To not pay to choose seats but expect to sit together?

The OP literally says in her second post that she wouldn't want someone to move for her. She was simply asking if she'd be automatically sat close to her child by easyJet and the answer by people who actually know is resoundingly YES if she checks in early (or she'll at least have the opportunity to change and pay after she knows what the auto allocation is).

You don't want to pay the money but you expect f.i. a couple who did pay to sit together in chosen seats to be split up and/or lose their paid seats because you couldn't be bothered?

This. If you’re the one being asked, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t - if you do swap, you get to sit (in my experience) in a seat near the loos that no one would pay to sit in while they get your carefully-selected seat (that they doubtless planned all along…), and if you don’t you probably get the Vogue Williams/Spencer Matthews treatment with comments and looks all through the flight for daring to stand up for yourself. As she classily put it when someone didn’t want to swap with them, ‘Then literally the air hostess came down and I asked her ‘Would you have another aisle seat for this f particular piece of s** over here?’’ Entitled. Pay for your seats. This shouldn’t even be a discussion.

Maybe I'm not so nice but If their own parents didn't give enough of a shit to pay, why should I?

I wouldn’t pay, and as a regular solo traveller I would move for a family. I think only Ryan air deliberately splits people up.

They allocate when you check in which can be a month ahead, and you then have the opportunity to change (and pay) if you're not happy. On many easyJet routes a good amount of people won't even have booked a month before so the changes of being split up or unable to change at that point are vanishingly slim.

We've never paid and always been sat together. If it's my partner and twins altogether, so the 4 of us then they might separate the two of us (so one adult and one child on different rows), but never so a child is separated, I don't think they can. I'd personally risk it for a biscuit!

Read the post above

A number of people on this thread alone have been sat in row behind, or across aisle from, their v young child

I don’t have a 2 year old! But I would be highly aware of a two year old sat next to me! And I would be concerned about them …but then, I am a nice person!

Yes, but "with" can be the row in front, or across the aisle.

Why are people struggling to grasp this?

If you don't pay easyJet randomly allocates seats just before and I once got 25c and my toddler 25d so we had the aisle between us. Luckily the row behind us was free for me to use. I now always pick a window and the seat next to it so my toddler doesn't have to sit next to a stranger. I always pick the back as they are more likely to be empty but I just fly Belfast to Newcastle and back every month so not too far.

Most people don't pay to select seats (source: 15 years of selling flights including easyJet) and many will swap if asked nicely because they don't care where they sit.

I fly for work or leisure twice a month on average, sometimes a lot more. Often very busy easyJet routes so full flights. I've been asked to move once as I recall and readily agreed. I'm staggered by some of the reports on this thread that they're asked (or witness other being asked) EveRy TiME 🤯 How unlucky!

I’d risk it with an under 3. Would be ludicrous not to be sat together. I’m sure it’ll be fine as long as you check in promptly. It’s only 2 seats together we’re talking about. Different for a family of 3 or 4.

It's funny that people view people NOT paying (making a perfectly valid choice from the options available) as entitled and selfish.

Kids will be sat with the lead passenger. Any subsequent adults will be sat randomly.

Flown easyJet within the hundreds of times. Never prepaid seats, never been split up on check in.

Nobody wants to pay the money. I guess it depends on how you feel about taking a seat off someone that they chose and paid for - and would probably not get a refund for, at least not without significant hassle.

Why do you think they'd pay any attention to your 2yo? I'd be sticking my headphones in, putting an eye mask on and ignoring them completely.

Not my child, not my problem.

PS WHY do people bother to pay to choose seats? on short flights? it's not like any of those seats are all that good

Can you really not stretch your mind a little and think of even one reason why someone would want to sit in a specific seat?

Actually I’m speaking from experience when I was younger we all went on holiday and I was split up from my mum and stepdad and was on my own at 10 never mind being 2 and on your own. I would rather pay and have my child next to me than sitting screaming next to some poor stranger and a stranger having to look after him/her than them being with there parents let’s face not many people would give up there seats for a mother and her children to sit together .

thanks for your concern regarding my child but at 12, 5 & 2 there doing amazing babes 😘 😏

Why should anyone take any responsibility for a random child?

Why risk it…

Good luck to the person left looking after your two year old 😘😘A bit of free child care, thanks to those who say they won’t change seats 🤭🤭

Just pay it for peace of mind. I've paid for my kids to sit next to me. You'll find most people have paid, and they're not going to want to swap with you.

This!! Am absolutely sick of entitled folk not paying for the seat they need and then expecting members of my family to move after we pay our extras to sit together .
Our kids are very tall and often get approached by pushy adults looking them to move. They’re still kids!