This Dad Trying to Tire Out His Kiddo Pre-Flight Is All of Us

Traveling with kids can be, um, challenging. You always hope they will nap on the plane, or at least sit still enough in their seats so as not to make the flight miserable for you and, you know, everyone else on board.

Before a recent evening flight with my three children, I literally had them do 200 jumping jacks in the waiting area so they'd tire out before lift off. And it seems I'm not the only parent who had this idea. Recent footage posted to Imgur of a dad attempting to tire out his kiddo on an airport escalator has gone viral.

In the clip, we see the father holding on to his toddler, who is walking in place on the bottom of the moving stairs. Commenters were quick to commend the creative papa for his pre-flight planning. "That is genius," one comment says. "'THERE GOES MY HEROOOOO,'" another wrote.

Of course, not everyone was "on board" with this dad's approach. "Death waiting to happen," one commenter chided. (For the record, we have to agree that this seems like it could be dangerous. Maybe best not to actually try this on your next trip!) Others were of the opinion that the exercise would only serve to amp up the kid even more.

Many more said dosing Benadryl before the flight works better. I have to chime in and say that I would feel wrong about giving my kids medicine just to make them drowsy. But maybe that's just me.

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How about you? Do you think this dad is genius or just spinning his wheels for no reason?

Melissa Willets is a writer/blogger and soon-to-be mom of 4. Find her on Facebook where she chronicles her life momming under the influence. Of yoga.