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Original poster

Brazil with a one-year-old... am I going to regret this? Advice please...

39 replies

justaphase · 29/09/2006 10:34

Hi everyone. I am new to this so hopefully I have posted in the right place and everything?.

Need some help, please.

We are going on a two week holiday to Brazil, to an island called Morro de Sao Paolo in Bahia, near Salvador. Fantastic!!!!! Except we have a one year old boy who I really want to take with us.
Since we told people we were going we have been subjected to constant pressure from parents and in-laws alike who insist that we leave the baby here. We have been told Brazil has the worst poisonous insects, all sorts of diseases, bacteria, nasty water. He will get a shock from the climate change, malaria, dengue fever, hepatitis, be bitten by a snake and god know what else. Plus it is too long a flight to take a baby on.

As a result of all this I am quite scared now. I really want to take him with us, we both work FT and if we don't see him during holiday, when?....

Has anybody been to Brazil (or elsewhere in LatAm) with a baby? Am I going to regret this? Any advice appreciated please?.

OP posts:
PcCOD · 29/09/2006 10:36

why are oyu going hteret hen?
laeva it for another year imo

PcCOD · 29/09/2006 10:38

SURELY part of being a family is that you plan holidays that you on the whole can all go on toegethr?

SargentMajorBeetroot · 29/09/2006 10:42

Have yo looked into all the things you have been told? I have no idea what Brazil is like.

If you are worried then go somewhere else

nailpolish · 29/09/2006 10:42

Brazil isnt going anywhere, why the rush to go this year? leave it til ds is a bit older

CountessDracula · 29/09/2006 10:43

This site says risk of malaria low, plus if you are on an island I should think you're ok but babies can't have anti moz spray with deet in it which is the best preventative. You should use a net at night I would think.

Of course he won't get bitten by a snake, you don't see him wrestling with adders here do you?

Climate change, well it's been pretty hot here this year, he will be fine (or not if he hates heat)

Re water he can just have bottled and you can take water purifier tabs

You aren't staying in a tent presumably but a hotel

My biggest concern would be not being able to access adequate medical care should he get really ill. If you do go take a comprehensive medical kit with needles, drips etc.

CountessDracula · 29/09/2006 10:44

am very btw

mustrunmore · 29/09/2006 10:45

I adore Brazil. Last time I went was vefore I had the boys, but I'd take them there without hesitation. i'd be staying with Brazilians though, so I suppose i'd feel safe knowing they could help out with any probs. But I guess if you're with a good hol company you're ok too.
I'd say travel now, as it'll only get harder to entertain on flights as he gets older.Are you going direct to Brazil?
Bahia is beautiful.
Boiled or bottled water. Sensible sun and insect precautions.
I'd say go for it. I cant wait to be able to take the boys!

mustrunmore · 29/09/2006 10:46

If you need any specific advice, you can CAT me and I can ask my friends!

normalflora · 29/09/2006 10:49

Take him with you!

Salvador and the surrounding area are beautiful and child-friendly (though be sensible - the area is also very poor, so don't walk around looking like a tourist).

I went to Brazil with my 2 (5 and 3) without my dp, and had no hassles, the kids did not get bitten, did not get ill, etc. The only shock was the change in temp....take some diaroltye (sp?) or similar and monitor his coolness for the first few days.

If you are flying at night check with your airline that you can get a bulkhead seat and that they will provide a cot.

(When my dd was 18 months we did long haul and found that giving her a bottle as the plane takes off and lands helped with the ear-pop thing.)

TBH this will be more of a holiday for you and your dh, so if you don't think you will get there again then maybe it would be nice for your LO to remember the trip and you could maybe postpone it till he is older?

HTH

CountessDracula · 29/09/2006 10:50

where are you staying?

(could I just say that it is also VERY nice having child free breaks... maybe 2 weeks a bit ott though)

PcCOD · 29/09/2006 10:52

i dont set he point on draggin a kdi to bbrazil
whats the point?

nailpolish · 29/09/2006 10:55

when i was on holiday (before dd's) in the Caribbean we met a british couple with a one year old

poor thing cried all the time with the heat. they spent 90% of their time in their hotel room

then the baby ended up with measles in the last week

they really regretted going so far from home

Zofloyya · 29/09/2006 11:00

I took my dd to Brazil when she was nearly 2, and we had a fantastic time. We didn't have any problems, and I don't see why you should either. It's an incredibly child-friendly culture, and you're planning to go to an area that's well set up for affluent travellers. All that stuff about nasty water is ignorant, frankly.

It was great for my dd to be exposed to such a rich and diverse culture, and she still has memories of it. She also got all the usual holiday fun that toddlers like, with stunning beaches, lovely warm sea etc. I thought it was a fabulous way of getting a holiday which was both child-friendly and interesting for the grown-ups.

I really don't understand why people who evidently know nothing about Brazil think it's their place to just come on this thread and tell you not to go there. Have a wonderful time!

CountessDracula · 29/09/2006 11:04

well said Zoffloyya

doggiesayswoof · 29/09/2006 11:08

Go and take him with you! As others have said use sensible precautions e.g. keeping him cool, taking good medical kit and finding out in advance what to do if any of you needs medical help - chances are you won't need it anyway.

Dea Birkett who is a travel journalist has written about taking her family to Brazil when her twins were babies. She has a 'travelling with kids' forum on her website where you could ask for advice too.

I would imagine others are being negative because (a) they are a bit jealous and (b) they have no experience of the place themselves.

nailpolish · 29/09/2006 11:09

zofloyya, thats great you had a wonderful holiday, but we all have different experiences

i had to chuckle at your phrase 'affluent travellers' though

and thats unusual for a child to have memories of a holiday she had before she was 2 years old, she is very lucky

nailpolish · 29/09/2006 11:11

i am not being negative because i am a) jealous or b) inexperienced

i am not being negative, just practical, but obviously my experiences are different from yours

Zofloyya · 29/09/2006 11:12

I wasn't thinking of you nailpolish, your post wasn't up when I composed mine

Original poster
justaphase · 29/09/2006 11:12

Thank you very much everybody for the advice and reassurance. Seems to me that people who have been there think it is OK, that's goood enough for me.

In reply to people's questions:
We are staying at a 4-star resort, not a tent.
We are travelling independently.
The point of dragging a 0ne-year -old to Brazil is for him to be with his parents for a change, he spends 10 hours a day with his nanny normally. We could of course do Cornwall but it just won't be the same in November .

OP posts:
doggiesayswoof · 29/09/2006 11:15

nailpolish, no need to be so defensive. I didn't say you were being negative. And when I said 'others' I was not talking about others on the thread. I had only read OP and was referring to those in RL who had been negative. In other words I was merely replying to justaphase! Let's not fight

doggiesayswoof · 29/09/2006 11:17

Meant to add justaphase if the pressure is coming from your ds's grandparents they are prob just concerned and trying to be protective.

Zofloyya · 29/09/2006 11:18

oops sorry nailpolish, I thought you were responding to me and got a bit overdefensive! yes, I am obviously just reporting my experience, but hearing other parents' experiences has been very helpful to me in making decisions about this kind of thing.

And yes my dd has always had a phenomenal memory - it's scary, you daren't make rash promises because they will be remembered and brought up MUCH later...

CountessDracula · 29/09/2006 11:19

My dd still remembers a holiday we had before she was 2 (not the whole thing obv but certain bits)

Sari · 29/09/2006 11:23

We travel to Latin America every year (not Brasil but to a part of Argentina that is extremely hot and humid, mosquito-infested etc) and have done the trip with babies ranging in age from 8 weeks upwards. We go to our own house and stay for over a month nowadays as it is more restful but in the past we have been for shorter times and stayed in different places with little children.

The main things that occur to me are:

  • mosquito bites can be a problem if your baby reacts badly to them. You can get very effective citronella based repellent which should mean he isn't bitten and you can stretch a mosquito net over a travel cot at night. But it has been quite upsetting to see ds2 covered in huge great weals. The othe two don't seem to be affected so badly.
  • the plane journey shouldn't be a problem in itself. The only thing we find is that we are inevitably exhausted by the time we go on holiday, the children have colds etc so it does take a couple of days to get over the trip.
  • Water shouldn't be a problem - you don't have to drink it from the tap if it's not safe.
  • children don't really seem to notice the heat, I don't think. You can have long siestas in the afternoon anyway and stay out of the sun.

Frankly I don't see why it should be any different from going anywhere else hot with a one year old. If you want to go somewhere hot for two weeks as a family, then Brasil would probably be loads of fun. However, I've come to the conclusion that holidays are pretty hard work anyway until they get to two, but for me that would be the case whether it was Brasil or Majorca. We only go to Argentina because of family, otherwise we'd probably be at home!

Belo · 29/09/2006 11:25

Go for it! My parents had 3 months travelling 'roudn Brazil last year (they're pension went a lot further over there than it would have done here and it saved them a fortune on heating bills). The whole time they were there they kept emailing us to say what a fantastic time and that we really should try and get flights over and join them. At the time dd2 was only 5 months. I've got a stereotypical jewish mother who panics over the smallest thing. I'm sure she wouldn't have suggested we came if she thought that either of her granddaughters would have been in any danger.

You shouldn't give up living your live just because you've got kids. Happy parents = happy kids. Well, that's my theory.

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