A woman has spoken of the reaction she received after booking her baby a seat in first class of a plane, in a bid to keep the tot as calm as possible during the journey
A woman was called ‘selfish’ for booking a baby seat in first class. Taking a tot on a plane can be a deeply stressful experience, as you have to juggle not only the stresses of being in an airport with a helpless infant in tow, but the fear of your young one bursting into miserable, fellow-passenger-infuriating cries for the duration of the journey.
In a bid to lower the risks of her baby melting down at 30,000 feet, one mum had her child booked into first class ahead of a six-hour flight, in the hopes that the more comfortable experience would keep the baby calm. Her plan was not approved of by everyone however.
“I just got into an argument with my husband’s friend because he’s childfree and thinks we shouldn’t sit in first class because it will disturb other passengers there. And other people who paid thousands of dollars for a seat want peace during their flight and not a screaming baby,” the woman wrote in a Reddit post.
“My baby doesn’t scream. He’ll fuss if he’s hungry or sleepy but I doubt he’ll bother anyone with a couple minutes of fussing. He called me selfish for wanting to fly first class with my baby. (He) said I shouldn’t fly at all and if I must, I should not do it in first class.”
The mum was not happy with his contribution to the conversation and told the man to get out of her husband. “He thinks I was being dramatic and told my husband to ‘help her calm down’,” the woman continued. “Am I the a*****e for thinking I have the right to fly however I want with my child? And being annoyed that he just wouldn’t let it go?”
The vast majority of people in the comments below agreed that the woman was not out of line in her reaction and suggested that the man should mind his own business when it comes to her travel arrangements. Some also offered advice about how to make the experience of flying with a baby as painless as possible.
“I got a great piece of advice when I flew with my then eight-month-old son – give him something to suck on during take off and landing and it should help with ear pressure. It came in handy on the return flight, I only wish I had this advice before the outward bound journey,” one person suggested.
Another added: “Babies often cry on planes because their ears have a hard time with the pressure change and will cry out of pain. They can’t comprehend why this weird painful thing is happening to them, so obviously they’ll cry. So yeah, sucking is a game changer. We tried to time the bottle for take off/landing. Also having pain meds on hand can help, in case it catches your baby really badly.”
Check out more of Daily Mirror’s latest travel stories by signing up to our free weekly newsletter.
