AITA for Allowing My Kids to Play Loud Music on a Flight?

Nothing says “family vacation” like a flight that starts out smooth, then turns into a silent warzone over one tiny dial on a set of headphones.

OP, 35M, brought his two kids, 9F and 12M, on a long haul and tried to keep the peace by letting them use tablets and listen to music. At first it sounds like a win, but as the hours pass, the volume creeps up, the kids get excited, and OP keeps asking them to lower it. Nearby passengers notice, the dirty looks start, and a few people go passive-aggressive, while a flight attendant finally steps in.

Now OP is stuck replaying every “oops” moment in his head, wondering if he should have been stricter or if everyone around him was just annoyed for no reason.

Original Post

So I'm (35M), and I recently took a long flight with my two kids, (9F) and (12M). To keep them entertained, I allowed them to use their headphones to listen to music and play games on their tablets.

However, as the hours went by, they started getting excited and played their music quite loud, not realizing the noise level. Despite my attempts to ask them to lower the volume, they kept forgetting and turning it back up.

As a result, some nearby passengers started giving us dirty looks, and a few even made passive-aggressive comments. I felt torn between keeping my kids happy and disturbing others on the flight.

Eventually, a flight attendant approached me and politely asked if we could lower the volume. I complied, but I could sense the tension among the passengers.

It made me question if I should have been stricter with my kids or if the other passengers were being overly sensitive. I just wanted my kids to have a smooth and enjoyable flight, but now I can't shake off the guilt of potentially disrupting others.

So AITA?

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This also echoes the argument over refusing to swap seats that sparked a commotion with a stranger and flight attendants.

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The second OP’s kids start turning the music back up after being told to lower it, you can almost feel the cabin tension building.

Those dirty looks from the nearby passengers, plus the passive-aggressive comments, are what really turn this from “kid distraction” into “public problem.”

Then the flight attendant comes over and asks them to lower the volume, and suddenly OP is watching everyone pretend they’re not annoyed.

After OP complies and the whole plane still feels tense, he’s left spiraling over whether he pushed too little or they complained too much.

What would you do in this situation? Share your opinion in the comments.

He might have wanted a smooth flight, but he accidentally turned into the loudest storyline on board.

For a different in-flight family clash, see whether this dad should give up his premium seat for elderly parents.