Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Taking your baby on holiday aged 1 year.

50 replies

Writerwannabe83 · 13/08/2014 20:05

Me and DH are currently mid mini-argument about going on holiday next year. He wants to go abroad just after DS's first birthday. He wants to go 'cheap and cheerful' but I can't think of anything worse with a one year old. He's looking at hotels and trying to talk me into going to the ones with poor reviews because 'it may be cheap but at least it's a holiday...' These hotels have tiny pools, small rooms and the food isn't catered towards English people - just what I want with a 1 year old.

He has the image of sitting at the bar with the baby next to him, sleeping in his pushchair till gone midnight every night and I just frowned when he told me.

He said he can't wait to take him in the sea!! I don't even go in the sea myself because of how dirty it is, I think I'd have a heart attack if DS was in there at such a young age

Am I just being precious???

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

SmallBee · 13/08/2014 20:11

Personally I wouldn't, a lot of people say it's easy but I don't see how it is a holiday when you're making sure you've got their food/packed toys/covered them in sunscreen etc. it's not like you can relax on the beach & read all day, at that age it's constant vigilance & entertaining.
IF I could be convinced I'd insist on somewhere with more than 1 room so my DD had somewhere else to sleep. She wouldn't sleep in the pram & I don't want to have to sit in my room in the dark after 7:30 every night.
We are taking our DD to a self catering break in Cornwall as our 'sunny' holiday this year as a compromise between a Mediterranean destination & no holiday at all.
I just don't see how it's a holiday.

lotsofcheese · 13/08/2014 20:17

We avoided going abroad this year, with DD (14mo) Can't think of anything worse than a holiday in the sun, having to put sun cream on a young baby all day. And if they are crawling/newly walking (all the tiled/marble floors abroad) all the worse!

We stuck to UK self-catering. Far better option....

ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged · 13/08/2014 20:24

We hired a campervan and went to the Gower when lo was one. It was perfect. I can't imagine enjoying a foreign holiday at that age - mostly because of the heat and the practicalities of lugging so much 'stuff ' around like you have to with a little one.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General parenting

melissa83 · 13/08/2014 20:28

We did with ours. Our dds are always in the sea and think its weird they wouldnt be? Rest of time they sit in buggy whilst we sunbathe, or go in pool with us or play with toys and potter round the sunloungers. We get them both to nap in afternoon so we can stay up for the entertainment late

theuncivilservant79 · 13/08/2014 20:29

We took dd1 at 14 months to Sharm el sheik. It was an all inclusive type thing. It was brilliant and dd1 loved it. It was easy because it was full board. Not sure id do it on the cheap.

Otoh I took dd1 and dd2 last year (they were 3 and 8 months) on caravan park breaks out of the paper and we had a great time too. That was on my own too

Preciousbane · 13/08/2014 20:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Griffomais · 13/08/2014 20:30

We took our DD to Majorca in May she was 6 months old at the time. It was fantastic - she loved it and so did my husband and I. Best thing we could have done - we are going again next month. We kept to her normal routine and stayed in an apartment within a hotel and went All Inclusive - lots for DD to eat.

GingerDoodle · 13/08/2014 20:42

We took our DD, aged 9 months to disneyland Paris - perfect age as she was bum shuffling but still happy to sit in her buggy / sling for long periods of time. I think it really depends on the child - once they are walking and active its more tricky; ours didn't walk till 14 months so 1 would have been fine.

ZenNudist · 13/08/2014 20:50

You sound a but precious tbh. Though I wouldn't do hotel. Go sc. Better value for money and you can put baby down to sleep whilst you watch tv/ read next door.

I did take ds out in eve. You might as well whilst you've got one portable child if they sleep.

We took ds at various times in the first year:

5m (Italian hotel, city break no problem)
9m (Majorca villa with private pool he was just pulling himself up and easily containable, slept lots it was great) and
1yo (Portugal villa with shared pool - not so good as he was up & about so baby proofing was an issue but holiday would have been fine if dh hadn't been ill so couldn't help out and beds were really uncomfy )

LittleLionMansMummy · 13/08/2014 21:17

First took ds when he was 9mo and have gone to France every year since he was born. Lovely memories, which far outweigh the more testing times. I wouldn't go for a cheap and cheerful hotel though. You can find some reasonably priced apartments and go self catering. Being a child is all about the sea and building sandcastles so I do think it's a bit odd that you're not willing to let your ds make up his own mind about the sea. He'll come into contact with far dirtier things in his lifetime!

PenguinsHatchedAnEgg · 13/08/2014 22:07

I think you are being a bit odd about the sea!

I do think though that what you need from a holiday depends on what type of sleeper you have. We never had the type of baby (either of them) who would fall asleep in a buggy and stay asleep. So the twice we have been away we've gone to an apartment so that we can put them to bed and then still have an evening. A bit difficult to do if you are all in one hotel room with no other space.

Also, if your baby regularly wakes up for the day at 6am, or isn't sleeping well, sitting in the bar until midnight might lose its allure .

Not sure what the issue with food is going to be assuming you are thinking of Europe somewhere?

PuggyMum · 13/08/2014 22:14

I've taken dd to gran canaria at 6 months. I insisted on all inclusive and a heated pool.

I went to Majorca at 8 months with my friend for 4 days. Half board. Heated pool.

We're going to Tenerife in 4 weeks. She'll be one while we're away. Self catering but with a lidl on doorstep. Heated pool.

I'm getting more comfortable as you can see but I won't compromise on a heated pool while she's so young. I won't keep her out late. Any late drinking will be on the balcony.

A grassy area was also on the list as she's on the move!

tobysmum77 · 14/08/2014 08:11

I think that cheap and cheerful is a mistake. As you don't have to go in school holidays chose somewhere decent. September is good for little ones because the sun isn't as strong by then in a lot of places. Buy a baby wetsuit to keep lo warm in the pool (cuts down on suncream also).

museumum · 14/08/2014 08:20

My 1 yr old won't sit in the buggy unless he's asleep due to wanting to crawl around or practice standing and won't sleep in the same room as us at night. So we need an apartment or a caravan with bedrooms. I would go abroad but only if I knew we had a contained area he can safely crawl.

MissRainbowBrite · 14/08/2014 08:22

We took DD to Majorca when she was 16 months and it was great. Went all inclusive in a resort we'd been to before so we knew what to expect. She was quite happy to toddle about or go in the pushchair, she loved the pool and also had a blow up boat filled with water next to the sun loungers so she could still play in that in the shade while we got some sun. She still slept twice a day and loved having a mix of food from the buffet. In the evenings she watched the entertainment and played on the childrens playground (entertainment stage was outside) then crashed out in her pushchair. She hated the sand though so didn't get to do much paddling in the sea.
All in all would highly recommend going with a LO that age.

QTPie · 14/08/2014 08:24

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Only1scoop · 14/08/2014 08:26

I'm with you on the cheap and cheerful accommodation part. Just no....you need somewhere with great reviews written by families....

I'm not one for baby being pushed around in buggy in the bar asleep either....remember dd on holiday in Majorca....still asleep as usual at 7 and us playing scrabble on the balcony

But baby in the sea....yes you are being a little precious there Writer

Princesspond · 14/08/2014 08:30

To be honest I regret not going abroad when my dd was a baby. I love travelling and visiting new places and dd was def a well behaved sleep in the buggy variety. We did go to Majorca when dd was almost 3 and ds was 1. Went to a Thomson family resort as I felt a bit anxious doing one of our usual DIY hols. It was great v family friendly and the staff were all brilliant. Once they were a bit older (5 & 3) I felt fine about doing more cheap and cheerful hols. But out of school hols you can get great deals anyway, you'll regret not taking advantage of that later!

hedgehogy · 14/08/2014 08:31

We've just been on holiday with our 14 month old and had a great time! I was worried beforehand but we all enjoyed it, and we managed to have a relaxing time!

We stayed in a villa, so we could still enjoy the evening once we had put DD to bed (I'm not sure what people do in hotels?). We were worried about the hard floors but DD was fine on them.

We used once a day sunscreen which worked brilliantly.

I was worried about how DD would be on the plane but she loved it when she was awake (she slept for most of the flights!).

It was an expensive holiday, but luckily we don't have to pay!

hedgehogy · 14/08/2014 08:32

Didn't, rather.

weebarra · 14/08/2014 08:32

I've taken all three of mine on holiday at about that age, but self catering, not a hotel.
It's completely different to child free holidays but still enjoyable, and yes they all went in the sea. However, having read your threads about how little your DH pulls his weight, you might find that s/c is the usual drudge, just warmer. Division of labour is something you'd have to discuss before you went!

mumaa · 14/08/2014 08:34

We are yet to take our DD abroad, now 24 months as neither my DH or I view it as being a holiday just yet, but that's just us.

We spent 2 nights in a hotel when she was 13 months, she wanted to walk everywhere. We went for a meal in restaurant, took her for a walk in buggy thinking she would drop off to sleep, no, too much excitement being somewhere new and in the restaurant of course didn't want to sit in buggy. She then got really tired and crabby so went back to room and bed for everyone as we were all in together so was lights out for all just after 9pm.

We also took her to visit family (UK domestic flight) for 5 days when she was around 18 months. We had lengthy flight delays due to problem with aircraft and it not being a frequent route meant we had to wait several hours for next flight, wasn't much fun. Although we were staying in a rented house when we visited family which meant we could put her to bed in room, and stay up ourselves to socialise she was up most of the night every night we were away, again, I think excitement of being somewhere new & getting lots of attention from family.

We came back feeling we needed a holiday and we didn't have extreme heat, danger of swimming pools, etc. to deal with, hence why going abroad isn't hugely appealing. Neither trip was disastrous, but neither felt like a break.

mrsmugoo · 14/08/2014 08:35

We've just taken 5 month old DS to a festival for the weekend and we're doing a week in a villa in Spain in October - we'll definitely be doing as many family holidays and trips as we can. The villa was cheap as chips and very homely, much nicer than a 2 star package holiday hotel. Temperature is much lower in October too.

Flexibilityisquay · 14/08/2014 08:39

We took DS away when he was about that time and enjoyed it, although it was hard work. If you won't enjoy it though, then it's not a good idea. Your DP sounds a bit unrealistic in his expectations and might get a nasty shock when he can't go out drinking til midnight as you have a tired baby. I do think you are being a little odd about the sea though, unless it is particularly dirty where you are planning on going.

EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 14/08/2014 08:42

Yes you are being precious. Why wouldn't you want your baby in the sea? And of course one year olds are portable. Her routines will be thrown out but that's fine. Saying that, if you're uptight about it you won't have fun so probably no point going. It's a shame you can't relax and enjoy it though.

Flip

1 2