A woman has been branded “entitled” for slamming a mum who rocked her baby constantly for six hours straight on a plane in a bid to soothe it. She was left feeling queasy from the motion
Air travel can be a claustrophobic experience at the best of times – but when fellow passengers prove to be nuisances – it can significantly increase the discomfort.
A woman took to Reddit to vent her frustration at a mother she deemed “entitled” for incessantly rocking her baby throughout a six-hour flight. The constant motion caused a ripple effect on the seat in front of the mum, preventing the disgruntled passenger from watching anything without risking motion sickness.
The anonymous woman confessed that she was “too tired” to confront anyone about the issue during the flight, but expressed concern about encountering a similar situation in the future.
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She sought advice from the Reddit community on how she could have reasonably addressed the matter. In her post, she wrote: “Is a mother with a baby entitled to constantly rocking seats on airplanes?
“To be more specific, I sat behind a mother with a baby on a 6-hour flight in the economy section. To soothe the baby, the mother rocked back and forth in the seat such that the seat oscillated at about a 20-degree angle for around 80% of the time on the plane.
“I found it impossible to use the screen or focus on anything in front of me as it triggered my motion sickness.
“It wasn’t a short flight, and I was so exhausted that I didn’t have the energy to discuss it with anyone onboard. I’m not keen on repeating this experience if it happens again during my next flight. However, I do wonder if a mother is actually allowed to do that on a plane. How can this issue be addressed reasonably?”
Responding to those questioning whether she would’ve preferred a crying baby, she stated: “To be honest, I would much rather deal with a crying baby than being motion sick.
“There was also a baby to my left who screamed most of the flight, but it’s not a big deal because I can just put on headphones.”
In the comments section, some offered suggestions on how she could handle the situation in future. One person advised: “You can always ask a flight attendant if you can move seats if the plane isn’t full and there are available seats to accommodate your request.
“Most would rather peacefully resolve a minor conflict and create a better flight for all than leave it at status quo and have an unhappy flyer among them. Next time, look around the cabin for another seat that looks amenable and inquire.”
Another shared their perspective: “If you don’t tell the mother it’s a problem, then she is absolutely entitled to keep soothing the baby by rocking. If you tell her and she doesn’t ask to switch seats or try and find a solution, THEN she’s being entitled.
“But ‘Hey, excuse me, I’m sorry, but the rocking chair in front of me is giving me motion sickness, and I can’t use the screen or look at anything. Do you need to keep rocking?’
“The answer may be Yes. In which case, call over a flight attendant, let her know that the lady needs to keep rocking the baby but it’s giving you motion sickness, and ask if the lady and baby can be moved to first class. This is going to be a big relief to a parent dealing with a baby and having to hold it for six hours!!!!!!”
Someone else simply shared: “You suffered through it and the odds of it happening again are probably zero. It’s not about her entitlement, it’s about all of us trying to get through the day.
“This time it was your turn to suffer. Thanks for not making her flight all that harder.”