"That child who demands a window seat when 8 yrs old, will be the adult who won't give up a train seat for a pregnant woman. Why should they? They've always got what they wanted."
"No they won't. They'll be the person who does because they remember the kindness others have shown to them."
So, TheCatsMeow - you believe that this was a learning experience for the child. So can you explain why they will only learn kindness from it? Why, for example, won't they learn that, if mummy has a tantrum at a stranger, they will get what they want? Why won't they learn that they can take something that is someone else's, and mummy will make sure they don't have to give it up?
And whilst I do agree that it would be a better world if everyone were kinder, and we should be able to hope for kindness from others, the point of my earlier post was NOT that we shouldn't hope for kindness, it was that we shouldn't DEMAND kindness from others - that is very different.
I also happen to think that the mother who refused to move her child was not being kind - she had no idea why the OP had booked that particular seat, and made no effort to find out if there was a reason she needed it - and, from her reaction, it seems pretty clear that she'd think her child wanting the seat would trump pretty much any reason for anyone else to need the seat. How was that her demonstrating kindness?
IMO, she was not demonstrating kindness, she was demonstrating a very entitled attitude - 'my child's happiness MUST come first, you must give up something you have paid for, for my child's happiness - and if you don't agree, I will be rude and throw a tantrum so you give in'.
I wonder if you can explain how demonstrating to a child that they can have what they want, if they throw a big enough tantrum, is a good lesson for that child.