I Got Slammed for Not Giving up My Extra Seat for Toddler on Plane – I Think My Reason Was Valid

A woman explained that she booked an extra seat on a flight because she was obese. She wanted to be comfortable on her long journey and refused to give up her seat to an 18-month-old boy. The flight turned into a long trip of dirty looks and passive-aggressive comments.

A 34-year-old Reddit user shared a flight experience that had her enduring intense "dirty looks" under the AITA forum. The woman explained that she was obese and actively working towards losing weight.

She was traveling across the country to visit her brother and his husband for the holidays. Due to past experiences, she learned that it was best to book an extra seat to make sure that she and everyone on the flight were comfortable.

Everything was going well for the Orginal Poster (OP). She smoothly went through security, boarded the plane, and successfully found her seat. But everything changed when another woman traveling with her toddler arrived.

The mother noticed the empty seat next to the Redditor and told her to move over so that her child could sit. The 34-year-old was not happy that the woman told her and did not ask her nicely, so she refused and said she paid for the extra seat.

The women got into a heated argument that eventually caught the flight attendant's attention. The Reddit user continued to relay to the stewardess that she had paid for the seat and showed her her boarding pass to prove it.

Despite showing her proof, the flight attendant tried to reason with the OP to give the 18-month-old boy a chance to squeeze in next to her. Still, the Redditor refused and emphasized that she wanted to keep the seat open.

After trying to negotiate with the her, the flight attendant gave up and told the mother to put her son on her lap. The Redditor was left with "dirty looks and passive-aggressive remarks" throughout the flight.

The woman felt bad because she realized that the mother was struggling to keep her child calm. But she still believed she was not being unreasonable because she would have had to have her child on her lap regardless of the extra seat.

Therefore, the OP turned to Reddit to determine if she was wrong for not giving up her seat even though she believed her reasons were valid.

Commenters Weigh In

Commenters were in support of how the 34-year-old handled the situation. One Reddit user reasoned that the mother was wrong and should have paid for an extra seat for her son. In fact, people believed that she most likely did not pay for one because she hoped there would be an open seat next to her and only used the child sitting on her lap as a "loophole."

More readers added that the Redditor had actually wronged herself because of how apologetic she was about her weight. People said she did what she needed to do to have a comfortable flight and was trying hard to get healthy.

However, commenters emphasized that the Redditor did not need to feel bad for having challenges, just like the next person, because it was the mother's responsibility to make sure her son had somewhere to sit.

Other commenters said the mother was entitled and blamed the cabin crew for not making it clear from the get-go that the seat was paid for. People thought it was the flight attendant's fault for not explaining because it was obvious why the OP paid for an extra seat.

Overall, readers believed the Redditor did not have to be asked to give up a seat that she paid for, especially when she did for the sake of comfort. Do you think the OP was wrong for not allowing the boy to take her seat?

Here is a story about a wife who kept missing flights to see her daughter, so her husband decided to board the plane without her to teach her a lesson.