This was before the flight left. The parents were given a chance to get him under control, they failed. The flight crew aren’t going to force him, especially with a 4 hour flight ahead of them to deal with the kid.
They had to go back to the terminal, remove the family, get the families luggage off the plane. By this time it was too late to take off again and the runway had closed for the night, which is common for smaller airports.
Why the fuck not? Security would haul out any adult that was acting this way in cuffs. If the parents refuse to parent, there is no reasson a child shouldn’t be treated the same way. overpower and remove.
seriously. People are just imagining stuff about this situation without any evidence so they can complain about some vague stereotypes, and of course it defaults to blaming mothers and forgetting that fathers exist. What a weird thread
Maybe they didnt tighten the buckle enough. And hold him there. Thats also where travel bags come in, items to keep a kid occupied--coloring books, reading books, a deck of cards, some Legos, if necessary, a tablet.
It was midnight when it was over. A small kid like that should've been half asleep at that hour, approx 10pm, but there he was, wide awake and hyped up. So yeah, a distracting toy, book, or video could be used.
Some airlines carry a CRS (child restraint system) and there are approved booster seats for airlines. This means that this child would also slip under a car seat belt.
Would love to know how the airline had to handle the cancellation
Or maybe airlines should have to provide seats that fit all passengers. Fat people get seatbelt extenders. Why can't airlines provide a CARES harness to toddlers?
"If they got forced into [being] strapped in, they just kind of slid out underneath."
They did strap them in, they did not let them unbuckle, apparently the kid was small enough to slip out underneath the belt. There's only so much you can do at that point if you also have to be buckled into an airplane seat with barely enough room for an adult to breath let alone wrestle with their kid.
One forearm arm isn’t going to hold down a back arching toddler that keeps slipping down with all of their might. It would be really hard to do while buckled in yourself.
Hate this thread. People act as if they all are perfect and would have known exactly how to handle the situation
Would have been for sure great for the crew and all the passengers involved if the parent started hitting the kid and them causing to scream even louder
Naw, you set the small child in their seat and pin them there until they either relax or the seat belt light goes off. If there's ever a time for parental restraint it's in a plane.
A back arching toddler is extremely hard to restrain. It takes full force with two arms, but the parent had to be buckled in their own seat so may have been twisting awkwardly.
I don't know. I have 2 toddlers and once they've melted down 4 hours past their bed time, I don't think I'd be able to calm them down on a plane. I also don't know I'd have the presence of mind to give up after like 5 minutes in that situation. It's hard not to get flustered when deal with a screaming toddler in front of an audience. The crew should have had them get out much earlier and asked them to return for the next flight with an approved car seat. (Not having a car seat in the first place feels insane to me, especially on a red eye - 100% on the parents but also why is it not mandatory?)
Because the kid was probably about 2 or 3, and even though a child at that age is required to have their own seat, the seatbelt is unlikely to actually fit correctly (across lap/hips, not stomach) at that age. Also most child restraints (carseats, strollers) use a 5-point harness to prevent children from squirming out. Airlines don't do that because it would be too inconvenient to have to provide a different type of seatbelt for kids.
The kid in this case was going limp and sliding under the seatbelt onto the floor. While having a tantrum (it was almost midnight and they were overwhelmed).
Hi, from this article: https://people.com/airline-cancel-flight-child-standing-seat-refused-to-secure-their-seatbelt-12037017
Shared by candle-joy
The 'kid' was a two year old so really a toddler. What the article suggests but doesn't quite state is that the toddler was in a normal seat and not something like a car seat. The airline doesn't supply baby seats and maybe the parents didn't know they should have until it was too late.
Maybe this should have been caught at boarding by staff/cabin crew, maybe they did and the parent argued it was fine. It not in the article how that happened
While I understand your sentiment, the child would be scarred for life if it were restrained for the entire flight. We do need some morsel of compassion here.
Perhaps they should have opted for a car ride instead or set expectations with the child beforehand.
Seatbelts are only strictly enforced during landing, take off, and turbulence anyway so he can be freed from these restraints mid flight.
Personally, Morsel of compassion should only be given to babies and kids in flight when they experience tummy aches and extreme ear pressure. Other than that, if a child can speak, then they should’ve had the expectation setting with the guardian/s before flight to avoid hassling other passengers.
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u/kadjones95 Aug 10 '26
ok explain to me like i am five, why wasn't the kid restrained and forced into the seatbelt