A couple of nights ago, I had a hilarious travel related conversation with our three-year-old son while putting him to bed, which made me realize something. Let me first share what happened, and then some background to prove that I’m not an out-of-touch monster (or at least don’t intend to be)…
The hilarious conversation I had with our son
A couple of nights ago, I was putting our three-year-old son, Miles, to bed. We usually read a few books, and then I “fake” fall asleep next to him until he’s asleep, and then I quietly exit.
On this particular evening, he was incredibly chatty, in the most hilarious way, so we spent more time talking rather than reading. He’s off from preschool right now for the holidays, so his schedule doesn’t matter as much as usual, and frankly, I was really enjoying our conversation.
We’re going to take him skiing soon for the first time, and before trips, I always try to talk to him about what to expect, so he can anticipate it and be prepared. He’s at the age now where he comprehends things, so I find that consistently talking to him about travel in advance helps.
So I was explaining how we were going skiing, and how it would involve taking a pretty long flight. For what it’s worth, up until this point, we’ve never had an explicit conversation about airport lounges, first or business class, etc. So with that in mind, here’s how our conversation went from there (and this is a direct transcript, because after he started being hilarious, I just started recording)…
Miles: “On the plane, are we going to sit in the big seats or the smaller seats?”
Me: “Oh… I’m not sure, we’ll see.” (I haven’t 100% committed to our flights, and now that I realize he’s paying attention, maybe it should be the “smaller seats!”)
Miles: “Are they going to serve food and snacks on the plane?”
Me: “Probably. Do you want to eat on the plane?”
Miles: “No… only in the lounge! Just in the lounge I can eat something!”
Me: “Hah… what do you want to eat in the lounge?”
Miles: “I need to see what they have in the lounge. When I can see what they have in the lounge, then I can eat it!”
This conversation was just hilarious to me, because never before had there been any deliberate discussion about different airplane seats, airport facilities, etc.
He’s at the age where we need to be more deliberate
It’s funny how fast time flies when you’re a parent. We’ve massively increased our travel with Miles as time has gone on.
When he was really young, we just didn’t think he’d get anything out of travel, and was more comfortable, happier, and healthier, at home. After all, we have loving family that is happy to stay with him, and simply dragging him onto planes and to hotels doesn’t do much to widen a one-year-old’s horizons, in my opinion (though I have huge respect for those who travel extensively with infants).
But it’s clear particularly in the last six months that he’s starting to notice everything, and you can tell based on the questions he asks, and the observations he makes.
It’s funny, because when we flew with Miles when he was around one year old, I didn’t feel like I had to think much about what cabin we flew in, or how he would perceive that, since I didn’t think he really noticed in a meaningful way (or at least wasn’t able to express that to us).
But the above commentary really makes me realize he notices everything, which is the first time it has been so apparent to me on the travel front. To be clear, it’s not like I’m dropping a fortune when we fly first class with Miles. Generally, my approach is one of the following:
- If it’s just me or Ford flying with Miles, we’ll often book first class, since it’s convenient to have two seats next to one another, without a seat mate
- If all three of us are traveling together, we’ll often book extra legroom economy, and then just all sit next to one another, with Miles in the middle
- The reality is that a majority of our first class flights are simply booked with Alaska Atmos Rewards points on American, so I’m typically paying a small amount for the added comfort; it’s not like I’m carelessly dropping a fortune on these flights
While I don’t want to adopt an “all economy” policy when flying with him, I certainly don’t want our kids growing up thinking that only first class exists. So now that I’ve come to terms with this, I’ll also make an effort to fly more in economy with him, and also to give some premium economy flights a try when traveling long haul.
In fairness, I do think that premium travel has been democratized to the point that both domestic first class and lounge access aren’t the unattainable-seeming luxuries they used to be. I’m certainly getting us into first class and into lounges at an affordable cost.
For that matter, given that there are literally long lines to get into many airport lounges nowadays, they’re almost definitionally not exclusive, and they’ve almost turned into discounted airport restaurants for those who prefer to pay yearly rather than per meal. 😉
Anyway, I’d be curious to hear from other parents on this. It’s amazing how quickly kids grow up, and I was always wondering at what age kids start making travel observations that make you realize that they’re really paying attention. For Miles, a little over three years old has definitely been a turning point on that front, which makes me realize we need to be very deliberate.
Bottom line
It’s amazing how quickly kids grow up. We’ve been greatly increasing the amount we’ve been traveling with our older son in recent times, and I feel like at three years old, he finally turned a corner in terms of both observing things, and communicating what he observes.
A couple of nights ago we had a conversation about a future flight, where Miles asked if he’d be flying in the bigger seats or smaller seats, and also indicated his preference to eat in the lounge. Okay, he’s definitely noticing things, so that’s something I need to keep in mind going forward!
Anyone else with kids remember the first time that they made an observation about flying that caught you off guard?
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