Parents Spark Debate For Upgrading Their Seats On 13-Hour Flight & Leaving Their Son In Coach

May 31, 2023

Parenting comes in different forms, and this is a result of how different people carry out the role. However, one thing many would agree with is that childcare remains at the center of it all. Despite this consensus, it is safe to say that parents are also allowed to indulge themselves, but should it come at the expense of their kids?

A traveler couple, Karen and Sylvester Akpan, faced this dilemma after sharing clips of one of their family trips on social media. The dynamics of parenting became a viral topic among people after the duo revealed that they accepted an upgrade the airline offered them. They, however, left their preteen son, Aiden, in their initial economy coach. The TikTok post, made on May 12, 2023, got social media users deliberating on their actions.

Spearheaded by Karen, the Akpans are a family on a mission to travel the world. Karen, who goes by the moniker The Mom Trotter across different social media platforms, runs a blog, themomtrotter.com. She documents her family's trips around different locations with a mission to inspire other families to travel often. 

According to the themomtrotter.com About Us Page, Karen created the site to share travel tips and curate her family's trips as they live in an RV and travel around the world on a budget. She wrote that her goal was to inspire families to go on trips as one-income families, stay-at-home parents, or full-time job parents. Karen also penned tnat hers was a safe space for families to discuss travel issues. 

Karen's Mom Trotter brand cuts across several media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and her family's travel content are documented on all. In one of her media contents, Karen and her spouse documented a 13-hour trip that left them with quite an impact. 

Due to their frequent flier status, they were offered a complimentary luxury upgrade to the business class coach. However, the offer did not extend to their 10-year-old son. The influencer couple ultimately left Aiden as the economy coach as they accepted the upgrade. On TikTok, Karen shared a goofy clip of her and her spouse enjoying champagne in their searing pods. The POV caption read: 

"Enjoying business class...on a 13-hour flight while our son sits in the back in economy class because he doesn't have United Premier 1K status like we do…."

Posting across all her pages, Karen asked people's opinions on the situation and how they would have handled it. Many TikTok users found it hilarious as they goofed in the comment section. Many Instagram users agreed with the couple on the decision, while others suggested they needed "parenting classes."

On Facebook, Karen's post faced heavy criticism as many parents felt the couple should have either chosen to stay with their son or allow him to have the upgrade. One mom penned, "I think it's highly irresponsible to leave your 10-yr-old to be seated alone for a 1-hour flight, so I couldn't imagine a 13-hour flight." Another stated that they would ask the child's opinion. There were more divided notions as different moms picked sides.

Do you think that the Akpans make the right decision? What would you do or suggest in a similar situation? Let us know, and be sure to pass this piece on to others.