But thankfully, many of us are lucky enough to nab plane seats next to friends and family members, who can offer much needed support to help the journey run as smoothly and peacefully as possible.
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However, one woman has recalled how travelling alongside her 12-year-old son, sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids, aged two and five, proved more of a hindrance than anything else.
Taking to Reddit, she recalled how her journey turned into “four and a half hours of hell” when her sister’s children became “wild things,” and starting sprinting down the aisles, yelling at the top of their lungs, and refusing to sit still.
But while both of the parents accompanied the children, the woman told how her sister took a tablet to knock her out due to suffering with “carsickness on flights,” meaning the husband was in charge.
“My sister doesn’t believe in saying no to your children, which is interesting and makes it a bit difficult to manage the situation as they do not take any type of authority seriously,” she penned, as reported by Kidspot.
“It was four and a half hours of hell.”
After talking it through with her son, the frustrated woman agreed the pair would upgrade their seats on the way home so they could get some peace and quiet away from her sister’s kids.
My sister doesn’t believe in saying no to your children, which is interesting and makes it a bit difficult to manage the situation as they do not take any type of authority seriously
Frustrated Reddit user
“I upgraded the ticket of myself and my son,” she explained.
“It costs a lot more, but I had just spent the last week with a grieving family 24/7 and was pretty much at the end of my rope.”
However, she noted how she failed to mention the upgrade to her sister, who didn’t take it too well.
The woman continued: “At the boarding gate, my sister is like ‘What are you doing?!’
“And I was just casually like ‘Oh, they’re calling our section’ and she goes, ‘not mine’ and I basically say ‘Huh, weird’ and board the plane.
“Peak awkward as they walk past to their section.”
While the kids continued to play havoc on the journey home, the woman explained how her sister wouldn’t speak to her after they landed.
She added that ever since, she’s been called a bad auntie for leaving her family.
Eager to know who was in the wrong, she posed the question to social forum users, who were all quick to share their very honest opinions.
“You left your sister to parent her own kids,” wrote one. “Kudos to how you did it.”
Another commented: “£10 says sister takes an Ambien on flights not because of motion sickness but so she won’t have to deal with her out-of-control kids.
What school fines can parents receive?
THE main issue that can lead to parents receiving a fine is missing school.
Currently, it’s the decision of the local council whether or not to issue a parent a fine for their child missing school.
However, from August this year, the fine for absences will up to the school to consider – when a child has missed 10 or more sessions for unauthorised reasons.
And the fine will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days – this is issued to EACH parent.
It’s the first time the fine has been increased since 2012, and is in line with inflation.
If a parent receives a second fine for the same child within three years, this will automatically be charged at the higher rate of £160.
Fines will be capped at two fines within a three-year period.
After this limit has been reached, prosecution or a parenting order may be considered.
According to the official government website, there are only five reasons your child should be absent from school if the school is open.
These are as follows:
- Your child is too ill to attend that day
- You have asked in advance and been given permission by the school for your child to be absent on that day due to exceptional circumstances
- Your child cannot attend school on that day because it is a day you are taking part in religious observance
- Your local authority is responsible for arranging your child’s transport to school and it is not available on that day or has not been provided yet
- You are a gypsy/traveller family with no fixed abode, and you are required to travel for work that day meaning your child cannot attend their usual school
“I’m also sure she thought she could schlep them off on her sister while she zonked out.”
Elsewhere, others argued that the woman could’ve taken a far better approach to deal with the situation.
“I don’t think it’s wrong for you to upgrade but you could have handled it a lot better,” one person wrote.
“You could have talked about the kids’ situation before with your sister and husband.”