What’s the opposite of helicopter parenting? Apparently it’s about being a parent on an airplane.
A nurse has garnered praise online after sharing how she and her husband dealt with an unruly little girl sitting in front of them on a recent flight.
Sheila Monier and her husband, Andrew, were in the final hour of a packed flight from Atlanta to Denver when the woman in front of them turned around, started whistling, and spit all over Monier and her husband.
Monier said this happened multiple times without parents stopping the disgusting behaviour.
“Anybody taking gentle parenting seriously these days? Because I’m not. I wouldn’t like it if someone spit in my face,” Monier lamented in the first of two TikTok videos depicting her ordeal.
Monier said the child, who appeared to be between three and five years old, was asleep between his parents for most of the flight, but once he woke up it was clear he was going to do what he wanted, she continued.
“I was kind of shocked. Her parents told her not to do it but then it just happened,” she told the camera.
“She then resisted them, turned around in her seat and spat at us again.
“This time I raised my hand to block the spit from flying at me, but her parents grabbed her and made her sit down. She resisted and turned around to spit at us some more,” the mother of five continued.
“There was spit flying everywhere,” she recalled, noting that the girl’s parents were wearing masks but refused to force their child to wear one.
The continued cheating caused Monier’s husband to “lose his cool,” she explained.
“After the third time, my husband became very strict with my parents, saying, ‘If you can’t calm your child, I’ll do it for you,’ and ‘Why won’t you make her wear a mask? You both are wearing masks, why isn’t she wearing one?'” Monier said.
“She then yelled back at him, saying, ‘If you had kids, maybe you’d understand,’ to which he replied, ‘We have five kids and six grandkids and I promise none of them would do that.'”
Eventually, a flight attendant heard the commotion and asked the girl to put a mask on, Monnier continued.
The girl then went back to sleep for the remainder of the flight, she added.
Flight attendants also gave free airline miles to Monier, her husband and a third passenger in their row, she said.
Monier’s story quickly became a hot topic in the TikTok comments section, with hundreds of viewers praising the 44-year-old for her response to the unruly teenager.
“You got a splash of good parenting…” one TikTok user joked.
“Soft parenting is complete nonsense. Kids need clear boundaries and structures,” wrote another.
“I’m on your side… good for your husband!” a third chimed in, while another added: “They’re totally right.”
