The beauty of being able to book your seats on a train in advance of your trip means you can arrive without the rush of needing to find somewhere to sit before departure.
While this is a simple pre-travel step, one passenger was left fuming recently when they saw a mum get on the train with her three children, only to discover she had only forked out enough to book two seats - meaning two of her children had nowhere to sit.
The passenger said the mum had booked the seats opposite them, and looked as though she "expected" other people around her to give up their seats to allow the family to sit together.
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When no one offered up their seats, the mum was forced to squeeze all three of her kids and herself into the two seats she had booked. This left the other passenger outraged that their peace and quiet had been completely disrupted.
In a post on Reddit, they explained: "If you're travelling with three children, book four seats, not two?
"I reserved my seat because I knew the train would be packed, a mum and her three kids rock up, she's only booked seats for her eldest and herself with the expectation that others will give up their seats for her spawn. No one does so she squeezes them all into two seats.
"Now getting kicked by the child squished in the middle of two seats who is kicking their legs and taking up the whole table with their colouring - I've already said something but they're not moving because the train is full.
“Mum has also 'accidentally' stood on my foot twice too. It's just the entitlement more than anything”.
The passenger also said the mother began breastfeeding her youngest child on the train, and while they insisted they had no issue with it, they claimed it took more effort than it should have because she didn't have enough space with her kids crowded onto the two seats she had booked.
In an update, the passenger expressed further frustration after the person in the seat next to them gave up their seat, which meant the mum could put one child in that free seat.
They added: "The person next to me gave up their seat after repeated requests from the mum, and now I'm being kicked from both the front and side, PLUS the toddler is crying. I've never wanted to jump off a moving train more”.
People rushed to the post to share in the passenger's frustration, as many agreed that if you're travelling as a parent, you shouldn't expect other people to give up their seats for your children.
One person wrote: "This is pretty much like parents travelling on airlines, purposely not booking seats together, and guilting everyone around them to move so they can sit together”.
While another added: "I had a similar situation last week for a two-hour train journey. Family of four booked three seats because one's an infant.
“That's great but you're going to be taking up more than four seats worth with all their c**p and now I have to be elbowed in the ribs for two hours and listen to whatever your kids are listening to at full volume on their tablets”.
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