Long-haul flights can be uncomfortable without the added factor of confrontation. Unfortunately, one father-daughter duo had to deal with a cramped plane and a child whose parents neglected to control him on top of the discomfort of travel.
An airplane flying against a sunset background | Source: Shutterstock
A few years ago, during a long night flight back from India, a family found themselves embroiled in a conflict with the family sitting behind them. The father and his then-14-year-old daughter were seated in front of a trio: a couple and their son, who was approximately 9 or 10 years old.
The plane ascended into the night sky, but the tranquility of the journey was soon disrupted by the the little boy behind them repetitively kicking the daughter’s chair. Initially, the father addressed the issue with a polite request for the boy to cease his kicking. The boy stopped, but only for a short time before he started again.
An upset child on an airplane | Source: Shutterstock
In a strategic move, the father reclined his seat fully, disturbing the boy’s mother seated behind him. When the mom and her husband protested, seeking the intervention of a flight attendant, she asked if the man wanted to keep his seat reclined. The father responded in the affirmative and the flight attendant confirmed he could do as he pleased.
The couple then exchanged a few whispers, which led to their little boy no longer kicking the young girl’s seat. However, her father kept his seat reclined for an hour so that he could be sure the couple had learned their lesson.
An airplane passenger sleeping in a reclined seat | Source: Shutterstock
Many people were entertained by the story. One person suggested that the father should have waited until the couple had received drinks and then reclined his seat fully, causing the drinks to spill on them.
Another person shared that many people wouldn’t understand how something was impacting others until they were directly impacted by something themselves. The commenter shared that since the couple couldn’t feel their son’s kicks in the chair, they couldn’t care less about how it was affecting someone else. However, when their comfort was compromised, they knew they had to do something.
A frustrated male airplane passenger | Source: Shutterstock
Some people even shared similar stories to the one this poster shared. One woman shared that she had been on a flight on her way back from Egypt when a man was seated behind her. He was indignant that a woman should be sitting in front of him, which led to him aggressively kicking her seat each time she moved.
At one point, the woman leaned back slightly, prompting the man to call a flight attendant over. The man screamed that a woman shouldn’t be allowed into his space. He pushed her seat as hard as possible in an effort to straighten the seat and no longer have it near him.
A sleeping female passenger on a plane | Source: Shutterstock
The flight attendant told the man that the woman was allowed to lean her seat back if she wanted to. The woman’s husband offered to switch seats with her, but she remained steadfast in her resolve to stay in her seat for the seven-hour flight.
Another Reddit user shared that they were 18 when they traveled from the US to the UK. They sat in front of a child who was kicking their chair and causing general discomfort. The traveler politely turned to the child’s mom and asked if she could tell her child to stop kicking the seat.
A mischevious child on a plane | Source: Shutterstock
The child’s mother shrugged and said her child could do what he wanted to do. The commenter replied that they could also do what they wanted and that unless the mother wanted things to get ugly, she should reign her child in. The person said they would embarrass the woman if she did not control her child.
The mother seemed nonplussed, so the traveler stood up and shouted to the plane that they were having an issue with the child. They then asked if anyone else was experiencing the same issue or if the child’s mother just didn’t know how to parent. The woman became enraged, but the person did not care.
A sheepish woman avoiding eye contact | Source: Shutterstock
When the flight was over, the traveler walked into the airport and was greeted by their friends. The mother and her son walked past the group with their heads down, not saying anything.
While these parents didn’t know how to control their children on the plane, one mother was not even allowed to get on the plane with her child. Read the full story here.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Dad & fiancée exclude his daughter from their wedding after she bought a dress & shoes for it
Reddit is the place where people share stories of their life and ask fellow redditors for advice and opinion on the decision they make.
A teenage girl recently shared that her dad and his wife-to-be excluded her from their wedding and she explained the reasons behind that heartbreaking decision.
“I (f18) was always pretty close to my dad. Closer to my mom but I often visited my dad (about 3-4 times a week). A few years ago he started dating “Anna”. Anna and I always got along when my dad proposed I was happy Anna seemed like she would be a great stepmom,” she started her post.
OP said that she was overly excited and was looking forward to the wedding. She bought a dress and shoes, but then her dad told her that he and his fiancée needed to talk to her about something important.
“Well a few weeks before the wedding after I had bought everything (dress, shoes, etc) my dad and Anna said they needed to “talk to me” Anna and my dad decided to have a child free wedding which I get especially for young kids.
“Well turns out child-free means no one under 18. On the day of the wedding, I was still going to be 17 so, therefore, I’m not allowed to be at the wedding because Anna wants to stay true to the child-free rule even for the daughter of the groom and her about-to-be stepdaughter.”
Devastated, OP told her mom what her dad and Anna said to her. The mom was as heartbroken as her daughter and decided to take her on vacation so that she cheer up. At the same time, the mom told the rest of the family what her ex-husband did to their daughter. Understandably, most of them were shocked and angry.
Later, OP posted birthday pictures on Facebook and wrote, “I’m so glad my dad and Anna didn’t allow me at their wedding since I was under 18; I feel more mature since yesterday.”
“The family was freaking out asking if that was true and bashing my dad and Anna. I later got a bunch of texts from my dad and Anna calling me immature and a selfish brat and that’s why I was too immature to be at a wedding. I was talking to some friends and they said I was kinda an AH for doing that and I should have just let it go.”
Fellow redditors shared their opinions and agreed that OP wasn’t an AH for telling the family what her dad did to her.
“NTA. What kind of man doesn’t have his own child at his wedding? Anyway, they made the choice, if they believe it was the right choice they should have no issue about it being publicly known. Plus, people might well assume you weren’t there because you disapproved of his new wife or chose a vacation instead. Ensuring people know WHY you weren’t there saves your own reputation,” one person commented.
“The no children was made for you. I’m sorry but let that sink in. She made that rule to keep you out. You now know where you stand in their marriage…you don’t. I’m so sorry. NTA. I personally think it was EPIC. Harsh but epic. They deserved more than that. I would even update it with pictures of their texts,” another added.
A third wrote, “I can’t help but wonder if she purposefully pick a date before OP birthday just so she couldn’t go. If the dad & step-mom wanted to make it child free but make sure OP was there they could have made sure the date was AFTER OP birthday but to make it just 2 days before….. nah they didn’t want her there & was just trying to use that as an excuse.”
We believe the dad was not right for excluding his own daughter from the wedding.
What are your thoughts on this?
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