/mediocre-climber
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    They were downvoted for their replies

    emotionlessyeti OP Hi! I do not think being patient = being okay with it! It is the parents' responsibility to understand that crawling under people's seat and coughing over at them is not something people would be comfortable with :) I would have said something had it continued, but as i said they slept for a big part of the flight and she was a single mom I did not want to make it tougher on her!
    via u/emotionlessyeti

    You would've said something if it continued? From that lengthy list you shared, it went on for quite a while. 

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    Icy-Pomegranate24 Lol yeah c'mon, OP. You should have told the parent how to do her job. Duh. And personal space? Who needs that?
    via u/Icy-Pomegranate24
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  • 23

    The squeaky wheel gets the grease: speak up next time to avoid all these annoyances

    emotionlessyeti OP I guess im just a bit more patient than most people, apparently according to reddit thats a bad thing! Also for expecting the mother to actually parent her children.
    via u/emotionlessyeti

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