Originally Posted by
gglave
The academic question wasn't 'would you take responsibility for the child.'
The question was also, "If my kid was sitting next you reading Dr. Suess, what would be the criteria to deplane us?" The criteria for deplaning you would be my refusal to baby sit or otherwise take responsibility for your child. I don't think it's necessary to get into a discussion about why a parent would deposit a child this young next to a total stranger and then sit elsewhere.
The question was whether the airline would deplane a family who wasn't sitting together if the child was just sitting in their assigned seat reading or coloring. My daughter is quite shy and I suspect this would be her reaction.
And, as I said, I've seen FAs do exactly that.