A woman has been asked to hold her stepsister’s baby in her lap on two flights ahead of an all-expenses-paid family holiday, but she wants to refuse. Taking babies and children on planes can be a taxing, nerve-racking experience.
The cabin pressure can affect them and cause discomfort; they may struggle to understand the rules and etiquette of the situation and become frustrated; or they may be unable to sleep or rest properly which can lead to crying and acting up. Other passengers can be irritated and pained by the noise and behaviour of children in such a confined space, which can cause further anxiety for parents – and everyone else on board.
Family holidays are important and typically bring about joyful memories – under the right circumstances. Instead of excitement, one woman is feeling tense at the thought of an upcoming getaway.
Her father has offered to pay for his entire family to go on holiday to an incredible resort. The only thing he expects people to pay for is their own flights to and from the destination.
On Reddit’s popular Am I The A**hole forum, the woman asked if she was in the wrong “for refusing to take a flight with [her] stepsister’s baby in [her] lap?” She managed to find some reasonably priced flights within her budget and explained: “It does have a layover and it’s still pricey for me since I don’t make much, but I figure it’s worth it for an otherwise all expenses paid [holiday].”
She sent the link to the same flights to her other relatives but they’re all “in better financial positions so they’re all splurging on direct flights and getting better seats”. The only relative unable to do this is her stepsister, Nikki, who is on a tight budget as a single mother to twins.
Nikki is caught in a travel dilemma as she hopes to book the less expensive flight with her stepsister but faces the issue of her two infants, who are “young enough to ride in a lap” according to the airlines’ rules. However, she needs to purchase an additional seat which she cannot afford.
This resulted in Nikki asking the woman to share the burden by carrying one of her 18-month-old toddlers.
The woman continued: “I just don’t think I could handle that for that long. They’re both wriggly and I somehow doubt they’re going to settle down and sleep the whole time. It’s not a short flight either and I do already get a little nervous travelling.
“I’d rather be able to just relax and close my eyes on the plane ride and not get overloaded. The thing is if I don’t do it it means my sister won’t be able to come on the trip. She really wants to come on the trip though. She hasn’t gotten to travel much and probably won’t get to for a while either.”
The journey involves two flights, the first being two hours and the second lasting eight hours. In the comments section, people were keen to share their thoughts.
One said: “2 hours? Easy. 8 hours? Forget about it. […]. Besides at 15 months old these are not babies anymore but wilful opinionated toddlers who wanna walk around and move and play… They wanna be mobile and explore.”
Another replied succinctly: “It’s actually THE WORST age to travel with.”
A third commented: “Nikki has other people to appeal to for help. NTA. If you do this, you’ll end up as nanny for the whole trip.”
Someone else said: “Not your job to be a free babysitter at 30,000 feet. Flying with babies is hard work. Even parents struggle with their own kids on planes. Your stepsister wants a free solution to her problem by making you uncomfortable. Maybe the family can chip in for that extra seat instead?”
Another added: “Go and have a good time. Sorry that your stepsister can’t go, but when you have kids, you have to make sacrifices. Not your problem.”