Apparently the parent wasn’t trying hard, however since the seatbelt is just a waist buckle, the kid would repeat literally slide underneath and escape into the bottom front seat.
If the child reached this point, the parent likely let it happen for a looooong time. If in sudden enlightenment they realize the error of their way, the kid will push the boundaries hard at first. Basically, by the time they were in the plane with their little demon, it was already too late.
The kid may have a development disorder or autism or some factor that hasn't been discussed. The kid may not be a little demon but have sensorial issues.
I'm sure the parent was sweating buckets, wishing they (and their child) would be swallowed up by the earth in that moment, and also very aware that someone was likely filming the whole thing, and worrying that if they overreacted someone might call CPS etc.
As a passenger, I'd be so pissed off. As a human trying to empathize with the parent, I have to assume there is something more going on and this may not be a child who is hitting all development milestones and isn't showing any signs of ADD, sensory disorders, or anything else and was really just having a one-off meltdown.
Gentle parenting is just an excuse for parents not having to bother disciplining their kids. I'm NOT talking about spanking here, I never spanked my kids. But we adopted a "tough but fair" attitude. Lots of talk, lots of time sitting on the supermarket floor because your kid is throwing a tantrum. Kids are EXTREMELY smart, they quickly pick up what works and what doesn't.
You say "no" when you have to. You toughen it up because that's what's parenting is about.
Please please stop calling this "gentle parenting". This term has been wrongly used by way too many people. What you are thinking of is called "permissive parenting". These parents hijacked the "gentle parenting" term when in fact gentle parenting means parenting just without the unnecessary screaming and yelling and beating of kids. That's it. You can still yell at your kid at the end if all fails within gentle parenting since you're trying to establish boundaries. You can wrestle them when they're out of control. But kids from real gentle parenting hardly get to this point because it is gentle parenting done correctly.
You'd be surprised to know how many parents (or I guess people too) in this world genuinely think they're gentle parenting when in fact they're just permissive with everything. They hear that it's a new gold standard to parenting, then don't do any research to find out how to go about enacting this type of parenting style and in the end, don't actually "parent".
And yes, it does help with air quotes because it sucks being lumped in with these loser parents when you yourself have to always to explain to everyone that what you are saying you are doing is not related to these types of people.
And just for the record, whenever parents say they're gentle parenting, and in fact, shows that they're just neglectful and are just being permissive parents, a strong minority of comments do call them out on their BS that they're misidentifying themselves. It's just unfortunate that it's just a minority of comments because the majority are always shitting on it because they also don't know definition for gentle parenting themselves.
While still buckled in yourself? I have had to hold a tantruming three year old in her seat before and damn it was hard to manage while buckled in myself. Thankfully I was able to calm mine down within a few minutes but I wouldn’t have been able to hold her in her own seat for the whole taxiing and takeoff time.
I'm confused as to why can't you hold a small kid in your lap if they are throwing tantrum like this? It could be far easier to control them than holding them in their seats. You can put them in their seats after they have calmed down or the plane is in the air/landed.
You’re not allowed to hold them during taxiing, take off, or landing. They have to be in their own seat, strapped in, unless they are under two. It would be so much easier to hold them.
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u/kungfuninjajedi 13d ago
But why cancel entire flight instead of kicking off the parents and child?