Things changed a lot post 9/11 and the silver haired worldly wise image of a Captain.
The difference back then was the crew mixed more freely with the passengers
It was normal once in the cruise to invite families and kids up front and for the Captain to often go back and chat with his customers a bit like a chef visiting the restaurant to put a face behind the cooking.
Now crews are faceless to the passengers with the crews locked away, rarely flying together and not often seen so from the passengers perspective the fact they have a Kid flying doesn't show and I talk of Kid as a perception not ability )