Recently I heard about a European airlines exploring adult only seating. For an extra 50-100 bucks passengers can be put in a section for humans 16 and older only. The goal is to not have crying babies, getting your seat kicked, or having sticky hands invade your personal space. Tim and I super excited.
That’s a joke, of course, because as parents we don’t get any relief and now we may be getting possibly fewer available seats. Flying with kids is already a trial for parents. You have to manage extra bags, car seats, and TSA side-eyeing breast milk and juice boxes. You also get to pay full price for older children plus extra to guarantee they sit next to you and not get seated by angry strangers.
Lots of people like the kid pix I post, but it feels like, as a whole, society is enacting a strictly “children shouldn’t be seen nor heard” policy. Where do they think that people come from? Fully formed, literate, hardworking humans do not spring from rocks; they’re raised tediously and expensively.
Having kids has completely altered my life, I have not been able to work full-time since 2012. I still teach and tutor a bit, but it took me weeks to secure childcare for my youngest. The five-year-old needs total supervision all of the time. Sure, I can leave her in another room for 10-20 minutes here and there, but she needs care, attention and support all day long. Obviously I can’t take her with me to classes, but even the prepping, grading and Zoom meetings I have to do mostly when Tim is around to supervise her. That’s not including the increased housework with kids that has famously been compared with brushing your teeth while eating Oreos. It is relentless.
Taking a child out in public is exhausting too because people want your little cuties to act like mature adults. At home, I try to keep the environment as quiet and calm as possible, but I can’t control how banks, restaurants, stores and DMVs decide on seating, lighting, music and space. Grocery shopping is a particular nightmare with merch stacked to the ceiling, Christmas tunes blasting and a wall of candy lining the checkout lane. Delivery is a lifesaver, but it’s not free. Neither is health care, clothing, or vans with sliding doors.
My mom helped out by moving further away into 55-and-older housing behind a gate. Children are welcome to visit between 2 p.m. and 4. I get it, the woman raised four kids over the course of thirty years, so I understand that she wants to dip out. My siblings are running their own circuses and there is no “village” unless I construct one with other women who are also doing everything.
