Gen Z woman with anxiety issues refused to switch her window seat on flight so a mom could make her 8-year-old happy

Booking flight tickets and planning seating arrangements well in advance can be helpful for both the passenger and other people on the flight. A 27-year-old Gen Z woman, u/melodyMyWoman, with anxiety issues, did just that by booking her window seat well in advance and paying extra for it. However, a mom wanted her to give up her seat for her kid, who loved looking out of the window. The woman refused to do that, making the mom mad. She shared the story with the Reddit community, and people on the internet believed she did the right thing.

"So, I recently took a 6-hour flight for a work conference. I booked my ticket two months in advance and paid extra for a window seat because I get a bit anxious on planes and the view helps calm me down," the woman shared. Since she was pretty tall, she liked to lean against the window while sleeping. However, when she boarded the flight, she noticed a woman in her mid-30s was already sitting in her seat with her 7- or 8-year-old kid beside her. "I politely told her I had 21A (the window) and she asked if I would switch to the middle seat so her son could have the window." The Gen Z woman apologized and explained that she had paid extra for the window seat and would really like to keep it.

"She got annoyed and said her son loves looking out the window and asked if I could just be kind for once and 'make a kid's day,'" the woman recounted. Again, she said no and pointed out she had anxiety issues, making it important for her to have the window seat. "She rolled her eyes, but eventually moved back to her original seat (two rows behind me)." The flight was awkward for the woman as the mom kept giving her dirty looks whenever she got up. "I overheard her telling another passenger how 'some people just don't know how to be decent humans.'" The woman narrated the incident to a friend who believed she could have offered her seat and been nice to the mom and kid.

People shared their thoughts on the incident in the comments. u/Anunez1412 wrote, "If she wanted a window seat for her son, then she should've paid for one. Also, even if they'd offer to reimburse you I'd still have said no. I'm glad you stood your ground." u/Aspen9999 commented, "She also should have offered the aisle. If they had changed seats, that kid and mom would have been leaning over them from both sides the whole flight."

u/leyavin remarked, "People don't want to parent anymore. They have this weird thing going on that their children are their best friends, and they need to give in to their instant gratification just to keep them constantly happy. They never learn patience, empathy, or listening to 'no.' But life is full of disappointments and sadness, they don't do them any favors if their kids hit their first 'sad part' at 21 and end up in an adult meltdown." u/Radio_Mime shared, "A 'decent human' would book seats appropriate for her child instead of expecting someone else to just give it up. You paid extra. She could have done the same thing. Instead, she tried to play the 'pity me' game."