taking a baby to india

Yaatri

Very good advice.
I took my son to India for the first time when he was two months old. At two months the risk is minmal. We stayed in delhi where access to medical facilities was within easy reach. At 11 months, things beging to get more complicated as the crawling/walking expands the danger zone. She will try to put anything and everything in her mouth. So dehydration from tummy ailments is the biggest risk you face. At the age of three my son faced severe dehydration in Delhi, from ingesting, a milk and water drink in a temple. We didn't want to offend the priest by saying "no". He was hospitalised for three days.

In Delhi, mostquiotes were also a problem. I haven't been to Dharamsala in many years, so I am not sure is mosquitoes would be a problem there.

skell

[quote=Yaatri] At the age of three my son faced severe dehydration in Delhi, from ingesting, a milk and water drink in a temple. We didn't want to offend the priest by saying "no". He was hospitalised for three days.
QUOTE]

There is a good lesson here I think.

crvlvr

Steven Ber raises great points, and I agree. But I'll play deveil's advocate..

Will taking a child to India make it more difficult for you? -- Definetly

Is it dangerous for the child - I don't think so. Aren't there children in India? Aren't parent's raising their children in India? Millions and Millions of them? Ofcourse... You probably won't get he same amenities in the US. But the US was like India say a 100 years ago, and kids were raised here too. However, I agree, its good to be prepared for a medical emergency..

As the saying goes, Expect the worst and hope for the best!

mindi

Yes, this post is all about risks. I guess the issue is that you have to decide what will be unacceptable risks for your child, when the upside is your own enjoyment. A really hard one! Parenthood is all about guilt. In your shoes, my biggest (selfish) issue would be this: If anything happens to a child accidentally and unpreventably, parents still blame themselves (worked for a while in a kids' hospital and saw this constantly). How much worse would it be if whatever happened to such a young baby happened because you chose to take a known risk for your own enjoyment? There is no right or wrong to this, just that you have to draw the line for yourself.

Bryan

We have taken our son twice to India
We took him to Goa for 6 weeks when he was 2 1/2 and back to India for 6 months and SEA for 6 months (1 year trip) when he was 4.

All I can say its probably the greatest thing you'll do for your kid other than giving them love affection food and shelter.

As for risks. I beleive they are no greater than back home playing in your back garden
If you get the vaccines you should be OK

In the West we are paranoid about dirt but it's a well known fact that exposure to dirt and germs is the single most important thing in building up a healthy strong immune system in a child. So don't be too afraid

As long as youa re careful with food and water you should be fine
Most restaurants will cater for a child's taste buds ie Rhys was not a big fan of spice and we would get him rice and some veg

we tended to drink bottled water, but did allow him to drink spring water where it was available, notibly Varkala and Bag Su.

We also travelled slow
Remember, a punishing schedule trying to see everything in a short space of time is hard enough for adults and for kids it can turn a fun experience into a nightmare, especially in the hot sun

Try and relax in the hottest hours of the day ...ie stop and have lunch and play games in shade or sleep etc ...You and your kids will appreciate this little adaptation to your day.

Try and stop in places to allow your kid to get some grounding, moving every couple of days doesn't allow the kid to chill and play and becomes a negative experience.

You'll find lots of western and Indian kids to play with and language is rarely a barrier.
Most cities large towns will ahve an attraction for kids, ie play parks etc .
Delhi has an amazing rail museum ...nirvana for any little boy...and to see steam locomotives which were built 5 miles from where we lived back home really was special when I explained his great grandfather probably built some of the nes he was climbing on!!!!

Try and avoid air con
This may sound daft but is probably the best way to acclimatise
if your kid is in and out of hot cold then they'll as well as you will never fully acclimitise.
The trains are a great adventure sit at the door with them let them visit other people in the cariage etc

Try and bring historical sites to life
Do some background history research and bring it to life. All kids love a story of kings queens wars love and loss. it will makie the experience all the more enriching

You'll get a lot of attention ...or should I say your kid will and the staringmay be hard for a kid to undertand...explain the customs and explain its what may be rude back home is not here ...let them exploer the new social norms hahaha

You will get people especially women running at you to touch your kid and msot adults will pinch the cheeks of your kid ...after the 20th time in an hour this can become sore for the kid and stressful for you...Thye only do it from love and is a term of affection meant to show respect ...try and remember this ...In crowded streeets it was much easier to carry teh kid on your shoulders ...forget the push chair it will be less than uselss and buy and wrap around cloth carrier if they are young enough.

Whatever your religion allow your kid to explore the temples. Let them do puja with the sadhus ...It trully is beautiful

let them out of your site when you are ina safe environment ...ie the himalaya and the beaches. Others will keep them safe ...and reciprocate the act

Take board games books and a few toys
It's easy to find English kids books and toys are a plenty...refresh their collection every once in a while and let them give the old ones to street children. It will give them a good lesson in the value of what they have .

Take some antibiotic hand wash with you for your washing hands ...very useful. We also took chewy kids multi vitamins ...Rhys wasn;t ill once in the entire trip so we must have done something right

Teach them some basic Hindi ...Ie to say hello, thnakyou, how much and some numbers they'll soon have better hindi than yourself especially when you stop in one place for a while

I hope this helps, If you wish anymore info or advice please dpn't hesitate to PM me

Rhys still speaks of India and is asking to go back ...

Also take lots and lots of pictures

Bryan

__________________
Then let us pray that come it may
(As come it will for a' that),
That Sense and Worth o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree an a' that.
For a' that, an a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That man to man, the world, o'er
Shall brithers be for a' that.
- Burns

Yaatri

I agree with you entirely. I am sorry, I didn't mean to be alarming. The kind of situation my son got into could easily have been avoided. My intent was to point to the fine line between life and death. My sister in law ho has always lived int he US has had her children hospitalised for severe dehydration. So it's not just India. Bad things happen when we throw caution to the wind.

nliedel

I traveled the world with my family. No, not India, but Brazil, Europe, many Carribbean nations, some poor some less so.. It did "broaden" me and made me a child of the world, not a child of "One Nation". I am bringing my 7 year old to India in December. He is going to be shocked. I think he will make it tho. He is an interesting little person and this will make him more so. We have spoken about the things he will see there but he will not understand until we arrive.

I will never forget the smell of certain countries as I deplaned when I was a child. It has made me a person with a joyous adventurous spirit and I am hoping it will give him this gift as well.

That said, I have taken precautions and we are planning the "All rice and cereal diet" since he is open to new things.. except food.. Drives me bananas.

cp5

I really enjoyed the posts written here and have gotten a lot of useful information. I am planning to travel with my son who will be 16 months old. We are planning to go in Oct. I am worried to death about the car safety issue in India! Does anyone have any suggestions or things they have tried? I have looked at travel vests, inflatable seats, etc. I don't want to carry a seat with me if I can't use it.

Any advice or suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks in advance,

CP

raos

We have been in India since arond when my son turned 2. The only advice I can give is that a car seat will likely be useless. There are plenty of cars with seat belts in the front, but I have been in only one with one in the back (actually the sholder belts are often there, bt nothing to clip into). That said, there is now much more variety in cars in India than there used to be, and it's possible that you may be able to find a taxi provider with cars that have rear seat belts.

TheCrone

India doesn't have all the Health & Safety Regulations that we're all slaves to here in the West, but that's one of the joys of the place as far as I'm concerned.
We took our son to Goa when he was 2 1/2, and apart from getting very red cheeks where people ran up to him and pinched them, with cries of 'Baba', he loved it. He got flu out there, but probably picked it up on the plane out there, but because he was running a temperature we got a Dr. out to be on the safe side. (It cost less than a couple of quid)
We've been back to Goa with him again (he's 9 now) and this time he got chewed by ants, possibly, or maybe bedbugs, while we stayed in a hut at Palolem. He looked like he'd got chicken pox, so once again off to the Dr we went, where anti-histamine tablets were prescribed which soon sorted him out.
I think it's a wonderful experience for a child to see a completely different culture, and I hope that our son has found it an enriching experience too. It was wonderful to see him haggling a price down to a third of the starting price, and everyone we met was brilliant to him, so he made masses of new friends.

I do think that raos should reconsider though. If you're looking for road safety, and are concerned about car seats and so forth, India really isn't the place.........although once you're there you might just fall into the 'what the heck' state of mind.

soulfood

All new cars in India come equipped with seat belts at the back too now. This was made mandatary about two years ago. But as Raos said, these are usually just straps actually [no auto-recoil] though you can adjust the tightness / looseness to your need. So carrying a seat may not be a bad idea.

alabamagoa

Just a note my grandkids were 1 and 2yrs old when they first came to Goa, beach every day nearly, both were covered in the highest factor you can get and had those sunscreen suits and hats, which surprisingly they kept on!! only in the late afternoon did the suits come off more factor was applied and just had pants on, as a Dr had advised us not to let them go naked because they could pick up something through their private bits!!! 8 weeks later no problems what so ever !!!!

himadventures

Steven !

Do not know what to write here-you compiled very very well and I think NO FURTHER DIMENSION can be added to your post. WONDERFUL !!

PortieOwner

My son went at age 11 months with no problems apart from jet lag. By the time he got used to the time chance it was time to go home. He had a car seat along and a stroller. I suspect the biggest single danger comes from riding in a car. They stayed with the grandparents. He was breast-feeding and that is important. I would worry about malarial mosquitos, and make sure you have access to good, clean water.

Travelling with a small child is better--it is a culture which is protective of mothers with young children.

Portie

alabamagoa

depending on which part of india your travelling to/ around bottled water is nearly always available, just bear in mind that at the moment there appears to be alot of measles in Goa, suggest you get baby MMR vacc, they will do it earlier if you ask friend of mine had her soon vaccinated at 11months before coming here. and bring supply of calpol!!!!just in case otherwise no probems!!