Airports - Family Friendly?

I have come to the conclusion that airports and the whole airplane experience is not "family friendly". Yes, there is a child's menu. Yes, small children get to board first...but there is much left to be desired.

The problem with airports is that they are boring. I'm not interested in doing what "they" want me to do, which seems to be to wander continually around the various shops until the gate is displayed. And my son is not too keen on airports either. If I had my way, I would avoid airports, but my expat existence requires my using them.

I recently attended a wedding on Vancouver Island and while I am concerned about my carbon flight prints, crossing the Atlantic via ship and then Canada via VIA was not an option due to the time contraints and my husband's lack of enthusiasm. We also travelled to see the grandparents in Kamloops and attended the post-wedding party in Fort Saskatchewan (which is in Alberta, and not Saskatchewan as the name suggests.)

And while the tedium of air travel is great, particularly on long flights, it cannot compare to the angst experienced jammed next to a carseat and a three year old for hours on end. So... I admit I booked airline tickets for my son and me to get from Edmonton back to Kamloops. It is a journey do-able by car if you are inclined to driving for 9-10hrs and I while I would have been inclined to drive it, I was not prepared to be a passenger for that length of time and neither was my son.

So we ended up at Edmonton International...and I was impressed. They had remembered that children sometimes take flights too. This is a picture of their playzone.

It puts the boat at international departures at Vancouver Airport to shame, but I suppose it's nice there's something there...and don't get me started on Heathrow.