She said what?
Any parent who has traveled with a little one knows how challenging it can be, especially if the tot is not on their best behavior.
So when a stranger offered to help a defeated mom dealing with a fussy baby on a long flight, her reaction was beyond shocking.
The kind flyer shared the bizarre experience in the r/AmiInTheWrong forum on Reddit.
“I (28F) was on a 5 hour flight and next to me was a fussy baby (probably around 1 year old) and a visibly overwhelmed mom,” the original poster wrote. “The baby had been crying for nearly an hour straight at this point and the mother seemed to [be] tired and overwhelmed. I offered any help, and told her I could sit with her baby if she wanted to go take a quick breather.”
One would assume the wiped mother would jump at the opportunity to be helped, but she seemed to have taken the offer differently.
“She freaked out at me saying she knows what she’s doing and no good mom would allow a stranger to hold her baby,” the OP continued. “I understand her not being comfortable with me with her baby, but I’ve been thinking maybe it was creepy of me to offer? Or am I overthinking?”
Reddit users quickly jumped to the OP’s defense, reassuring her that what she did was incredibly kind and that any mother in this woman’s shoes would appreciate any kind of help.
“I have offered to take a crying baby and walk it up and down the aisle so the mom could take a breath and she was deeply appreciative,” a commenter wrote. “You did nothing wrong, you just got the wrong mom who didn’t appreciate your gesture…”
One parent related to the overwhelmed mom, explaining in a comment how appreciative she was of someone offering to do the same to her on a flight. “Once I needed to pee while out with my baby and the stroller wouldn’t fit in the regular stall. The accessible stall was locked and I was going to go need to find an employee to unlock it. A very nice woman offered to watch my baby while I peed. I was so thankful.”
“NTA, that mom was def overreacting lol, some people are just stressed af on planes,” someone else chimed in.
“Not creepy to offer. She could have just said no thank you,” read another comment.
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