Plane seat drama

Absolutely not.

Not cheeky at all. By refusing to pay, they show that they expect to get something for nothing, something that someone else paid for. It’s entitled and rude. If they wanted an extra seat, they could have paid for one when booking, but no, they hope that they can guilt trip someone else into giving them a freebie. The people who paid for it could use it and it gave extra elbow room too, so why should they move into the empty seat in the middle, squish together, and hand over the seat they paid for for their son, for free.

That was how my Mum was with me. One of her sayings was 'I want doesn't get'

This is just normal parenting surely?

Apparently not! I do think that people with good manners are increasingly in the minority.

It teaches them something very useful - ask nicely and you might get the thing you ask for. Ask rudely or tantrum and you don’t get what you want. It’s not deep, it’s blindingly obvious.
I didn’t want to raise whiny entitled kids, so I took steps to ensure they wouldn’t be. It’s utterly bizarre to think normal parenting with rules and expectations is cruel.

The conversation (with a 2/3 year old) might go like this;
”mummy I want an ice cream”
”is there a more polite way to ask, using your please and thank you?”
”NO, I WANT ICE CREAM”
”That isn’t a polite way to ask - if you can ask nicely, you can have one, if you ask like this, you can’t”

And then the next time
”mummy I want an ice cream”
”do you remember how to ask nicely for one?”
“Mummy please can I have an ice cream”
”absolutely”

This is just normal parenting surely?

Saying “aaaah you could have had that but now you can’t” is cruel, yes. It doesn’t teach kids anything useful.

If you did it to ND kids in particular you’d cause a lot of damage if you did that.

With NT kids, I’m sure it’s ok as long as they can get back to square one by asking nicely and apologising, as I said, but not if you just said “ah ha, now you can never have it”. It just floors me anyone can think that’s ok.

And yes my kids are lovely and polite before you think it’s clever to suggest they’re wouldn’t be.

Cruel? Teaching children manners is cruel?

Well, they seem to have turned out fine and they know to ask nicely for things and not be an entitled asshole, like this person on the plane 😁

Nothing cruel about teaching manners.

I actually think that with children that’s quite cruel, unless you’re forgetting to say they could get back to the original position if they apologised.

When my kids were young I taught them that if they asked for something in a rude way, or with a tantrum, they automatically didn’t get the thing, even if I had been planning to say yes before.
They learnt by about 3 or 4 that polite asking was the only way, so I would have said the same to these CFs “I would have said yes, but now you have been so rude, the answer is no”

They didn’t want the seat Op and her family weren’t using though. They wanted the aisle seat next to them, which was being used by OP’s son, and the son preferred it.

I’m surprised you saw that there was 3 of them and you didn’t offer them the seat you weren’t using in the first place.

As an afterthought, don’t people buy extra seats for themselves, maybe overweight, maybe for a baby seat?

Yep, some do…. Some owners of expensive musical instruments such Cellos carry them in the cabin strapped to the adjacent seat.

In any case, they wanted one of you to leave your paid for seat and shuffle into the empty ‘open’ seat, so they could have the paid for seat? If that’s the case, you’re still in the right. One of the entitled pair would have had to have the unallocated seat in the middle.
As an afterthought, don’t people buy extra seats for themselves, maybe overweight, maybe for a baby seat? Maybe just for extra space. If the airline gets the money, why would they care who sits in it, or not, so long as they know for weight distribution

Changed mind , deleted

I'm with @coldcallerbaiter on this one. I wouldn't have moved either. Your comfort, or lack of, whilst flying is not my concern if you've failed to plan in advance.

Hell no, it's your seat to do as you wish. I certainly wouldn't have given it them especially when they became rude and demanding. Shame that the airline steward couldn't move them somewhere else away from you. The cheek of some people, I don't blame them for asking, but once you said no they should have dropped it. Especially when you pointed out you had paid extra for the seat, it wasn't just a "spare free" seat. I'd have asked for the whole price of it or even double when they called you such an awful name for doing nothing wrong!! 😖

Nope. Feck them.

She shook your shoulder! How incredibly rude!

I can't ever imagine speaking to somebody like that 'on condition/promise'. I would be embarrassed but that one is strangely need and proud... please stop feeding it.

No you said on the condition and made her promise. Not the same. Can you please explain how it affects your life one iota?

Of course not. Rude, entitled fuckers

Bloody well done!

I said “Please don’t say “yourself”.
Thats not rude.

You are beyond rude and condescending, which is far worse than bad grammar.