India with 2.1 year old - any tips gratefully received

[tattyteddy]

Hello

I'm going to India for a relatives wedding in a couple of weeks for 1 week. I'm thinking I should take some basic food for DD like pasta. Also it will be a long flight so what I'm after is suggestions for different foods I could take and how to entertain her on the plane. If you have any other advice I would appreciate that too. Many thanks in advance xx

Yes, there is a chance of serious illness. There is a chance of getting knocked over by a bus if you venture out of the house in the morning. You have to weigh up the risk against how important it is for you to take her with you. For us, it was a no brainer. Half of dd's family are there, and she'd never see them if we didn't take her.

The risks are massively reduced if you take appropriate precautions. Neither dd nor I have ever been ill, and there is no reason to assume that this will happen. And fwiw, if anything did happen, there are some excellent private hospitals in India - DH had to be admitted for emergency surgery once, and I was very pleasantly surprised. And I hasten to add, he'd have needed the surgery wherever we were, it was nothing to do with being in India.:)

Just seen that you're going in a couple of weeks, which means that it will be quite hot. That does increase the risks somewhat, but I guess it still depends on where you're going. Mosquitos are likely to be an issue, and this would be a concern. You'll need to cover dd's arms and legs, sleep under nets etc. We always avoid mozzie season ourselves...

We are veggie so it isn't an issue, but I'd avoid eating any meat if I were you too. There's always more than enough veggie food available.

She will love it, others will love to see a toddler there, I am a strong believer in showing children different ways of living, to expose them to different cultures. I took mine when they were this age, it'll be such an adventure for you all.

We are going to the Punjab in the North West. I don't think we'll be doing much traveling but really good advice about not putting seat belt around the both of you. We get there on the Saturday and my sister's wedding is on Sunday and we travel back on the Friday so quite a short space of time. The only place I think we'll visit is the Golden Temple at Amritsar.

I've been to India but my DD and strawberry blonde DH hasn't so I think we'll be staying in the shade a lot .

She has had all her vaccinations and her 2nd MMR early. I think I may buy cartons of juice etc from the airport before we go.

Defintely packing calpol/baby nurofen and getting travel medical cover.

I am nervous but quite excited too. xx

also never ever drink tap water ( i am sure you wouldnt anyway) enjoy your time :)

Also bottled water for cleaning teeth. :)

Where in the Punjab are you going OP (apart from Amritsar)? If it's a big city like Chandigarh, you should be able to buy cartons of juice etc quite easily when you're there.

Golden Temple is lovely. :)

We are going to be near the town of Phagwara. You're right I'm sure I'll be able to buy cartons of juice x

I took a carseat with me and did quite a few internal flights. Had no problems whatsoever. It might be worth buying a cheaper carseat and taking it with you. Also don't bother with a buggy. The pavements are not designed for buggys.

We are going on Friday and will be back on the following Friday. The last time I went was 10 years ago and had a great time visiting the Taj Mahal etc. a lot of my mum's family are in India and they will love to meet DD.

Last time I went we used those plug I'm mosquito repellents, they seemed to work really well. The Travel vaccination nurse also told us to use mosquito repellent cream on DD which we will do.

Sorry to be reviving this thread. Just wondered his you got on?

We are going to mohali (near Chandigarh ) with our 3yr old and 6yr old.

Any tips???