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Childless people over 50 are honestly reflecting on whether they made the right decision

Spoiler alert: They’re totally fine with it.

childless couples, kid-free life, regrets of seniors

via Pexels

Childless people over 50 discuss their decision.

People who decide not to have children are often unfairly judged by those who chose a different life path. People with children can be especially judgmental to women who’ve decided to opt out of motherhood.

“You will regret it!” is one of the most common phrases lobbed at those who choose to remain childless. Why do people think they’ll have such awful regrets? Because they often say they’ll wind up “lonely and sad” when they’re older.

They also say that life without children is without purpose and that when the childless get older they’ll have no one to take care of them. One of the most patronizing critiques thrown at childless women is that they will never “feel complete” unless they have a child.

However, a lot of these critiques say more about the person doling them out than the person who decides to remain childless.

Maybe, just maybe, their life is fulfilling enough without having to reproduce. Maybe, just maybe, they can have a life full of purpose without caring for any offspring.

Maybe the question should be: What’s lacking in your life that you need a child to feel complete?

Studies show that some people regret being childless when they get older, but they’re in the minority.

An Australian researcher found that a quarter of child-free women came to regret the decision once they were past child-bearing age and began contemplating old age alone.

People revealed the reasons they’ve decided to be childless in an article by The Upshot. The top answers were the desire for more leisure time, the need to find a partner and the inability to afford child care. A big reason that many women decide not to have children is that motherhood feels like more of a choice these days, instead of a foregone conclusion as it was in previous decades.

Reddit user u/ADreamyNightOwl asked a “serious” question about being childless to the AskReddit subforum and received a lot of honest answers. They asked “People over 50 that chose to be childfree, do you regret your decision? Why or why not?”

The people who responded are overwhelmingly happy with their decision not to have children.

A surprising number said they felt positive about their decision because they thought they’d be a lousy parent. Others said they were happy to have been able to enjoy more free time than their friends and family members who had kids.

Here are some of the best responses to the Askreddit question.

1. Never had any desire.

"I explain it to people like this - you know that feeling you get where you just can't wait to teach your kid how to play baseball? or whatever it is you want to share with them? I don't have that. Its basically a lack of parental instinct. Having children was never something I aspired to. My SO is the same way.

"Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against children. And I get really angry at people who harm them or mistreat them. I just never wanted my own." — IBeTrippin

2. No desire. No regrets.

"Nope. It was never something I wanted. No regrets." — BornaCrone

3. Mixed feelings.

"I have mixed feelings. I don't care much for children and I think it would have been disastrous for us to have them. I was also able to retire at 52. Pretty sure that wouldn't have happened with kids. So yeah, absolutely the right decision.
But I love my family and I do wonder what it would be like to have my own, to teach my child the things I know and not to be without someone who cares about me at the time of my death.

"But again, absolutely the right decision and at 55 I'm very happy NOT to have them. This is reinforced every time I'm exposed to other people's kids." — ProfessorOzone

4. They never visit.

"My wife worked at a nursing home for years. Imagine seeing for years that over 95% of old people never have family visit. Till they die and people want a piece of the pie. This when I learned that the whole 'well who is gonna visit you or take care of you when you're older' line is complete bullshit. We decided to not have kids ever after that. Made great friends and saw the world. No regrets." — joevilla1369

5. It wasn't an option.

"I don't necessarily regret not having them, but I regret the fact that I wasn't in a healthy enough relationship where I felt I COULD have children. I regret not being stronger to leave the abuse earlier, if I had been stronger, I think maybe I could have had the choice at least. So yeah... I have regrets." — MaerakiStudioMe

6. Grandkids are cooler.

"No. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to marry my husband. He had two sons from his first marriage and a vasectomy. He was worried because I was so young (comparatively, he's 10 years older). I did think it over seriously and concluded that a life with him compared to a life without him but (perhaps!) with a baby I didn't even have yet was what I wanted. It worked out for us, we've been together for 26 years. As a bonus I have 9 grandchildren. All the fun without the work of the raising!" — Zublor

7. I'd be a bad parent.

"Not one bit. I have never believed that I would be a good parent. I have a short temper, and while I don't think I would have been physically abusive, my words and tone of voice would be harsh in a very similar way to my own father. I wasn't happy growing up with that kind parent and I wouldn't want to subject any child to that kind of parenting." — Videoman7189

8. I'd rather be the cool aunt and uncle.

"No and I found a partner who feels the same. We are the cool aunt and uncle." — laudinum

9. Loneliness is underrated.

"54 yrs.old. I've lived the past 30 years alone. Presently my dog and I are chillin' in a nice hotel on a spur of the moment vacation. I'd maybe be a grandfather by now?! I can't imagine what it would be like to have family. I picture a life lived more "normally" sometimes. All sunshine and roses, white picket fence, etc. but I realize real life isn't like that. No I don't regret being childfree or wifefree for that matter. My life can be boring at times but then I look back at all the drama that comes with relationships and think I've dodged a bullet. I spent 20 years trying to find a wife to start a family. Then I realized the clock had run out, so fuck it, all the money I'd saved for my future family would be spent on myself. Hmmmmm...what do I want to buy myself for Christmas?" — Hermits_Truth

10. No diaper changes and no regrets.

"Nope. I never had the urge to change diapers or lose sleep, free time and most of my earnings. Other people's kids are great. Mostly because they are other people's. When people ask 'Who will take care of you when you're old' I tell them that when I'm 75 I will adopt a 40-year-old." — fwubglubbel

11. Zero desire.

"I’m 55 (F) and never wanted children. I just don’t much like them, and 20+ years of motherhood sounded (and still sounds) like a prison sentence. Maternal af when it comes to cats and dogs, but small humans? No chance.

"And I’m very happy to be childless. Cannot imagine my life any other way." — GrowlKitty

12. D.I.N.K.

"Dual income no kids = great lifestyle!" — EggOntheRun

13. Some regrets

"Over 50 and child free. My only regret is that my wife would have been a great mother, and sometimes I feel like I deprived her of that, even though we both agreed we didn’t want kids. Sometimes I wonder if I pushed her into that decision. She works with the elderly every day and sees a lot of lonely folks so it gets to her sometimes. I was always afraid I’d screw up the parenting thing, so I was never really interested in the idea. I’m a loner by nature though." — Johnny-Virgil

This article originally appeared on 02.08.22

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Family

Millennial mom asks her own mom about raising a kid in the 80s and is mortified

"What did you do without Google?!"

@thedailytay/TikTok

"My anxiety could not have handled the 80s."

Raising kids is tough no matter what generation you fall into, but it’s hard to deny that there was something much simpler about the childrearing days of yesteryear, before the internet offered a million and one ways that parents could be—and probably are—doing it all very, very wrong.

Taylor Wolfe, a millennial mom, exemplifies this as she asks her own mother a series of rapid-fire questions about raising her during the 80s and the stark contrast in attitudes becomes blatantly apparent.

First off, Wolfe can’t comprehend how her mom survived without being able to Google everything. (Not even a parent, but I feel this.)

“What did we have to Google?” her mom asks while shaking her head incredulously.

“Everything! For starters, poop!” Wolfe says. “Cause you have to know if the color is an okay color, if it's healthy!”

“I was a nursing mom, so if the poop came out green, it was because I ate broccoli,” her mom responds.

…Okay, fair point. But what about handy gadgets like baby monitors? How did Wolfe’s mom keep her kid alive without one?

“I was the monitor, going in and feeling you,” she says.

@thedailytay My anxiety would have hated the 80s. Or maybe loved it? IDK! #fyp #millennialsontiktok #parenttok #momsoftiktok #comedyvid ♬ original sound - TaylorWolfe

Could it really be that easy? It was for Wolfe’s mom, apparently. Rather than relying on technology, she simply felt her child and adjusted accordingly.

“If you were hot, you slept in a diaper. If you were cold, you had a blanket around you.” Done and done.

Wolfe then got into more existential questions, asking her mom if she ever felt the stress of “only having 18 summers” with her child, and how to make the most of it.

Without missing a beat, Wolfe's mother says, “It's summer, I still have you.”

Going by Wolfe’s mom, the 80s seems like a time with much less pressure.

From feeding her kids McDonald’s fries guilt-free to being spared the judgment of internet trolls, she just sort of did the thing without worrying so much if she was doing it correctly.

That’s nearly impossible in today’s world, as many viewers commented.

“Google just gives us too much information and it scares us,” one person quipped.

Another seconded, “I swear social media has made me wayyyy more of an anxious mom."

Even a professional noted: “As someone who has worked in pediatrics since the 80s, the parents are way more anxious now.”

I don’t think anyone truly wants to go back in time, per se. But many of us are yearning to bring more of this bygone mindset into the modern day. And the big takeaway here: No matter how many improvements we make to life, if the cost is our mental state, then perhaps it’s time to swing the pendulum back a bit.

This article originally appeared on 8.24.23

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Joy

Springfield residents flood Haitian restaurant with support to 'conquer with love'

“We know Springfield is full of love. "[It] does not have the hate that is being told to the rest of the country…"

Photo credit: David Wilson (left) Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf (right)

Residents of Springfield, Ohio, can enjoy Haitian dishes like the traditional Haitian griot at Rose Goute Creole.

Whenever prejudice and hate rear their ugly heads, support and love find a way to snuff them out.

A rumor started by a Facebook post from a Springfield, Ohio, resident alleging that Haitian immigrants were killing and eating neighborhood pets quickly rose up through the misinformation chain, all the way to the U.S. presidential debates, causing a firestorm of ugly accusations and heinous hatred toward the Haitian population in the town. Despite assurances by the Springfield police department, city officials and mayor, as well as Ohio's governor, that the allegations are unfounded and false, the town has become a focal point for anti-immigrant bigotry.

False allegations about Haitians in Springfield eating pets created tension and threats

Those false allegations and bigotry have led to real-world consequences. Hate groups that were already targeting Haitians in Springfield were empowered by former president Donald Trump parroting their rhetoric. Public schools and municipal buildings in the city were closed for multiple days due to bomb threats. Two colleges in Springfield moved to virtual classes after bomb threats linked to the false claims. Haitian residents fear for their safety in the town they call home, with some even afraid to leave their houses.

However, amidst all of this chaos, some in Springfield are doing what they can to show their support for their Haitian neighbors.

People are showing up to show support for Haitians in Springfield in the wake of hateful bigotry

Hundreds of Springfield residents have flooded Rose Goute Creole Restaurant, a Haitian-owned eatery, in an effort to show the Haitian population there that hate has no place in their town.

“Springfield is diverse," city resident Steve McQueen, who helped arrange the act of "organized love," shared with Dayton 24/7 Now. “We know Springfield is full of love. [It] does not have the hate that is being told to the rest of the country and world as they’re even talking about.”

“We’re actually a beautiful city," added Springfield native Terrance Crowe. “I immediately shook my head and put my head down. You can’t conquer with hate, conquer with love.”

— (@)

Rose Goute Creole opened in 2023, and manager Romane Pierre told the Springfield News-Sun what he's experienced in the wake of the falsehoods being spread about the Haitian community, which he said have come "as a shock."

“Yesterday some people call, I think they make some joke, ask if we have cat, dog," he said. "I say, ‘We don’t sell that. We sell chicken, fish, goat, pork, rice, beans.' I know my people — dogs, cats — we don’t do that in Haiti."

But Pierre has also been on the receiving end of support from other Springfield residents. "A lot of American people come here to try the food. They say ‘Don’t worry, we are with you,'" he told the News-Sun. "Everybody is welcome."

Why are there so many Haitians in Springfield, Ohio?

Thousands of Haitian migrants have moved to Springfield over the past several years after the city made a push in 2014 to welcome immigrants to fill a need for workers in the wake of population loss. The city had been labeled "the unhappiest city" in the U.S. by Gallup in 2011, with industries closing down, unemployment and crime rising, and people ultimately leaving. Since then, however, companies have been building plants, factories and warehouses, creating more jobs. The influx of immigrants filling those jobs has not been issue-free—adding that many people to a struggling town will naturally come with some challenges—but Pierre wants people to understand that Haitians came to Springfield to build a better life.

"I don’t want people to think that Haitians are bad people, because we came here to work," he said. "We work very hard."

— (@)

Others have borne witness to the Haitian migrants' dedication to work. The United Farm Workers labor union has come to Haitians' defense on social media. And Springfield metal factory owner Jamie McGregor told PBS NewsHour that he has hired 30 Haitians and would love to hire 30 more.

"Our Haitian associates come to work every day," McGregor said. "They don't have a drug problem. They'll stay at their machine, they'll achieve their numbers. They are here to work."

Politicians keep pouring on the false claims about Haitians, with pushback from local and state officials

In addition to the false rumors of eating pets, other falsehoods being spread by politicians about Haitians in Springfield include that they are illegal immigrants (they have legal status), they have been spreading tuberculosis and HIV (the Ohio Department of Health reports that they haven't seen a discernible increase in communicable disease) and that they were "dropped" in Springfield with no warning (they've arrived over a period of years after the city joined a network of immigrant-friendly cities).

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has called the rumors about the Haitians in Springfield "unfortunate."

— (@)

"What we know is that the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal," he said an interview with ABC News' "This Week." "They came to Springfield to work. Ohio is on the move and Springfield has really made a great resurgence with a lot of companies coming in. These Haitians came in to work for these companies. What the companies tell us is that they are very good workers. They're very happy to have them there. And frankly, that's helped the economy now."

When hate comes to town, it's up to people of goodwill to make sure it doesn't find welcome. Even though there may be legitimate challenges that come with an influx of population, those are not insurmountable when a community comes together to solve them.

"“Why don’t we help them be better drivers or help them [learn to] speak English?” Springfield native Mark Houseman asked Dayton 24/7 Now. “We’re fighting a fight nobody will win. There’s no win at the end of this with that hate.”

“You’ve got to bridge the gaps, tear down those mental fences," added Crowe. "We’re all human; we’re all in one race, the human race.”

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humanity

Culture

Guy starts singing a Sam Cooke song at the barbershop and blows everyone away

With 7 million views on TikTok alone, Shawn Louisiana's incredible viral video is a must-see.

Shawn Louisiana/YouTube

Sometimes a person opens their mouth to sing, and magic happens. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what qualities make a voice transcend the average and transfix an audience, but we know it when we hear it.

Enter Shawn Louisiana.

A video of him singing in a barbershop has gone viral and it's definitely worth a watch. He wrote on YouTube, "The older guy didn't think I could pull off a Sam Cooke song," but when he started singing "A Change is Gonna Come," he definitely proved that he could. Really well. Like, whoa.

Watch:

The older guy didn't think I could pull off a Sam Cooke song #achangegonnacomewww.youtube.com

There's a reason that video has gotten nearly 7 million views on TikTok alone.

Louisiana frequently shares videos of himself just singing casually for the camera, and I don't understand why this man's talent is not more well known yet.

I mean, just listen to this "Stand By Me" cover. Like butter. Sing me to sleep, sir.

Stand By Me - Ben E. King cover #tiktokwww.youtube.com

His Instagram account says he's available to book for weddings. That's nice, but someone please get this man a record deal so we can listen to him croon all day.

For more from Shawn Louisiana, follow him on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

This article originally appeared on 9.1.21

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culture

Innovation

12 real scientific facts that sound completely made up, but aren't

Did you know that placebos work even when people know it's a placebo?

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Real life is far stranger than fiction.

And now we have the proof.

A recent thread on r/AskReddit posed the question: "What sounds like pseudoscience, but actually isn't?"

The answers were far more interesting than all the science classes I ever took. Combined.

Let's take a look at some of the strangest scientific facts the good people of the Internet could come up with.

1. Phantom limbs & mirror therapy

Most people have heard of phantom limbs and phantom limb pain, the phenomenon where someone who's lost a limb can still feel pain or other sensations where the missing appendage should be.

But the connection between the brain and the missing limb gets even wilder the more you dig into it.

Did you know that a common treatment for phantom limb pain is something called "mirror" therapy, where a therapist will use a series of mirrors to make it look like the missing limb is still there? This tricks the brain and eases discomfort over time.

Sounds like psuedoscience, but can be extraordinarily effective!

Tip of the cap to u/MonSoleil937 for this one.

2. Ear crystals going haywire

Close-up of an ear with skull earring Photo by Christof Görs on Unsplash

User u/shinjithegale nominates "Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo", or BPPV, a common type of vertigo and dizziness that usually occurs in people over the age of 60.

The weird part? The vertigo is caused by small calcium crystals inside the ear coming loose and flowing into the inner ear.

"Your magical ear crystals are out of sync" definitely sounds fake but is 100% a real, treatable condition.

3. Redheads need more anesthesia than everyone else

This one comes from u/explorerdoraaaaaa — and it can't possibly be true, right?

Wrong.

Red-haired people, who make up only about 2% of the population, may process pain differently from the rest of us and have been shown to often be more tolerant to local anesthetics — they may need up to a 20% stronger dose!

They might also be more sensitive to opioids and less sensitive to shots, needles, and electric shocks.

4. Speaking in a different language can unlock an alternate personality

Where are our personalities stored? In our brains? Our souls?

Despite sounding completely implausible, maybe neither!

If you learn a new language or grow up speaking multiple languages, your personality make be markedly different depending on which language you're speaking.

One study gave people who grew up in Spanish/English bilingual households a personality test in each language and found that their values and personality traits were dramatically different in the respective results.

5. Platypuses exist

a platypus swimming in a body of water Photo by Aaron De Wit on Unsplash

That's it. That's the fact, courtesy of u/Steeze-Schralper6968.

The list of true but baffling facts about platypuses goes on and on.

For starters, they're a mammal with a beak that lays eggs, sweats milk, and shoots poison.

If you read about it in a SciFi novel you'd struggle to suspend your disbelief.

6. Duct tape can cure warts for some reason

Most common warts are harmless, but we still don't like having them. That said, because they're not hurting anyone people are hesitant to try invasive or expensive procedures to remove them.

Enter Duct Tape Occlusion Therapy, which is a real thing. Simply apply duct tape to the wart, remove, clean the area, and repeat every couple of days.

Weirdly duct tape therapy isn't just ripping the warts off. There's some evidence that the adhesive used on the tape may cause an immune response in the skin that causes the warts to clear up.

7. The world is brighter for blue-eyed people — and they see better at night

macro shot photography of person's right eye Photo by Jordan Whitfield on Unsplash

It sounds like psuedoscience, for sure, but eye color isn't purely aesthetic.

People with lighter colored eyes — with less melanin in them — are more sensitive to light.

For blue-eyed people, that may mean they're more sensitive to bright daylight and have better vision at night.

I've always wondered why I can barely walk outside on a cloudy day without sunglasses, and now I know!

8. Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR therapy, nominated in the thread by u/taurussy, sounds like something you'd see a stage hypnotist perform on tipsy audience members.

In reality, it's a powerful therapy for processing trauma.

EMDR involves a patient processing traumatic memories while performing therapist-directed eye movements or otherwise tracking an external stimulus, like a light or an audio track.

The theory is that the process can form new connections between blocked-off and painful memories and more adaptive memories or information, which allows for healing.

9. The placebo effect & open-label placebos

Most of us know about the placebo effect, but it's still almost too unbelievable to be real.

(As a refresher, an example of the placebo effect might be someone with a cold feeling better after taking a "sugar pill" with no medicine in it that they were told would cure them.)

But here's something wild you probably didn't know about placebos:

They can work just as well even when people know they're taking a placebo!

The things our brains can "trick" us into doing are truly incomprehensible.

10. Teratomas

Teratomas sound more like nightmare-fuel than psuedoscience, but they're still worth a mention from u/flugualbinder.

Teratomas are rare kinds of tumors that can grow and contain hair, bones, muscle, and even teeth.

They are real, and you will look up photos of them at your own peril.

11. Pain is all in your head — kind of

Pain is real, and it's valuable information for your body that something is wrong.

But scientists have learned a lot about it, specifically when studying chronic pain. And we know now that our emotions, our beliefs, and other aspects of what happens in our brains plays a big role in how we experience pain.

One study found that Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), basically training the brain to "unlearn" pain, was more effective than a placebo and normal pain management care.

It gives credence to something that sounds completely unbelievable: In some cases, you can "mind over matter" your way to hurting less.

12. Grass screams when you cut it

Thank you to u/arealcabbage for this horrifying image:

"The grass screams distress signals to the next lawn over when you're mowing."

Believe it or not, that's true — in a sense. That freshly-cut grass smell we all like? It's actually a distress signal designed to warn other plant-life in the area of danger.

It's a stretch to say that your lawn feels pain, but it does have some survival instincts. Now if we could only say for sure why humans love the smell so much!

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science

Parenting

Woman on plane says she was asked to take iPad away from 3-year-old to 'shield' other kids

Is she responsible for the screen time rules of other parents?

Photo credit: Canva

Woman on flight confronts parent over 3-year-old using iPad

It's no secret that everyone parents their children differently. Heck, even within the same house children are parented differently based on their individual personalities and social–emotional needs. So most parents understand that every family operates differently than their own but that doesn't stop some people from expecting their rules to be followed by other people outside of their family.

One mom found herself feeling a bit confused and likely frustrated after a recent flight with her preschooler. She and her 3-year-old were on a two hour flight enjoying some in flight entertainment in the form of an iPad. This seemed to be a problem for another family on board the same flight who also happened to have a preschool aged little boy with them.

The other family's child noticed the little girl's iPad and decided that he too needed to have his iPad. The only problem was, the boy's family decided he could not use his device while traveling which left him crying for the girl's tablet.

Instead of the parents of the little boy giving him his tablet, they requested that the other mom take the tablet away from her child and put it away.

The mom of the little girl refused to take the tablet from her child to accommodate the other family causing the little boy to cry most of the flight according to the frazzled mom on Reddit. Of course screen time is a hot button for parents with some parents demanding to be screen free until a certain age and others appreciating the time screens provide parents to get things done around the house.

woman carrying baby while sitting on gray seat Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

Experts weigh in on screen time

According to the Mayo Clinic, screen time for children younger than 18 months old should be avoided unless video chatting with relatives or friends. Otherwise, there should be no screens until after that age when high quality shows and such can be introduced with supervision up to 24 months. But for preschool aged children the recommendation is to leave screen time to one hour or less of high quality programs with parental supervision.

Two psychologists who are also moms discussed screen time when traveling on the podcast "Securely Attached." They both agreed that each kid is different but one mom, Dr. Emily says, "I think you really have to adapt to what the needs are. If you have a really long flight, your kids are zoning out." Before adding, "I’m okay with them watching movies. I’m less with them doing a video game for hours and hours and hours that again, I might just be old and I think that’s more analog."

girl sitting on chair Photo by Patricia Prudente on Unsplash

While the two children whose parents were in this mile high standoff over screen time both fall into the one hour or less category, these children are not from the same family. Every parent has different rules around screen time for their children and some see traveling as a place to bend their own household rules a little to make sure their children are as occupied as possible in an effort to not inconvenience other passengers.

People chime in to support mom's choice

Since the mom who originally asked if she was wrong for refusing to take away her child's iPad was starting to second guess her choice after noting the other family giving her dirty looks, Reddit users emphatically supported her decision.

High Five Sesame Street GIF by MoonbugGiphy

"If they don't want their kid to use a tablet on their vacation, they need to be prepared for meltdowns like this while he develops the ability to understand that other people will have different rules and experiences than he will. I feel for them, I know how hard it is to travel with a cranky toddler, but that's simply not a reasonable request to make of a stranger," someone shares with the mom.

"I think the big benefit to iPads on flights is that you can download near unlimited activities and don’t have to bring anything else that takes up space! I own a Kindle and while I do prefer reading physical books, when I travel I don’t have to worry about reading my books too quickly because I can just download another! Like bringing a puzzle and a book and a game and markers and paper vs bringing one device that has all of those things can absolutely be beneficial for a flight/trip especially if you have young children and also need to pack snacks and diapers and sippy cups and all the extra stuff adults don’t need," another adds.

Happy Dance GIF by XboxGiphy

"It's different before kids can read, I think. At 3 they can't just sit and read or do a puzzle, you have to actively do it with them and their attention span is short. Which might be fine for a 2 hour flight but isn't going to work for 5 or 7 or 12. Breaking it up with a few episodes of Bluey on your phone isn't going to hurt anyone and is considerate to your fellow passengers who don't want to deal with a toddler bouncing off the walls with boredom," one person writes.

boy sitting on chair beside table using tablet computer Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Overwhelmingly parents and non-parents alike agree that this mom did nothing wrong by refusing to take away her daughter's iPad. Others suggesting that the parents who chose not to use screens should have been more prepared with activities, "Exactly. It's fine to not want your toddler to use a tablet but you have to give them other activities. When we traveled as small children, we had lots of books, coloring books, little games, snacks, etc. planes are boring for all of us, especially children."

There you have it, planes are boring for everyone, so being prepared with boredom busters if you're avoiding screens can be beneficial for all involved.

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