Mother Refuses To Fasten Seat Belt On Child

March 29, 2010

in Baby & Kid Stories

When I first boarded I considered myself lucky. I knew it was going to be a very long flight and I was privileged to be seated in the first row of the economy section. The seats had considerably more leg-room that the rows behind me. What I didn’t know was that the airline typically reserved those seats for passengers with small children.

I felt a small chill when a woman and a little girl, maybe 3 years old, were seated next to me. Nothing to be done about it, at that point. How bad could it be?

It didn’t take long for the girl to become bored. The mother had absolutely nothing prepared to entertain a child on an 18-hour flight. Then the screaming started. Then the running in the aisle, with the mother and child fighting their way past me each time (I had the aisle seat). Then the fighting, mother and child snarling at each other. Other passengers were glaring at us for the noise and disturbance. The glares included me for failing to deal with the problem.

After hours and hours of this, the girl finally fell asleep. The relief was enormous! Moments later, she pooped her pants in her sleep. Little babies may not smell too offensive when they do this; sitting beside a poopy three-year old on a hot crowded plane was like camping beside an open sewer. The mother ignored the smell because she didn’t want to wake the girl up. By that time, I completely agreed with her and suffered in silence.

Fifteen minutes after the child fell asleep, the pilot announced that we were descending to our stop in Hawaii – could we please fasten our seat belts. The mother fastened her own but refused to disturb her sleeping hell-child. When the flight attendants noticed that the girl’s belt was not done up, they began stopping by, trying to persuade the mother to fasten the belt. Her refusals became louder and more strident. Everyone on the plane was now watching the show or so it seemed to me.

The captain himself was summoned and began “strongly requesting” that the mother comply and fasten the belt. She refused. Loudly. Profanely. At that point, operating on the assumption that, because I was sitting with them, I was probably the husband and father, the captain began to ask me to override the mother. Nearby passengers glared accusingly at me as a neglectful parent. I protested my non-association with the pair.

Finally, the mother won. After much shouting and swearing on her part, the captain backed off. It would probably never happen these days, but at the time I think she signed a paper waiving the airline of responsibility and landed (and later took off again) without belting in her child.

For the rest of that very long flight I sat there, in Hell, beside that reeking child and that smug vicious woman who continued to abuse the flight attendants if they even looked at her, surrounded by passengers who thought I was an irresponsible parent and a beaten-down husband. When the plane landed I bolted from my seat and fled the airport just as fast as I can.

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

Clare March 29, 2010 at 5:40 pm

The captain & flight crew should have given biatch mom some options. Namely either fasten the child's seatbelt or be met by the police upon landing.

That being said, it's unfortunate that there were some who thought you were being a neglectful parent.

Reply

rerere March 30, 2010 at 11:15 am

They should've arrested the beotch mother, and thrown the three year old in a bottomless pit.

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Mindy March 31, 2010 at 3:26 am

Why didn't they just buckle the kid themselves instead of risking its safety? Plus I agree with clare and rerere that the airline should have arrested the mother.

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DSD March 31, 2010 at 6:59 am

Yea, I don't think so. Even before 9/11 they would have never let the plane take off without the child belted in. I guess there isn't much you can do while you are in the air but the plane wouldn't have moved on the ground.

If I were in a similar situation with the Captain telling me to "over ride" my non wife I would have made sure to say in a voice loud enough for several rows to clearly understand, taht I didn't know here from Eve, and they were on their own. But that I would sign any affidavid necessary to keep her off the second leg.

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tripod March 31, 2010 at 8:35 am

Didn't i see you on the Maury Povige show?….YOU ARE THE FATHER

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meme March 31, 2010 at 11:01 am

Hey Tripod…………It is Maury Povich, not Povige, and probaly 13 guys took Dna to prove they weren't that kids father. I too would have announced "No Relation" loud and clear. And yes, now the mom would

not be allowed to continue on the flight, but things were a little less regulated years ago.

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Lucy August 1, 2017 at 8:22 pm

I would have *itch Slapped the freaking mother — perhaps then she would be less rude

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Yeah July 12, 2018 at 5:37 pm

It might've been clever to wake up the kid, who could then be seat-belted in. When the kid screamed again, the pilot would have that much more reason to kick them both off.

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