A week or so before a recent family holiday, my four year-old, Jayden, started asking me many questions about the details and logistics of our trip. I knew he was super excited about where we were going, but I thought it strange that such a little person was so concerned or curious about what I perceived (as an adult/parent) as insignificant details.
As I looked deeper into these questions, it was quite telling as to what’s churning in that 4 years old head of his! Here are some examples:
Mommy, are we going on a big plane or a small plane?
Finding out what Jayden is thinking ⇒ In Jayden’s mind, big planes have individual TV screens while small planes don’t, so his question was a way to get a better feel for the choices of entertainment options he will have on a flight!!! He later told me that if it was a big plane, he wanted to watch Dora the Explorer and Mickey Mouse shows on his screen!
How long will the airplane fly for?
Finding out what Jayden is thinking ⇒ It turns out that in his 4 years-old mind, flight times have a direct correlation to how much iPad or screen time he will get on the plane!! On top of that, the longer the flight, the higher the chances that meals and snacks will be served – meaning he gets to eat!
Mommy, are we leaving to the airport in the morning or at night time?
Finding out what Jayden is thinking ⇒ I was wondering why it matters whether it was morning or night that we head to the airport. Well, apparently it does matter! For Jayden, morning flights seem to be his preference as it means that once he gets up, we are off and he doesn’t have to wait the whole day for his holidays to start. Evening flights, on the other hand, mean he has to wait an entire day for us to be off, and on top of that, he has to sleep on the plane (losing precious screen time!)!
Mommy, can we please go to the airport a bit earlier?
Finding out what Jayden is thinking ⇒ Other than not wanting to rush, why would we want to spend more time than we need to at the airport? Well, it turns out 4 year-olds have different priorities! Going to the airport earlier means we have plenty of time to go to MacDonald’s or Burger King to grab a meal of burgers and fries before the flight!! This guy thinks of everything!
What are we going to take when we arrive?
Finding out what Jayden is thinking ⇒ Not exactly sure what Jayden was getting at, I asked him what he meant? He replied by asking me more questions: “Mommy, when we get there to our holidays, do we take another smaller plane, or are you going to drive, or what are we going to take?“
I was so surprised Jayden even went as far as thinking of how we get to our final destination – whether we were transiting at the airport, or whether we were picking up our rental car, or whether we were taking a train, taxi or bus ride to the city! He’s even got all the transport options covered!
Don’t under-estimate what those little minds really think about!
You Silly Mommy! 
Ha! Pia is exactly the same, particularly on the question of big or small planes! And her choice would be the same – Dora and Mickey. Now tap into kids’ psych, and you will have yourself a business model!
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