I was coming home from college for break, and was flying out of Charlotte. The plane I was in was rather small (2 seats on each side), and I had the window seat on the left side. I sat beside a woman and her baby (well supposed baby), and the father and infant were on the other side.
Now I have no problem with children on flights. Kids will be kids and they will make noises and whine and all that. The next part of the story is where I draw my line.
I am looking out the window to my left, and happen to turn right to look around. When all I see when I turn around is the breast of the woman beside me. I mean full out breast, nipple everything. Ok, so breast feeding is a common thing fine. What is bad though was that she wasn’t being very confidential with it, I mean it was out for all to see.
The worst part though was that it wasn’t the infant that was eating OH NO! It was the 4-5 year old boy. Yes I know that is just wrong on many levels.
My draw dropped as I watched this kid with a full set of teeth go to town on some whole milk. I almost threw up, and had to spend the rest of the flight staring out of the window at nothing, because I could not fathom watching that kid do what he was doing.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
That is disturbing. I'm ok with women breastfeeding in public, but how about some discretion. Who the heck breatsfeeds a kid that age. Seems ridiculous. Unfortunately in our PC society, the flight attendants weren't able to say anything for fear of being sued.
Oh, give me a break. Breastfeeding is a normal thing, even for children up to 4 or 5 years old. If that's disgusting to you, then turn your head away. Breasts aren't only "fun-bags," you pretentious ass.
This sounds like "mommy" has some psychological issues; thus, feeding an almost-school-aged child. And, as someone above stated, nobody can say anything for fear of legal backlash and being perceived as a "bad guy."
I'm all for breast feeding, but this is just bad taste and classless.
Nacho, you are a phuking idiot.
I'm sorry, but when the child is old enough to ask to breast-feed, they're old enough to be weaned.
I'm not against breastfeeding Nacho, and I NEVER insinuated that they were only for pleasure, so stop reading into it. It is a perfectly natural function, but in close quarters like that, and with a child that age, it is inappropriate.
Belching, farting and urinating are natural functions as well, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to be crammed into the seat next to me on a flight while I'm doing nay of them. Thanks!
My wife Breastfeeds our 10 Month old and I can fully appreciate both sides of the arguement here. I love my wife, but even I get a little weirded out watching my son chomp down on what use to be my wife's "Fun-Bags".
That said, when she is in public, she covers up as much as possible because let's face it, a little modesty doesn't hurt anyone. Some kids don't like eating under cover, so that doesn't always work, BUT they do make pumps and I assume the flight wasn't long enough that the kid had to eat more then once so the lady could've pumped and feed the kid with a spare bottle she brought with her…
When my wife breastfed our two kids, she was discrete as well. Not everyone is comfortable seeing that, and that needs to be considered.
I breastfed all three of my children until they were about ten months or so (big enough to start asking to eat! And each had a full set of teeth by then). Whenever I had to feed them in a public setting, I would cover my breast discreetly if I couldn't find a place to excuse myself for privacy. I don't think there is any reason for a parent to breastfeed a preschooler on an airplane. If the child is still nursing by then, it is for comfort and not the primary source of his or her nutrition as is the case with infants/toddlers.
I am all about breastfeeding for as long as the mother and child desires, but nursing a preschooler in close-quarters on an airplane is just too much!
For … "Comfort." I have always believed that when this sort of behavior continues past a necessary age, it's because the mother is enjoying it.
If the kid has TEETH, he is old enough to EAT FOOD! That is why babies grow teeth!
While I believe the kid was old enough to not breastfeed, that's a choice for the parents, not us. I do believe that there are discrete ways to do this natural act in public, and the mother should have employed any of them. She was inconsiderate.
Joe Mama – ROFLMBO!!!!!!!!!
Joe, you crack me up! Now serving number 27.
If I was sitting next to her, I'd have kept looking at my watch & then say to the kid, "How much longer are you gonna be? There's a line starting, kid!"
It's a plane, not a dairy barn. That "mother" was engaging in child abuse.
Nacho sounds like a pretentious ass.
@ PA
LOL
Nacho does sounds like an ass. I am with Hugh, farting, belching, heck sex are all normal, natural things doesn't mean I am going to rip ass as loud as I can on a small flight. A little discretion goes a long way.
while i do agree that a child of that age breast feeding is strange, it is still at the mother's discretion to how old she chooses to breast feed her children. and i also must point out that breast feeding is completely legal to do so in any manor you see fit in a place public or private and a lot of people tend to forget that and just think 'omg there's a boob' and consider it illegal, when it is not.
Why were you looking at her boobs? I mean, where they so big that you couldn't look elsewhere?
You are the guy that she told her friends about afterward.
"I was trying to feed Tommy and this pervert next to me was staring at my boobs the whole time. What a sicko."
He was looking out the window, dumbass, and she could have covered up if she didn't want people to stare at her "fun sacks" (ridiculous name for boobs, btw) then she could have been much more descrete about it, dumbass(times2)
I don't think that the poster here is out of line for being shocked at this kind of behavior from a fellow passenger. If the child really was that old then really there should not have been any reason to have him breast feeding. I fully support laws that allow a woman to breast feed in public, that being said we as a society encourage the mother to also be discreet. I don't think this is placing an undue burden on the mother as I have never encountered a mother breast feeding who wants to have her whole breast out for everyone to stare at.
In so far as the poster being a "pervert" that is ridiculous. The poster clearly stated that after he saw what was going on he looked out the window the rest of the way. It is also human nature to automatically look at the part of the picture that is out of place. No matter how sensitive and PC you are your eyes are going to be automatically drawn to the bare breast. Expecting someone not notice that is like expecting someone not to notice that Mona Lisa is missing her nose on a reproduction.
You should have done what the guy on the SW flight did – "I'm next!!" LOL…