Woman who refused to switch plane seats says mum let her child 'crawl on top of her'

People with kids will probably be very used to having them crawl all over you, but that situation becomes a whole lot more confusing when the child climbing on you is a total stranger.

Admittedly this isn't a situation that happens often - at least, I'd hope it's not - but it's apparently exactly what TikToker and travel blogger @diaryofasolotraveler experienced after she boarded one long-haul flight.

In a video shared on TikTok, the traveller created a stitch with another user talking about people asking to swap seats on a plane.

The traveller said she was happy for people to 'ask' to switch seats, but made clear that people need to accept when the request gets turned down.

In her video, she explained: "You can always ask, the problem are the people who get mad when they don't get their way."

Sharing an example of this reaction, the TikToker recalled an occasion she went on a six-hour flight and planned to sleep on the plane to avoid getting jetlagged.

TikTok/@diaryofasolotraveler

After she sat down in the window seat, she was approached by a mum who asked whether she wanted to swap and take the aisle seat.

Already in the seat she'd been hoping for, the TikToker declined, but the mum was apparently not too happy about it.

"She was very taken aback, she was sitting with her kid and then she wanted the other seat for her husband," the TikToker said.

Still, the TikToker had her seat, so she settled in for the flight and managed to fall asleep before take off.

Kelly/Pexels

Unfortunately, her journey wasn't quite as relaxing as she might have hoped.

She continued: "When I woke up, the child was climbing on top of me. I did not know what to do, so I forced myself to pass out, and then sit through the most uncomfortable flight of my life.

"I think out of spite, this woman refused to deal with her child because of it."

After sharing her story on TikTok, the traveller was met with dozens of comments from people shocked at the way the mother had allegedly behaved.

"If parents refuse to parent their child, then I will," one person responded. "I would have reprimanded that kid so fast."

TikTok/@diaryofasolotraveler

Another added: "I would have told the woman to control her child or I would contact the flight attendant! I wouldn’t take that at ALL!"

There were some people who took the mum's side in the argument though, with some pointing out that if the traveller was going to sleep through the whole flight, then it wouldn't matter where she sat.

However, the poster replied: "My problem was I can’t sleep on an aisle I will either fall into the aisle or sleep on the person next to me which is mortifying."

Other users argued the TikToker didn't 'have' to move, but that doing so would have been 'kind and understanding'.

Topics: Parenting, TikTok, Travel, Plane Etiquette

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.