Last week I took my six year old to Vancouver BC to visit my family. It was her first time flying and I wanted to be sure that it was exciting for her and at least a little relaxing for me.

I had read a few sites with tips on flying with kids only to see the same advice over and over – “take some new books and toys. Surprise them with things a few at a time,” …….. all parenting 101 tips. What I realized as we entered the airport was that she had no expectations that were at all based in reality. Flying to a child means being up in the air like a bird, not strapped in a seat in a pressurized tin can.

I thought back to the first time I flew, I was six years old as well and my family was going to Switzerland. We were the only children on the flight and the flight crew made the experience magical for us. We were escorted up to the cabin to meet the pilot and look out of the huge front windscreen into the clouds. After the pilot and co-pilot shook hands with us the stewardess pinned little metal wings on us both, and took us back to our seats with special desserts from First Class.

Clearly the romance of flying has changed forever and I was feeling a little sad for my daughter who would never have the same experience. Well, maybe it would be quite the same but we could make it magical and special.

It really comes down to understanding that everything is new and exciting to a child travelling. The best advice I can give is s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and give them the time they need to look at everything. Even an empty departure lounge can be fascinating and exploring is how children make sense of things. No, it’s not the cultural experience you’ll brag about to your friends but if it’s engaging and stimulating to your child remember that a happy kid is easier to get engaged in other things and you’ll get your visit to that museum or gallery in sooner or later. So we examined the seats, we looked under them and we sat on every one, we watched the trucks moving things around and talked about what it would be like to be outside with the planes. Then there were people to look at and smells to explore and when all of that was finally exhausted we took out some of those new books and toys.

I kept to my policy of slowing down for the entire trip and surprisingly we managed to do just about everything I had planned. We hiked in the snow on Hollyburn Mountain, had lunch at Granville Island, posed with the totem poles at The Museum of Anthropology and dipped our feet in the Pacific Ocean. We stopped at playgrounds wherever we could and made new friends everywhere. I was relaxed and she was happy. Everything else was a bonus and she can’t wait to go back soon.