A passenger was left stunned after a pair of parents put on headphones during a flight, seemingly leaving their three young children to roam the cabin.

In a post on Reddit’s r/unitedairlines subreddit, u/NotSureAnyway described flying out of Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) alongside a family of five consisting of two parents and three young children.

Newsweek reached out to u/NotSureAnyway via direct message. We could not verify the details of the case.

According to the passenger, the children spent much of the flight running up and down the aisle, speaking loudly and watching cartoons without headphones.

Meanwhile, the parents allegedly sat wearing headphones and watching movies.

“Do you know what the parents did?” the poster wrote. “Nothing.”

The situation reportedly became more concerning during meal service, when a flight attendant asked for the children to return to their seats so food carts could pass through the cabin.

The children briefly complied before getting up again, according to the account.

The poster also claimed that one child remained standing on a seat during turbulence without a seatbelt fastened.

“The mother simply said ‘they are energetic and they don’t like sitting down’ while rolling their eyes at passengers who seemed concerned and annoyed,” the traveler wrote.

Despite initially describing the situation as “free range parenting,” the poster later amended the post.

“EDIT: This is not free range parenting but rather absentee parenting with unparented offspring,” they wrote.

Among the 238 comments at the time of writing, many users argued that airline staff should have intervened more forcefully.

One said they had heard flight attendants on previous flights clearly announce that all passengers—including children—must use headphones when listening to audio.

The commenter felt the crew failed to enforce both that policy and basic seatbelt safety rules.

Another argued that allowing children to move freely during turbulence could put everyone on board at risk.

They suggested airlines should take stronger action when parents refuse to keep children seated, noting that unsecured passengers can become serious hazards during unexpected turbulence.

Others shared similar experiences.

One commenter recalled a passenger repeatedly ignoring instructions to stop playing music at full volume on a phone.

According to the story, flight attendants asked multiple times for headphones to be used, only for the passenger to resume blasting music moments later.

Several parents joined the discussion to argue that the behavior reflected poor parenting rather than a parenting philosophy.

One parent of three said their children were taught from a young age to behave respectfully in public and while traveling. Though fellow diners and travelers often appeared apprehensive at first, the family frequently received compliments on their children’s behavior.

Another commenter who practices free-range parenting pushed back against the label entirely, saying that their children are taught how to behave independently in public settings.

The poster agreed, responding that many people now use the term “free range parenting” to describe what is actually absentee parenting when parents disengage from their responsibilities in public.