I've taken my kids on early morning flights at all ages. Honestly, it's never been a problem. They were remarkably good! My kids, btw, are pretty high-energy but the excitement of the trip balanced out the inconvenience of getting up at ung-dly hours.

In most cases, we didn't have the luxury of picking the times. Charters, low-cost and connections often rule the roost. But ITA about not taking an early flight to "maximize" the time at the destination. More valid reasons include to pre-tweak jet lag, avoid traffic or to save major bucks!

We've also both stayed at the airport as well as left for home. Mine usually knocked out on the drive when we were far from the airport. There's a low-cost company operating about an hour and a half away and we left the house at 3am. By the time we got to Basel, they were awake for the trip.

Staying at the airport worked well too. Once, we got a great deal on parking, by staying in the hotel just one night.

I do recommend packing the overnight bag separately. At the hotel, put the main suitcase(s) in a corner.

We've done this when the airport was over a 2 hour drive from home.