BEIJING: Two women in China ignited a fierce debate on mainland social media after reportedly locking a noisy toddler in an airplane toilet as a means of discipline.
On August 24, a one-year-old girl travelling with her grandparents on a flight from Guizhou in southwest China to Shanghai persistently cried on the journey, according to Shangyou News.
A female passenger seated near the girl said on social media that many passengers tried to block out the noise by putting tissues in their ears. Some even moved to the rear of the aircraft.
She tried to calm the toddler by showing her entertainment videos, but unfortunately, that failed to pacify her.
Later, this woman and another female passenger took the girl into a plane toilet, locked the door, and disciplined her inside.
The two women did not know each other.
In a video posted by one of them, the two women can be seen threatening the girl by telling her that if she continued to cry, they would not bring her back to her grandmother.
The girl slapped at the toilet door, first crying out for her grandmother, and then repeatedly saying “OK” to the two women, who eventually returned her to her seat.
One of the women said the girl did not cry again for the remaining two hours of the flight.
“I prefer to take action rather than just watch like other passengers. I thought disciplining her would help everyone get some rest,” she wrote.
Juneyao Air told Shangyou News that the infant’s grandparents acknowledged their recent lack of childcare experience and had given their consent for the two strangers to discipline the child.
On August 26, the company issued a statement saying they had contacted the child’s mother, who said she understood the actions of the two passengers.
The incident soon made headlines on mainland social media with related topics on handling unruly children in public garnering 130 million views on Weibo.
One online observer wrote: “I’ve always wanted to reprimand unruly children who ruin my rest on planes. These two women did what I could not, and it’s very satisfying.”
Somebody else disapproved: “The method these women used was wrong. Imagine how helpless such a young child would feel being locked in a small toilet with strangers.”
Another person called for more tolerance towards children: “Crying and emotional instability are inevitable for toddlers. You cannot hold a one-year-old to adult standards.”
There have been other reports of children being disruptive on public transport across China.
On August 4, a woman from southern China complained that a toddler had been jumping and shouting for more than two hours on a high-speed train.
For parents, keeping youngsters quiet during long journeys is often a challenge.
In July, a father from southwestern China came up with an easy and cheap solution; he gave his little girl a cabbage to peel on a train journey. - South China Morning Post
