Well, our DS is almost 4 and we still haven't taken him. For us, the biggest issue is the 8 or so hours cooped up on the plane. He is so active, I just know he won't find it enjoyable (and nor will we). Also, it might sound selfish but when we go on holiday, that's the only chance we get for 'us' time - to have a toddler along would mean we would miss out on a lot of the things we like to do as a couple (believe me, when you have kids, you stop being a couple and are just Mummy and Daddy 99% of the time). I may well get flamed for this but, each to their own and we would far rather take Daniel when we know he is old enough to a) behave b) stay up a bit later and c) appreciate it more
When you have children of your own, only you will be able to tell when they (and you) are ready. For us, it's just not the right time to be thinking about taking Daniel - to give you an example, he is in bed and fast asleep every night by 6.30 and sleeps 13 hours. Whilst he may be able to cope with staying up a bit later on holiday, it wouldn't be long before it would take its toll - and we don't want to either subject him to being tired and grizzly or ourselves to having to 'retire' at 7 every evening. Purely personal choice.
Having said all that (and I did go on a bit, sorry
), I am starting to think that I would like to take Daniel next year - purely because I feel he is very quickly getting to an age where, if we wait much longer, it may not be as magical for him. I certainly won't consider taking him, though, if he's still going to bed at 6.30