The same thing happened to me when I was flying with 2 kids by myself. My kids were aged 4 and under 2, the under 2 was "on my lap" and didn't have an assigned seat, but the put my shy 4-yr old daughter 10 rows up inbetween two strangers. I don't care how well-behaved a child is, they need to sit beside their parent if they are under 8, or so. What happens if they have to pee, and too shy to ask the person to move, do the airlines really want to deal with that kind of accident? What happens if their ear starts hurting? It is horrible that airlines are doing this and not understanding how devastating that can be to a family. I was able to argue with my airline enough to have my daughter sit next to me, but I shouldn't even of had to do that. Horrible business practice. I understand kids can be noisy and bothersome on flights but we've paid to fly too, and understand that it is very exhaustive for a parent to try to keep a young child entertained and happy while strapped to a seat and they are doing their best.
Obviously Jill does not have children, otherwise should would be able to stop looking at these toys from an adult point of view and be able to look at them from a kids point of view. Kids like to practice and do what their parents are doing. When I was cleaning the floor, my daughter wanted to try, when I was breastfeeding my 2nd child, my daughter would stick her dolls under her shirt. This is a natural way to learn and grow. Shame on you for thinking inside the box
When I was pregnant with both my kids, this would have come in very handy, although sock usage does reduce to "only when necessary" when you're pregnant!