Sooo am I just the best parent ever or are the others complete duds?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was on a 3-hour flight. Packed books, toys, cards and travel games to engage our preschooler and elementary schooler. Spent the rest of the time talking, reading quietly together, closing our eyes. Walked down the aisle a few times for bathroom trips, and each time, every single other family - kid on iPad, parent scrolling X or Instagram on their phone.

What gives?

(Ready for flames for being holier-than-thou, but seriously, what gives? Travel time is great for talking and engaging)

Yeah no-one cares. You want to play cars on a flight-go ahead. Someone wants to give her kids an iPad-go ahead. Yaaaaawn at your weird troll attempt

[Anonymous]

3 hour flight? With an elementary schooler? And a preschooler? Big deal. You don’t sound like an experienced flyer as elementary schoolers who are trained properly are amazing fliers. Three hours is short.

But keep patting yourself on the back I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol. You are the only one staring around noticing and judging though, right?

I have several kids and I am tired AF when we finally get on that plane after packing all their stuff and dealing with the hours it takes to get to the airport get the stroller car seat feed them security and I want to lay down. I want to sleep. I want to look at my phone. So they get too, too. Travel time is down time for us. It’s so nice. We are all happy. Why do you care? I refuse to feel inferior to you because you are performative parenting like a massive tool. If I saw you doing this I would just lol at your intense need for martyr recognition and go back to scrolling.

+1

The flight itself is a break- with hours of “travel chaos” on both ends of the trip, depending where we are going. I take my breaks and recharge when I can- makes me a better parent and more able to handle the kids patiently on a long travel day. If some parents don’t need breaks, great. Whatever works.

[Anonymous]

Are people buying airplane wifi? The free wifi doesn’t let you scroll - you can only use it to watch the airline movies and tv. No one is on Instagram.

[Anonymous]

3 hours? What a joke. By the time you’ve settled in the flights already landing.

[Anonymous]

Temperaments are hardwired, no parenting style will change them and even siblings can have very, very different temperaments. I have one who will stay quiet on a flight and one who is a hyper a**h**e on flights because he is just freaked out by the whole experience of being airborne. Am I the best parent or the worst? Or did I just get lucky with one child and unlucky with the other.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes I'm you and sometimes I'm them. I'm sure you're getting judged just as hard as you're judging others in your daily life.

[Anonymous]

I like you and appreciate your dedication. It is noticeable that even small children can no longer play because they are sitting in fornt of a screen all the time.

[Anonymous]

You are the poo and everyone else is shit.

[Anonymous]

Because of family living overseas I've taken my kid on a number of international flights, including when he was a toddler. First, the vast majority of kids on these long haul flights are very very good. They settle in with drawing pads or just go to sleep.

Babies who cry on flights are struggling with their ears a lot, and the reality is it's very hard to coach a baby who isn't old enough to follow directions how to clear their ears. Or they're overtired because they've had their cycle busted and they don't know how to nap. I wouldn't fault parents in either situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like you and appreciate your dedication. It is noticeable that even small children can no longer play because they are sitting in fornt of a screen all the time.

I mean the reason you let kids watch movies on a long flight (3 hours isn’t that long) is because they specifically are in a space where they can't play. There isn't room. Those little LED drawing pads are particularly good for flights but no kid is going to want to do one activity for 5 or 6 hours. Your kid shouldn't be running in the aisles on a flight because it's unsafe.

[Anonymous]

You are too judgy to be the best parent ever. Do you really want your kids to turn out like you? If yes, you’ve already failed.

[Anonymous]

This has to be a troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:3 hours is nothing! I took my kids on a 12 hour flight with no iPad! You lose OP.

She’s the biggest loser!

You ARE the weakest link, goodbye!

My kids do a mix on planes, OP. They are middle school and upper elementary and won’t sit with me signing Barney songs and finger knitting. They like to play games on their game boys and iPads, play war, hangman, watch movies, talk and laugh together, and play games on the swayback entertainment. Normal adorable kids. They don’t have phones in real life and only get to use iPads briefly on weekend days (along with their Nintendo switch) and while on planes. Once we land, they get stashed away. Plus my oldest gets severe airsickness and the iPad helps stop him from throwing up so it’s a win! You don’t always have the whole story dear friend. Try to be less smug!!!

[Anonymous]

OP is being smug and maybe trolling, but it's also secretly judge the parents who rely 100% on iPads for travel. I have also noticed the families where each person has their device and they all just stare at their personal screen for the duration of the trip. I think it's lazy parenting and wonder if that's what their families are like at home too. I am glad my kid can get through a flight, even an international one, without an ipad. I guess I'm smug too.