Travel Days Can Hurt

This was one of those days that turn parents with thinner skin off travelling with kids. It was a day marked by screaming, sisterly conflict and tantrums. And in all fairness, was probably predictable.

A fellow parent told me a year back about the idea of giving your kids a sense of autonomy. In a busy day, we can all fall into the trap of making a decision and moving on. We're the adults, so involving Nora in whether we go to straight to the gate or stroll through the duty-free is needless. But kids need a sense of control. A sense that they've been heard. Have made decisions. Have driven outcomes. They're not passengers, but little people who don't want to get dragged through the day.

Travel days are challenging for this. We're on the go, moving luggage, checking tickets, running for a gate. We don't have time to give Nora a choice of a park. Or Maeve the option to peruse a grocery store for a snack.

Further, it's easy in high stress days to fall into the feeling that we're bothering everyone. The girls are shouting out to us on the plane, which is chock full of bsuiness travellers. We're having a tantrum on the floor of the departure terminal. My big d@#k parenting quickly shrivels up.

Sigh.

Let's give ourselves some grace too. Did we get stern fast today? Yes. Did we shush a little too aggressively. Probably. But we're human too. And travel days are taxing on everyone.