Online Check In - seats together with children

[madmare77]

I'm going on holiday next week. Thomson package holiday with DH, DS (12) and DD (9). Online check in opened today. Logged on at 6.30am and could not check in. I left it until after 9am and still not able to check in.
I called Thompson to query and was told they only allow 70% on people to check in online (God knows what time they got up to do this!).
I told the lady I was concerned as I had children (especially my 9 year old) could I pay to pre book seats and was told no. I'm concerned as it's a 4.5 hour flight and I don't want my kids sat next to any Tom, Dick or Harry.
Are there any airline industry people who can tell me if they will try to seat us together or are we screwed?
Thanks

I would move to a similar or better seat if I could to accommodate someone who asked me nicely.

Not everyone who hasn't booked a block of seats for their party to sit together is being cheap or entitled.

I travel quite a bit with 4 children. I will always try to book seats together but sometimes it doesn't work. We have flown last minute a few times because a family member was ill or had died and there were no groups of seats left. We have missed connecting flights and been accommodated on later ones where we have been given the only remaining seats on a plane. In all these cases other passengers have been very kind and swapped to allow us to sit in groups of 3 or in pairs.

Yep and some people are more then happy to swap as shown above by inniu
Some of it may come down to the way people ask, I have been asked to move twice on a flight by a parent or should I say I was ordered to move.

As I said before I need to sit next to my husband because of a disability that he knows how to deal with, but the way I was asked both times would not want to help really, even if I could

Would not make me want to help that was meant to be

Astro55 what does it matter how much they paid? Fact is they paid to sit where they are/booked and nobody has the right to make anyone move to suit them.

If you want to pick and chose your seats either book them or arrive early to get to the front of the queue.