Article Summary:
- Either my husband or I took each of our four kids on a trip when they turned twelve.
- When we started, we weren’t sure all six of us would ever take an airplane trip together.
- Taking each kid individually was less expensive and made great one-on-one memories.
My husband and I have loved traveling together since our very first trip! I knew I wanted our kids to grow up experiencing new things and going to new places as often as we could manage it.
I also wanted them to experience an airplane ride if we could swing it.
We have four kids, so traveling by plane as a family means purchasing six tickets. It likely also means renting a car (or, in our case, a van), plus all the other expenses that come with family travel.
We spent years and years taking family road trips instead of trying to fly together.
And once we had our fourth child, I definitely knew we wouldn’t be flying together for quite a while. Traveling with four small children is chaos, frankly. But the bigger challenge right then was that it was expensive!
We couldn’t afford to buy plane tickets for all six of us at that point in our lives. But we could afford two tickets.
That’s when my husband and I decided on a plan. When each child turned twelve, one of us took them on an airplane trip. We still kept costs down by staying with family.
But this way, we knew each of our kids would get the experience of at least one airplane trip before they became adults.
One-On-One Trips Began as an Affordable Way to Travel, But It Became So Much More
When we first implemented this plan, we were only thinking that we wanted them to experience and understand how to travel by plane. We weren’t thinking about the other benefits of a trip like this.
Here are some of the unexpected perks we’ve discovered with these solo parent trips:
- Unplanned one-on-one time. I love our big, often loud, energetic family! It’s hard to get bored around here. But it can also be hard to get a lot of solo time with one child unless it’s scheduled. A trip gives you that time. It also takes away the distraction of work, chores, and all those little things that keep you from really paying attention to each other.
- Extended family one-on-one time. Since we take all our family vacations together, it’s rare for the kids to get time with just Grandma or Grandpa or cousins. Everyone’s surrounded by one big, (usually) happy family! When we visit with just one kid, they get to soak up all that attention by themselves, and they love it.
- They get to be mostly in charge. On our family trips, everyone gets to pick an activity so no one gets left out. But on a one-on-one trip, each kid can mostly pick what they want to do without having to share. I think you need a mix of both, honestly.
- We can do more things. I mentioned before that buying six plane tickets is expensive! But so is buying six amusement park tickets, or six dinners, or six of anything else. When just two people are traveling, there’s a little extra room in the budget for special splurges. Even just stopping at a coffee shop is easier for two people than for our whole family.
I Recommend Trips with Just One Kid, But We Did Run Into a Problem I Didn’t Anticipate…
I’m a huge fan of these trips, but ours weren’t totally problem-free! I was surprised to discover that each of the kids really missed their siblings when they were gone. I figured they’d be thrilled to be away from everyone!
When you grow up with siblings, it can be a shock to find yourself on a trip without them. It can get weirdly quiet at times.
If you’re visiting grandparents and aunts and uncles, there may not be other kids around. I hadn’t anticipated finding my daughter looking a little lonely and not knowing what to do with herself without her brother to talk to.
I still believe the benefits of these trips far outweigh the drawbacks! But I had to get past the idea that every single moment was going to be exciting and wonderful.
On the plus side, she was nicer to her brothers and sister when she got home because she’d missed them so much!
Even After We Flew Together as a Family, We Kept This Tradition
A few years after we began this tradition, we were lucky enough to be able to travel as a family via airplane. In the years since, we have done that several times.
The airplane portion of our one-on-one trips became less important as the kids got a chance to travel more. But the idea of our kids traveling with just me or my husband stayed.
One of the kids went whitewater rafting with my husband. My daughter and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and enjoyed some beach days.
In fact, maybe I should try to do this again with each of them when they’re adults. That would be a blast!
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Have you ever taken a trip with just one of your children? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Also, if you’re looking to travel via airplane with your family, check out Nate’s tips for travel rewards. I wish I’d known about them years ago!
