Man has message for parents who take their kids on flights: ‘Not a creche’

A childfree man has divided opinion after venting online to parents about his experience on a recent flight.

Jamie Hughes (@jaygoesglobal) from the southwest of England in the UK posted a video on TikTok where he described two separate incidents: a young child repeatedly kicking his seat while the parents remained silent and a father attempting to change his baby’s nappy mid take-off.

“I get you gotta bring kids on a plane but please just remember… you’re on a plane that’s got its own set of rules that you have to follow,” the 33-year-old said in his clip.

Travel is a personal passion for Hughes who works as a manager of a care home supporting individuals with complex mental health issues and disabilities.

Despite not having children of his own, he believes his perspective is rooted in empathy and experience.

“If I were to go into the community with someone and they were intruding on other people, I would try to intervene or apologize,” he told Newsweek.

“I completely understand that children are children, they behave badly at times, I’m sure we all did. But parents should take responsibility for showing them when they are doing things they shouldn’t,” he said.

Hughes explained the second part of his video involving the father during takeoff was more about understanding flight rules.

“I understand the man may have been frustrated but he didn’t need to respond negatively to the flight attendant; he chose to be on the plane with such a small child,” he said. “It can be dangerous to stand up at times on planes as well, so that also includes his baby’s safety.”

Since it was posted on April 10, Hughes’ clip has clocked up over 155,000 views and sparked debate in the comments.

Some argued that some children have autism or ADHD which makes it difficult for them to listen to their parents. Others commented that Hughes “just wait” until he has children of his own to have a better understanding of the situation.

“Everyone’s the perfect parent before they have their own kids,” one user wrote.

Another viewer hit back at Hughes, reminding him that planes aren’t “adult only” areas.

“It is also not a creche,” another user responded.

While Hughes was bracing himself for backlash, he was surprised to find that many viewers – who were parents – agreed with him.

“I’m a dad and nothing frustrates me more than when no effort is made,” one user wrote.

“Teaching children etiquette from an early age is so important. Keep them entertained or don’t bring them – simple!”.

“I was expecting to be flooded with hate, but most comments agreed with me, including many people saying they were parents,” he told Newsweek.

“A lot of the negative comments were people saying that children can’t always be ‘controlled’ and they will behave badly but that wasn’t the point of the video, the point of the video was about the parents generally [and] consideration and respect for others.”

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