If you’re a parent, you know that traveling by plane with a young child can be a waking nightmare. The usual bundle of anxiety that accompanies flying for many people is compounded by the constant fear that your child will erupt into a temper tantrum or an outburst of tears that will disturb the entire cabin.
Some parents recently had that worry realized while onboard a lengthy international flight from the United Arab Emirates to Albania. But the surprising kindness shown by their fellow passengers meant this incident had a heartwarming ending.
On March 10, Parikshit Balochi, who lives in Dubai, was taking that five-hour flight when a child sitting next to him got upset and started crying. Balochi, who spoke to Insider about the moment, said the boy looked about 4 years old. As his parents tried to calm him down, a stranger sitting behind them started quietly singing “Baby Shark” to try and help him get settled.
Balochi said he took the reins and started loudly singing the notorious earworm, and many other passengers joined in as who was presumably the boy’s dad picked him up and started dancing. If it sounds too sweet to be true, you can see it’s real, as Balochi filmed a few seconds of the unexpected chorus and put it on TikTok.
@parikshitbalochi baby Shark! #fyp #flydubai #foryoupage #babyshark #dubai
As you can see from the clip, the boy quiets down once he realizes what’s going on. It’s not clear if he’s into it or just totally confused, but hey, the song worked!
Balochi told Insider his work as a radio host made him feel confident (or shameless) enough to belt out the children’s hit.
“I’ve got no shame because I do public speaking as a radio host,” he said. “So I started singing out loud and everybody joined in.”
Among the comments on Balochi’s TikTok — which has been watched more than 8.7 million times so far — was one that said, “Baby doesn’t even realize [he’s] being entertained,” with a laughing emoji.
In a follow-up clip, Balochi said, “He did! Then he entertained me during the entire flight.”
@parikshitbalochi Reply to @sylvestee #babyshark #dubai #fyp #foryoupage
Next time you’re on a flight and a kid starts melting down, maybe sing a few bars of “Baby Shark” and it could help soothe the entire plane!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
