One dad's response to a passenger asking if he wanted to switch seats on a plane so he could sit next to his wife and two kids — a baby and a toddler — has shocked the internet, and perhaps will cause some hesitation for future passengers to offer their seats in an act of kindness.
In a now-viral TikTok that has garnered over 500,000 views, Kristine Sostar McLellan, also known as @one_toughmother, shared her "Sunday rage" experience on a flight headed to her home in Vancouver, Canada, from Las Vegas.
"A little sunday rage for ya," she captioned the post, adding hashtags #momsoftiktok and #deadbeatdad. A soundtrack titled "Female Rage" was playing over a video that Kristine had taken on her sitting on board the plane.
"I was seated next to a mom who had a baby in her lap and a toddler beside her," the video read. Many in a situation like this would already feel some sort of sympathy for the mom, wondering how she'll manage two kids alone on a plane. But Kristine realized that the woman's husband was also aboard the flight.
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"I offered to switch seats with the dad, who was a few rows up, so he could be with his family," the video continued. "He says 'Great, thanks' AND SENDS OVER ANOTHER SMALL KID TO SIT WITH THE MOM. He enjoyed a kid-free flight."
Kristine shared that she initially thought the woman was traveling alone. After she realized the man was part of their group, she offered to switch seats.
“Not only did she have the kids, but she was also struggling with carry-on luggage,” the passenger told Today.com. “She didn’t have enough arms to deal with everything.”
“I thought he’d want to help his wife,” she went on, “but no.” She shared that the man never got up to check on his family or to help his wife with the kids.
People flooded the comments with their own rage.
"If my husband was like that we would be divorced before landing ," one person wrote.
Meanwhile, others jumped to the man's defense.
"I get the comments… but if dad switched seats wouldn’t the other child have been alone??" one person wondered.
"That was so nice of you, as a fellow mom I appreciate it," another user commented. "He prob couldn’t leave the small kid by themselves and should have just declined."
