What My Family’s First Hot Air Balloon Ride Taught Me About Supporting My Child

Our family’s first-ever hot air balloon ride was over the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacan, Mexico! But more than simply a hot air balloon ride, I realized later that it was also an opportunity to practice some valuable lessons that I’ve learned over the years I’ve been raising my kid. Our hot air balloon ride was a situation in which we could practice life lessons in patience, support, setting my kid up for success, and giving her the space necessary to be her own person and be ready on her own time. Read on to see what I mean!

The city of Teotihuacan is the homeland of the Teotihuacan peoples.

About
Our
Trip

During our second trip to Mexico City (read about our first trip here!), we embarked on a sunrise hot air balloon tour over the ancient city of Teotihuacan. Before, during, and after the tour, which took place over a span of three hours, my five-year-old and I experienced a mix of emotions, sometimes simultaneously: excitement, fear, trepidation, wonder, relaxation, and contentment, just to name a few. How we dealt with those emotions was an interesting look into parenting during challenging times. Here are some of the lessons I learned from our experience.

Lessons Learned

ON A HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE WITH MY KID

Lesson 1

Preparation is Key

How we prepared our child for the hot air balloon ride had a vast effect on the overall outcome of our experience. We follow the age-old adage popularized by the PBS show, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: “When we do something new, let’s talk about what we’ll do.” We talked about what it might be like to ride a hot air balloon. Since we couldn’t truly “practice” riding one beforehand, we focused on imagining the ride. We know that minds have the power to overcome a number of our fears and anxieties. If our child could imagine herself being in the hot air balloon ride and having a good time, then we were one step closer to making that a reality!

In the weeks preceding our hot air balloon ride, we watched videos and vlogs together about what it’s like to go on a hot air balloon ride over Teotihuacan. These videos were really helpful in preparing us for what the ride (including the prep and landing) would ultimately look like. Our kid also had an opportunity to ask us questions or let us know if she no longer felt comfortable about riding the balloon.

Lesson 2

The Hype is Real

We really hyped her up for the hot air balloon experience—we visited Teotihuacan once before and witnessed the hot air balloons from our vantage point on the ground, slowly floating over the pyramids in the early morning while the area was still quiet and cold. She would yell excitedly seeing each balloon with its own unique colors, and we eagerly engaged her with every mention of hot air balloons thereafter!

When the day came to ride our hot air balloon and we arrived at the takeoff site where all the balloons were being prepared for lift-off, our kid could not contain her excitement! She yelled and pointed and ran about, and we kept pumping her up to keep the enthusiasm going! Before we knew it, the flames of excitement would soon die down…

Lesson 3

Let Them Feel Their Feelings

Our kid’s initial excitement soon deflated after we climbed into the hot air balloon basket and took off. The sounds of the burners going off were very loud and scary, even for us adults. For most of the hot air balloon ride, our kid opted to sit at the very bottom of the basket and look out the peep holes that we used as a ladder to climb in. She reported being too scared to stand any higher than that. Even though we checked on her every five minutes or so, she still preferred to stay down below (and even tried to convince the rest of us that it was the best way to experience the ride!).

I could’ve bogged myself down spending time and energy attempting to convince her to leave the comfort of her nest, but most caregivers know that would be a fool’s errand. Logical arguments make no sense to a determined child (or adult, for that matter!). Her feelings were big, her mind was set, and the most we could do was to let her feel those feelings, affirm them, and be there for her when she was ready. And she was ready, eventually!

Lesson 4

Surround Them with People They Trust

The prospect of riding a hot air balloon with her lola and lolo (grandparents) was one of the reasons our kid agreed to the ride in the first place.

“Would you want to ride on a hot air balloon one day?” we asked our kid.

At first she was hesitant, but when we asked if she would want to go with her lola and lolo, her face immediately lit up and she gave us an emphatic, “Yes!”

Not only was it fun to experience our first hot air balloon ride with our extended family, but their presence also helped our child eventually overcome some of her hesitations.

On the actual balloon ride, she was literally surrounded only by people she trusts: her parents, lola, and titos (uncles). It was great to have other voices and family members be there to support our kid when she was feeling nervous or afraid. Plus it meant that each of us could spend some time relaxing and enjoying the view, and not being alone in worrying about her the entire ride.

Lesson 5

Set Your Own Boundaries

On some occasions I have let my kid’s feelings dictate the way I’m feeling, and that almost never turns out well. I’ve learned it’s essential to stay grounded in what I want for myself and be real about how much I’m willing to tolerate. In this case, my ultimate goal was to enjoy the hot air balloon ride, whether or not my child chose to enjoy it, too.

So, as with Lesson 3 above, there’s something liberating about letting everyone feel their feelings. I let go of this notion of needing to control the people around me. I took a breath, set my boundaries, trusted that my kid would come around when she was ready, and took in the hot air balloon experience!

Lesson 6

Don't Blame, Shame, or Criticize

When my kid was ready to come up for fresh air (prompted by her realization that we only had a limited amount of time left on the balloon), I could’ve said, “I told you so!” but what good would that have done either of us?

Instead, I focused on welcoming her with open arms and showing (rather than telling) her the wonders of her decision and the resulting new vantage point. We “oohed” and “aahed” at the open sky, all the other hot air balloons that surrounded us, and the structures below. We had fun pointing to the other balloon designs, including a yellow smiley face (her fave)!

Riding a hot air balloon with my child for the first time was such a unique and beautiful adventure in itself, and combined with the life lessons we were able to practice during our ride, it made for a truly profound experience. I know I will come back to this memory again and again during challenging moments both at home and on our family’s travels together, because at the end of the day I can always step back, take a breath, and be more compassionate, patient, and supportive while my kid is figuring herself out. I trust that we will continue to practice these lessons in different arenas of our lives (particularly during my kid’s teen years…).

Have you had similar learning moments with your child(ren) on your travels? Tell us in the comments below!

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Angelica

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Angelica (she/her) is of Cebuano(Pilipinx)-descent and was born and raised in Huchiun Ohlone territory (the East Bay Area--pay your Shuumi Land Tax!), where she also now resides with her partner and their toddler. She loves to spend her time sipping on boba and dirty chai lattes (sometimes together), and eating pescetarian goodies at BIPOC-owned cafes and restaurants.