Why are some parents so stressed at the airport? 

The airport is not fun for most people. I am one of those rare individuals who feel peaceful at the airport. I like that everything is contained, and there’s nothing to do before the flight but sit around, read, scroll on Twitter, or spend $13 at Orange Julius. I like that it’s, by nature, a transient space, where people come and go but nobody stays for long. 

Although I don’t mind going to the airport, I understand why a lot of people hate it. For one, they’re not always the cleanest places in the world. The seats at the gate are not the most comfortable, and even the fancy credit card lounges with nicer seats often require you to wait in line! A lot of people are afraid of flying, so the airport feels incredibly foreboding. 

When you’re a parent with little kids, traveling can be super difficult. Wrangling a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old through the airport is not for the faint of heart, so it makes sense when parents associate travel with stress, even when their kids are no longer little enough to make traveling a pain.