Traveling by plane with a toddler can be stressful, but flying out of state as a solo parent sounds like a nightmare. Not only are caregivers tasked with keeping their young children seated and entertained, but they also need to lug their bags, perhaps a stroller, and maybe even a car seat with them on the plane.
The type of passenger moms and dads are seated next to on such a flight can make or break the experience, for sure. Luckily for a mom named Zephaniah Henry, a flight she recently took with her 2-year-old son, Asaph, went more smoothly than she could have hoped. A stranger saw her struggling and stepped in to help. Now, a video she posted of the kind man has gone viral on TikTok.
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First, the man offered to carry a car seat for Zephaniah as they boarded the plane.
On April 27, Zephaniah took to TikTok with a touching video detailing the man's kind actions. The opening shot showed the man preparing to board a plane while carrying a car seat and other luggage.
"This man saw me struggling traveling w/my toddler for the first time & immediately helped me carry his carseat/stroller," Zephaniah wrote in text overlaid on the video.
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The stranger also volunteered to walk Asaph up and down the plane aisle.
The stranger's kindness didn't stop there, as the clip showed Asaph looking around in the cockpit. "He took Asaph to meet the pilots of the plane," Zephaniah explained. "I was crying because I was overstimulated & he offered to walk him around to give me a break."
Evidently, the man did the same thing with his kids when he was younger.
As Zephaniah shared, the man did the same thing when his own kids were little. "He said he used to love walking his children back & forth on the plane to help them fall asleep when they were younger," she wrote alongside footage of the stranger walking with Asaph and smiling while holding him. "Whoever's father this is, he is an ANGEL."
Folks in the comments praised the stranger for his acts of kindness.
TikTok users couldn't get enough of the sweet interaction. One person pointed out, "He might have needed you as much as u needed him ."
Another TikTok user wrote, "I feel like that’s someone’s dad who wants grandkids SO BAD ❤️," and another person commented, "The genuine joy in that man’s eyes when holding your baby! My heart exploded!!"
"Not he showing him off like that’s his grandson ❤️Everyday I cry on this app," someone else chimed in.
Zephaniah reflected on her viral TikTok video in a recent interview.
Her TikTok video has attracted more than 3.6 million views as of writing, and the grateful mom reflected on the attention in an interview with Newsweek.
"The social media reaction has been a wild card. People have been saying that I shouldn't have trusted a stranger, and others say that it takes a village," she told the magazine. "All I know is that this man was sent by God, and it wasn't a coincidence for us to be on the same flight."
Zephaniah added, "As a single mom everyone expects me to have it all together and be independent, and I do my best, but that doesn't mean it doesn't get exhausting. So, the fact that this stranger made the decision to help me instead of judging me is something I will never forget."
