Mom Can't Get Toddler to Stop Crying on Plane, Flight Attendant Picks Up Child
Through all of the bad news that circulates social media, there’s always the one story ready to make us smile due to the kindness of others.
This kindness can certainly go a long way, especially when it involves a crying toddler and an overwhelmed mother.
Rachel Yuen Nihi was a passenger on a Hawaiian Airlines flight when she noticed a mother and her three children on board. The youngest, she said, wouldn’t stop crying, leading other passengers to become irked, which caused the mother even more stress.
“She had three little ones with her and the youngest one was just having a hard time.
“Mom was doing everything she could to soothe him,” said Yuen Nihi, adding that she herself became “irritated that people could see a mother desperately trying to soothe her child and still lack empathy” as they glared at the mother and child.
However, Gina Reyes, a flight attendant for the late-night trip, seemed to know just what to do to soothe the troubled child who had been crying for nearly 30 minutes.
Reyes offered to hold the child and began soothing him in much the same manner as she would for any of her own four children.
“I saw a place where I could help,” Reyes said. “I was rocking and singing to him. I was singing lullabies to him.”
As for the mother, Yuen Nihi recalls watching her relief as the toddler calmed down and Reyes took control.
“I watched that mom just literally lean back in her chair and breathe,” Yuen Nihi said, adding that to witness such kindness truly touched her heart. It was the flight attendant’s true “Aloha spirit” that ultimately led Yuen Nihi to film the incident.
“It’s just that human kindness, you know? Someone going beyond just a job description,” Yuen Nihi said.
“It was a privilege for me to witness that and I took out my phone and decided I’m just going to get a snippet of it.”
Others who commented on the story said Reyes simply seemed to have that “special touch” that comes with being a mother.
“A lot of people call me Momma Gina,” Reyes said, adding that she has received quite a bit of attention as she has continued to be recognized.
“A lot of people have been messaging me and reaching out,” Reyes said. “They’re like, ‘I’m not surprised it was you.’”
“I think it’s nothing more than what most of us at Hawaiian Airlines do,” she added. “That’s our love and we get to love on our passengers.”
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