Mom Calls Out Train Passengers For Leaving Her 7-Year-Old 'Baby' To Sit On The Floor After No One Gave Up Their Seats
Should adults be expected to give up their seats for children?
TikTok & Ground Picture / Shutterstock When a woman boarded a crowded train with her child, she expected at least one passenger to give up their seat for him. When no one did, the mother was quick to criticize them as inconsiderate.
However, not everyone shares the same opinion as she does.
The mother slammed her fellow train passengers for letting her ‘baby’ sit on the floor since no one gave up their seat for him.
In a now-deleted TikTok video the mother originally posted, she records her son, who appears to be around six or seven years old aboard a busy train. The little boy is crouching on the floor of the train to sit since there seem to be no more available seats left in the car. While the other passengers are occupied and do not appear to notice the boy, his mother does, and she is outraged by their behavior.
The woman criticized the commuters as “oblivious people” who watched her “baby struggling” as he was forced to sit on the floor. She believed that a young child like hers deserved priority when it came to seating. After the mother removed her original video, it was screen recorded and reposted by a news outlet.
Most people did not agree with her and slammed her for critiquing passengers for refusing to give up their seats for the little boy.
“Kids don’t take priority seats. Disabled people, pregnant women, the elderly, or those with babies in their arms should have them,” one TikTok user commented. “In most cases, it's the mother's responsibility to have the boy sit on her lap. Why should someone give up their seat?” another user pointed out.
Others believed that it should be the other way around and that children should give up their seats for fellow passengers. “It’s actually common courtesy and good manners for a child to give up their seat for an older person,” one user wrote. “That kid is in better shape than the adults. They can sit on the floor,” another user shared.
Others questioned why the mother did not book a seat for her child ahead of time so that he would not have to sit on the floor if she felt so strongly about it.
The question of whether adults on trains should give up their seats for children is subjective and can depend on various factors. In general, offering a seat to a child can be seen as a kind gesture, especially if the child appears to be in need or if there are limited seating options available.
It may also be appropriate to prioritize giving up seats for elderly individuals, pregnant women, or individuals with disabilities who may have greater difficulty standing during the journey. Ultimately, it's a personal decision based on individual circumstances and consideration for the well-being of others.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.