Mom criticizes daughter for being 'too relaxed' at the airport: 'Traveling without parents makes you realize the airport was never stressful.'

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Aug 13, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

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.

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Twitter users recently posted about their experiences with their parents at the airport, and they are deeply relatable to anyone who has traveled with their perpetually stressed parents.

"First time I flew with my parents after flying alone a bunch, my mom got really upset and told me off for "being too relaxed""

--@miaaowing

“Buying a plane ticket and realizing your dad actually made you get up at 2AM because the 5AM ticket was $5 cheaper (he's going to make the family walk around the city for 7 hours until the hotel reservation kicks in)."

--@RinnerStrikes

“I feel like there's a stress response that goes both ways when traveling with a parent. They see you as their child and get stressed about your safety, you see your parent stress and it makes you stressed since you have that bond and as you age you worry for them back.”

--@JimsTweets

Why do you think parents are so stressed while flying? Is flying just stressful for most people? Are they stressed about their kids more than they usually are?

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