Mom Refuses To Throw Toddler’s Dirty Diaper Away During Flight | YourTango

Written on Nov 02, 2024

Flight passengers found themselves on the verge of getting ill after they caught a whiff of a toddler’s dirty diaper — one the child's mother had stuffed underneath the seat behind her rather than tossing it in a waste bin.

When the passengers complained about the smell and pleaded with the mom to throw away the stink bomb, she refused to give in to their requests, insisting that they were being overdramatic.

Sharing the disgusting story on Reddit, one of the mom’s unlucky fellow passengers spilled the details of the dreadful flight.

"A woman and her rambunctious toddler were sitting in front of me," the Redditor recalled. "I was in the middle seat, and the two of them had their row to themselves."

Matej Kastelic | Shutterstock

The passenger reported that overall, the toddler seemed happy and well-behaved. However, around two hours into the extremely long flight, the mom decided to use her row as a changing station to change her toddler’s soiled diaper.

“It smelled horrifying and I thought I was gonna hurl,” the Redditor admitted. “A guy next to me was asleep and literally woke up because the smell was so bad. Another row-mate also looked like he was gonna hurl.”

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“None of us were prepared for what happened next," the passenger wrote. "Instead of getting up to dispose of the diaper, she shoved it under their middle seat. If I hadn’t withdrawn my feet in horror, she would have touched my shoes/pants with it."

"You can imagine how much worse the smell got in such proximity," they added.

Desperate to get away from the stench, which quickly began to sweep the entire aircraft, the passenger took a walk around the cabin. Although they hoped the mom would get rid of the diaper — as any sane person would — she did not. When they returned to their seat, everyone around the mother was "holding their noses and looking aghast."

THICHA SATAPITANON | Shutterstock

At this point, the passenger took one for the team and tapped the mother on the shoulder, politely asking if she could throw away the diaper. They did not get the response they were hoping for.

“She looked at me and said, ‘It’s just a diaper,’ and went back to her movie,” the passenger recounted.

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At first, the flight attendant refused to step in, offering only to “microwave a bag of coffee beans” for the passenger to smell.

"I told her that was not going to do the trick, and for her to check if she didn’t believe me," the Redditor wrote. "She went within ~2.5 ft of my row and turned right back on her heel, shocked by the smell."

That's all it took for the flight attendant to request the mom properly dispose of the diaper. While the mother did so, she was angry for the rest of the flight, giving the passenger who got the flight attendant involved constant "stink eye" and making petty comments.

“The entitlement and lack of situational propriety of some people is ridiculous, but this woman really takes the cake," one commenter wrote.

“Sounds like she was just being lazy. I get not wanting to leave your child, but it's not like anyone can grab the kid and run away, given that you're in a sealed metal tube in the sky,” another commenter noted. “Aircraft toilets have changing tables, unless she had serious mobility issues (doubtful given that she walked by you to dispose of it) she should have changed the child in there.”

“I have two children, and we took several flights while they were still in nappies," a third commenter shared. "I never changed their nappies in the seat, because it would never have occurred to me to be that bloody rude!”

Although flying with children is inherently stressful, parents must keep in mind that there are other people on the plane who more than likely don’t enjoy the scent of a simmering dirty diaper in an enclosed space.

Baby Center says, "If your child has a badly soiled diaper, your only option is to squeeze into a tiny airplane bathroom." They recommend undressing your child in your seat since you likely have more room — but don't remove the diaper until you are actually in the restroom. They also advise asking flight attendants which bathroom, if any, has a changing table.

Even though it can be a hassle, as airplane bathrooms are often the width of a cardboard box, parents must spare fellow fliers from the nauseating odor. Otherwise, if other passengers are easily ill from upsetting smells, the diaper will not be the only biohazard on the plane.

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Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.