Let’s try an experiment. The next time that someone you know comes back from a trip, ask them how their flight went.
While it could have been uneventful enough that they’ll say something like “fine,” I can guarantee that they’re not going to use a word like “fantastic” or “amazing.” And of course, that’s because even at the best of times, airports and airplanes manage to be boring and stressful all at once.
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But as one mom has recently expressed in a now-viral Instagram clip, that goes double if you’re a new parent flying with a baby . Because while we sometimes hear stories about fellow passengers and moms going the extra mile to accommodate each other, her much less pleasant experiences are a lot more common.
When stand-up comedian Jen Fulwiler of Austin, Texas posted a clip to Instagram about how moms with babies should be treated on planes, she was drawing from her own experiences.
As she told Good Morning America , she remembered trying her best to keep her then-new baby and two-year-old quiet on a flight only for one of them to cry and the other to keep fidgeting.
One part of the experience that stuck out in her mind was the glare of one woman who she felt looked at her like she shouldn’t have left the house.
In Fulwiler’s words, “I remember I started crying on that flight. It just added to the stress and I just felt like I should have stayed home. I shouldn’t have done this … even though it was the right thing to do.”
And by the time she got around to making her video, she had seen the issue from the other side as well.
After being seated near a crying baby, she said, “My first reaction was to be annoyed but I caught myself and thought of the expression, be the change you want to see in the world.
“I thought this is what it looks like to build up women, me just giving that mom a smile and accepting this inconvenience of the baby crying with grace and with love towards that mom, who is doing nothing wrong.”
That’s why Fulwiler begins her video by saying that these mothers should tell the other passengers, “I am so sorry…that this is not something you are used to.”
She goes on to say that while some cultures consider a fussing baby as a positive sign of abundance, “our dumb post-modern society” sees it as a burden.
As a result, she said that mothers are either expected not to bring their young children anywhere public or ensure that they’re perfectly well-behaved if they do, which she feels puts “insanely unreasonable” expectations on moms.
In her words, “So if my babies start melting down on this flight, please know that I am way more stressed than you are.”
So instead of acting annoyed when there’s a crying baby on a flight, Fulwiler suggests giving the mom a kind smile instead.
As you might expect, Fulwiler’s video was a hit with hundreds of moms who have been in that situation and also reported dealing with passengers who seemed irritated no matter what they did.
As one commenter put it, “Yes!!! The eyerolls I received from my fellow passengers when bringing a baby (or 2) on a plane used to intimidate me. After a few flights, I realized my kids were often better behaved than the adults so I stopped letting it bother me.”
It is indeed true that once you’re sitting near a grown adult who seems to be going out of their way to make everyone’s experience miserable, it’s hard not to miss the crying baby.
h/t: Good Morning America
