My five-year-old, Ella, was an angel on our flight—quietly watching her favorite show on her iPad, headphones on. The problem was sitting across the aisle: a woman I’ll call Entitled Mom (EM), whose own son was starting to whine for a screen.
Finally, EM tapped my shoulder.
“My husband and I are choosing to be responsible parents and not use screens,” she said with a tight smile. “Could you put yours away? It’s upsetting my son.”
I was stunned. “I’m sorry, but no,” I replied politely.
Her smile vanished instantly.
“Wow,” she muttered, just loud enough for those around us to hear. “Some parents just can’t say no, can they? So selfish.”
I tried to ignore her, but an hour later, as she “squeezed” past our row, a clumsy oops! and a flick of her wrist sent Ella’s tray table—and the iPad on it—crashing to the floor. The screen shattered.
“So clumsy of me,” she said, not a trace of sincerity in her smirk.
As my daughter burst into tears, I was boiling with rage. But I took a deep breath, calmed my crying child, and decided to let the universe handle it.
I had no idea the universe was planning to work so fast. Not five minutes after the “accident,” her…
…son started screaming. And I mean screaming—top-of-his-lungs, red-faced, full meltdown. People turned around. A flight attendant rushed over. And guess what he was screaming for?
“I want that iPad! I want the show! I want it now!”
EM tried to hush him, saying stuff like, “We talked about this, remember? Screens are bad,” but the kid wasn’t having it. He kicked the seat in front of him, threw his toy dinosaur into the aisle, and then, out of nowhere, slapped the back of the tray table so hard it snapped open and hit the guy sitting in front of them.
That’s when karma decided to really show up.
The man who got hit stood up, clearly annoyed. He turned around slowly and said in a calm but firm voice,
“Lady, control your kid. Or I’ll be calling the air marshal waiting for us in Atlanta.”
That got her attention. But not in the way you’d think.
“You can’t talk to me like that. I’m a mother,” she snapped.
He raised an eyebrow. “And I’m a pilot, off duty. So unless you want a report filed, I suggest you calm things down.”
Dead. Silence.
Everyone within earshot was pretending not to watch but very much watching. EM turned bright red and sunk back in her seat, mumbling something about how people were overreacting.
But her son didn’t stop.
He kept screaming and flailing until the flight attendants had no choice but to ask if they needed assistance calming him. EM refused, of course, insisting that “he’s just tired.” But the real twist? A woman sitting diagonally behind us leaned over and said,
“I have a spare tablet with preloaded kids’ shows. You’re welcome to use it. That poor little girl shouldn’t have to suffer just because of… whatever this is.”
I thanked her and gently handed the tablet to Ella. Her face lit up. Even with tears still drying on her cheeks, she smiled and whispered, “Thank you, Mama.” That made my heart swell—and it was honestly all I wanted from that moment forward. The broken iPad was just stuff. My daughter feeling okay again? Priceless.
But karma still wasn’t done.
About 20 minutes later, during beverage service, EM’s son knocked over an entire ginger ale right onto her lap. The gasps were instant. She jumped up, trying to brush the liquid off her jeans, but she had nowhere to go.
The flight attendant offered napkins, but there was a very noticeable smirk on her face.
“Just a little clumsy, I guess,” she said. I nearly choked trying not to laugh.
The cherry on top? As we were getting off the plane, EM and her family were asked to wait. Apparently, the off-duty pilot had actually filed a report. Disruptive behavior, child endangerment (because of the tray table incident), and suspected intentional damage to passenger property. That last one? About Ella’s iPad.
Yep. Another passenger had seen EM flick her wrist on purpose and told the crew.
A flight attendant came up to me as we waited for the jet bridge to clear. She gently asked, “Did your iPad fall, or did someone cause it?”
I looked her in the eye and said, “Someone caused it.”
“Would you be willing to write a statement?” she asked. “We take these things seriously.”
I nodded. I didn’t want revenge—but I did want accountability.
We filled out a quick report and went on our way. Ella was sleepy by then, her little head leaning against my arm as we rolled our carry-on toward baggage claim.
A few days later, I got a call from the airline’s customer service. They’d reviewed the footage (yep, the cabin had cameras), and they confirmed it matched what I and the other passengers had reported.
The best part?
They offered to replace Ella’s iPad and gave us a $300 travel voucher for the “unpleasant experience.” But wait—it gets even better.
Two weeks after that, I got a very unexpected envelope in the mail. A letter. Handwritten. From Entitled Mom.
It started off defensive—“I didn’t mean to break your daughter’s iPad, and the whole thing has been blown out of proportion”—but then it took a turn. Apparently, her husband (who’d remained silent the entire flight) had been furious once he learned what happened. He made her apologize, and according to the letter, she’d been banned from flying with that airline for six months due to her behavior.
She ended the letter with,
“I hope your daughter is okay. I’ve reflected a lot on how I handled things, and I realize I let my own parenting choices cloud my empathy. I’m sorry.”
Now, do I believe her? Honestly? Not 100%. But the apology, even if forced, was something.
The truth is, we all parent differently. And that’s okay. But what’s not okay is forcing your beliefs on others—or worse, hurting a child to make a point.
Moral of the story?
Let people parent how they see fit. Your “right way” doesn’t give you the right to be rude, petty, or destructive. And never—never—underestimate how fast karma can fly.
✨ If you’ve ever had a wild travel story (or seen karma do her thing in real time), drop it in the comments!
👍 Like and share this if you believe kindness always wins in the end.
