There's a difference between "I want to pick exactly where we sit and am willing to pay extra for it", and "I want my family to sit together, but don't care where that is on the plane, and I'm already paying a lot for 4 tickets, so don't have extra budget to pay more to to pick where I sit."

Also, I can't imagine people who end up sitting next to a kid whose parent isn't nearby, or the stewards who have to deal with such children would be happy about the arrangement either.

Well I am not a marketing guy, but from the little I know, this is price discrimination between a group of 4 who do not mind sitting anywhere, and a group of 4 that must sit together. Sure, your needs may be higher, but each need has a price, and sitting together is one such need. Just need to plan the $$$$s for that.

Well, people generally don't like being on the receiving end of price discrimination. So you shouldn't be surprised when people refuse to fly with you because you charge you more to fly with them just because you have children with you.

Although, I wonder if maybe the real reason for this might be to discourage families from flying with them....

You are defending that asking more money for your children not to be alone is ok ?

In most companies, when you don’t book specific seats, the algorithm puts you alongside your children anyway.

If having my children sit next to me is important then I expect to have to pay extra for this since this is mostly how airline pricing works. In other words, it isn't perfect in all use cases, like not every seat is next to a window and I may have to pay extra for this rather than have to take my chances.

Are you saying that spawning offspring should grant you privileges that other passengers shouldn't get?

I say "Yes" to both of you.

Children should have privileges adults don't have. As they aren't full independent adults, it's fair to give them special treatment. Nobody is born an adult, so every person in society will get these benefits at some point of their lives.

At the same time, I don't see why airliners shouldn't be able to charge less for tickets that are truly "we will put you whatever we want irrespective of your needs and wants". Children who need to be by their parents shouldn't buy these tickets, the same way children shouldn't buy adult shoes.

If a passenger cannot take care of themselves for whatever reason, I think they should be allowed to sit next to whoever takes care of them without having to pay extra.

Indeed and there already is a legal concept for that called a 'dependent'. And both the caregiver and dependent already receive special consideration under various laws and regulations. Requiring airlines to seat them together is both consistent with existing concepts, and just the right thing to do.

Yes, and I would say that no other passenger would appreciate a full flight alongside an alone child.

You may have more control how that kid behaves though, rather than leaving it to the whim of its parent/s?

Are you saying you’d prefer to sit next to some rando’s kid?

I would say that.

Place shuffling in planes is a novel "invention". Putting existing features behind a Paywall isn't being smart and innovative. it's a signal for to little competition and a cash grap.