Entitled iPad mom says her kid's tablet is more important than a traveling employee's job in an attempt to commandeer the occupied charging station at the airport: ‘Whatever you're doing can wait'

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Mar 15, 2026 3:00 PM EDT

Travelers see their fair share of toddler tantrums at the airport, usually because unentertaining terminals and gates are the most boring place on earth, but this traveling employee didn't expect to witness a parental crash-out at the airport. Apparently, when the tablet runs out of juice, it's not just the kids who lose their noodle. 

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  • The children yeeeearn for the mines, but only when it comes to playing Minecraft 24/7 on a tablet. 

    And exhausted parents will do just about anything to staunch an impending public tantrum, and if that means plopping their kiddo in front of a screen for the duration of their airport check-in, layover, and transatlantic flight, so be it. That may be a lot of screentime, but when it comes to travel with kids, nothing matters anymore, even basic human decency. 

    This entitled mom made it clear that her priorities revolved around her kid's tablet and her kid's tablet alone. 

    In an attempt to commandeer an occupied charging station at the airport (we all know how scarce airport charging areas can be), she lost her marbles and disrespected a fellow traveler. Hoping to take over another woman's charging port, the mom tried to guilt-trip and publicly humiliate a traveling worker, belittling her job and diminishing the importance of her work laptop's charge. As if this woman's career was less important than a child's entertainment…

    Because, of course, nothing else mattered except keeping her 6-year-old's tablet running, not even public decorum. 

  • Family going through the security checkpoint at the airport.
    via AzmanL

    Family going through the security checkpoint at the airport. 

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • Entitled parent at the airport demanded I give up my charging spot because her kid's iPad was "more important than whatever I'm doing"

    This happened last week at the airport during a 3 hour layover. I got there early, found one of those charging benches with built in
    via chasing_late_buses
  • USB ports near my gate, sat down and plugged in my laptop and phone. Both were pretty low. I had work to finish before my flight.
    via chasing_late_buses
  • About 45 minutes in, a woman with a stroller and a kid who looked maybe 6 or 7 parks herself right next to me.
    via chasing_late_buses
  • Fine, there were two other ports on the bench that were free. She plugs in, settles in, normal stuff.
    via chasing_late_buses
  • Woman working on her laptop during her layover at the airport.
    via FOTOGRAFIA

    Woman working on her laptop during her layover at the airport. 

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • Then she leans over and says "excuse me, could you actually move your things? My daughter needs both ports for her iPad and her headphones charger."
    via chasing_late_buses
  • Little girl is playing on an iPad tablet with headphones on at the airport.
    via AndreyPopov

    Little girl is playing on an iPad tablet with headphones on at the airport. 

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • I said I was using both my ports and pointed to the two free ones right next to her. She already had one of them. The other was literally empty.
    via chasing_late_buses
  • She sighs this massive sigh and goes "her iPad is almost de d and she gets really upset on flights without it. I'm
    via chasing_late_buses
  • sure whatever you're doing can wait." I said no, I'm working, and I got here first.
    via chasing_late_buses
  • She then just stared at me for a moment and said "its really dissapointing when adults cant make small sacrifices for children."
    via chasing_late_buses
  • Then she turned to her daughter and said loudly "some people just don't care about kids honey.!"
    via chasing_late_buses
  • Little kids watching the planes land at the airport.
    via Nadehzda1906

    Little kids watching the planes land at the airport. 

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • I get it, traveling with a kid is rough. 

    Not only do children require every add-on accessory in the book, overflowing your carry-on luggage with snacks, coloring books, and Game Boys, but they also have the attention span of a newt. Kids want to be constantly entertained by their universe and there's really nothing more lackluster and boring than an airport. It's a recipe for disaster. However, as a non-parent and avid traveler, in my opinion, simply existing at the airport is good training for the real world and is an experience that kids and adults alike can benefit from. 

    After seeing my fair share of airport nightmare children, but also the good little boys and girls who seem polite, the common thread of the airport terrors is technology. 

    It's always the iPad kids losing their noodle when their tablet loses charge or when their headphones stop working. Perhaps it's time to bring back a coloring book and a bit of daydreaming. Imagination goes a long way in the entertainment department, and will always sustain a charge that traveling moms and dads don't have to chase around the terminal to charge. 

  • I put my headphones on. Finished my work. My laptop charged to 95%. Her kid watched something on the iPad
    via chasing_late_buses
  • using the one free port that was available the entire time. The audacity of acting like a fully occupied
    via chasing_late_buses
  • charging bench is somehow your personal family power strip.
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  • TheGirlwThePin... I'd have told the kid sorry she got stuck with an entitled iPad parent & not one that wanted to play and spend time with them
    via TheGirlwThePin
  • witchymoon69 Why not suggest to mommy dearest to unplug her stuff so her child could use both ports
    via witchymoon69
  • throwawaythisu... "and decent parents are prepared because no one else should be responsible for their child's things"
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  • I, as a parent with two kids who have devices carry 4 extra battery packs and 2 adapters with a plethora of extension cables, while also aware that the airplane seat has USB outlets as well.
    via throwawaythisu
  • I bet this karen doesn't even pay the extra charge to assign their seats together. I hate parents like these.
    via throwawaythisu
  • Toddler quietly playing during a flight at their seat.
    via tatyana

    Toddler quietly playing during a flight at their seat. 

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • RainbowRiki ⚫ "It's a shame parents these days haven't taught their kids to enjoy reading. I could stay occupied for hours without a single charged device. I dunno. Maybe parents don't want to set their kids up for success as adults. Have a nice life."
    via RainbowRiki
  • relentless1111 There is no way I would have been able to be even remotely civil to her after hearing her say that. I applaud your restraint.
    via relentless1111
  • TeenieWeenieW... These kinds of people do my head in. It honestly baffles me the sheer entitlement that believe they deserve?? And then to teach her child the same attitude? That poor girl.
    via TeenieWeenieW
  • ElectricalFocus560 And SHE, an adult, wasn't willing to give up her port for her OWN kid. Kid also sounds a little too dependent on a device. It sounds old enough to look at books or be read to my mom.
    via ElectricalFocus560

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Tags

ipad bad parents parenting entitled parents
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