No car...how should I transport my child...?

[claffey]

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Wow.

I get the impression you are a farang woman married to a Thai man? Or your husband has family here in Thailand? Either way, you're in trouble.

To be perfectly honest, living with an infant in Bangkok is a nightmare for several reasons, safety for your child being the major problem.

Air pollution is not as bad as it was 15 years ago, but still a major issue for an infant with sensitive lungs. I wouldn't bring out an infant in open air the first 3-4 months, and when I did it would be on early sunday mornings.

Traffic (as you know) is mad and walking down a street with a buggy soon turns into an obstacle course lined with motorcyclists using the sidewalks as a shortcut.

A MASSIVE problem is crossing a street. Many drivers dont respect traffic lights, effectively putting you and the baby's life at risk every time you cross the street. Footbridges are almost impossible to cross for a mom with a baby in a buggy. Do you expect to carry the buggy in one hand and balance the baby in the other?

The alternative is to accept the risk associated with air pollution, dangerous traffic and lack of baby seats in taxis driven by people with limited training and no understanding of safety. Or you could do what the Thais do; give diddly and accept that you and your child can get mauled by a car when you drive home in your Honda Wave 125 "SUV" - transforming you and the baby into a roadside Big Mac.

My best advice to anyone who considers raising a child in Thailand without having the financial means to provide the safety required is to leave and raise the baby elsewhere. And that is my advice in this case.

Go home.

Yes, my husband is Thai.

Hah. Well, not going home....so that's not an option. Air pollution is not only in BKK...besides, we're not living in BKK the first couple months of the child's life and my question wasn't about air pollution...

I'm not buying a stroller/pram. I don't feel I need one because Thai sidewalks are well...sometimes non existent. I will be using a baby sling/carrier. What about all the families who live in BKK?? They live normal lives and let's face it--everytime we walk out the door there's a chance you could get hit by a car, etc (and this goes for not only in BKK).

That's wonderful that maybe you have the money to take your child around in a car and somehow magically avoid all the danger that everyone here faces everyday just because you have the "financial means to do so." Reality is not always like that...in any country for that matter.

Great reply!! I've met many expats here who always say if they got 'pregnant' they'd get the first flight home. Ridiculous. Life is a game of chance. If Thailand was so dangerous to live in why is there 60 million Thai people?? We spent the first year of our son's life in Bangkok and moved home to Ireland and UK for the past three years. My son was happy in Ireland but the jobs market was not good. We moved to England a year ago and my son's quality of life has gone downhill here. English kids are kept at home by their parents so he has no friends outside of nursery. We're moving back to Bangkok in a few months and we're never leaving again. Thailand has some issues, just like every country, but for us, the positives outweigh the bad. Rearing your child in Thailand will be much more interesting and beneficial for your child especially if they are of mixed descent. Good luck and don't listen to any negativity on this forum...

[Forethat]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Wow.

I get the impression you are a farang woman married to a Thai man? Or your husband has family here in Thailand? Either way, you're in trouble.

To be perfectly honest, living with an infant in Bangkok is a nightmare for several reasons, safety for your child being the major problem.

Air pollution is not as bad as it was 15 years ago, but still a major issue for an infant with sensitive lungs. I wouldn't bring out an infant in open air the first 3-4 months, and when I did it would be on early sunday mornings.

Traffic (as you know) is mad and walking down a street with a buggy soon turns into an obstacle course lined with motorcyclists using the sidewalks as a shortcut.

A MASSIVE problem is crossing a street. Many drivers dont respect traffic lights, effectively putting you and the baby's life at risk every time you cross the street. Footbridges are almost impossible to cross for a mom with a baby in a buggy. Do you expect to carry the buggy in one hand and balance the baby in the other?

The alternative is to accept the risk associated with air pollution, dangerous traffic and lack of baby seats in taxis driven by people with limited training and no understanding of safety. Or you could do what the Thais do; give diddly and accept that you and your child can get mauled by a car when you drive home in your Honda Wave 125 "SUV" - transforming you and the baby into a roadside Big Mac.

My best advice to anyone who considers raising a child in Thailand without having the financial means to provide the safety required is to leave and raise the baby elsewhere. And that is my advice in this case.

Go home.

Yes, my husband is Thai.

Hah. Well, not going home....so that's not an option. Air pollution is not only in BKK...besides, we're not living in BKK the first couple months of the child's life and my question wasn't about air pollution...

I'm not buying a stroller/pram. I don't feel I need one because Thai sidewalks are well...sometimes non existent. I will be using a baby sling/carrier. What about all the families who live in BKK?? They live normal lives and let's face it--everytime we walk out the door there's a chance you could get hit by a car, etc (and this goes for not only in BKK).

That's wonderful that maybe you have the money to take your child around in a car and somehow magically avoid all the danger that everyone here faces everyday just because you have the "financial means to do so." Reality is not always like that...in any country for that matter.

Great reply!! I've met many expats here who always say if they got 'pregnant' they'd get the first flight home. Ridiculous. Life is a game of chance. If Thailand was so dangerous to live in why is there 60 million Thai people?? We spent the first year of our son's life in Bangkok and moved home to Ireland and UK for the past three years. My son was happy in Ireland but the jobs market was not good. We moved to England a year ago and my son's quality of life has gone downhill here. English kids are kept at home by their parents so he has no friends outside of nursery. We're moving back to Bangkok in a few months and we're never leaving again. Thailand has some issues, just like every country, but for us, the positives outweigh the bad. Rearing your child in Thailand will be much more interesting and beneficial for your child especially if they are of mixed descent. Good luck and don't listen to any negativity on this forum...

Lovely.

However, I cant see how any of this relates to the topic ...

So how do you suggest OP should transport her child?

[David48]

This is how we transport the boys

Well, around the Farm usually

.

[EyesWideOpen]

I have driven my daughter around on a motorcycle since virtually the day she was born.

I am an expert rider, having been on a bike for the last 20 years, so that probably makes

me a safer rider...... The only downside is that if a Thai guy in a car causes an accident

and hurts my child, it will not go well for him.....

[harrry]

This is how we transport the boys

Well, around the Farm usually

.

A sugarbag over the trailer handle on the motorcycle seat hols it well. (You should have a mountain dew bottle in that picture instead of the one you have and you could have put the photo in that forum

[David48]

^^ Actually, that is just used as a hand cart ... though I know exactly what you mean.

If we go and visit the Relatives, internal connecting roads, all the relatives are our neighbours,

we go like this ...

[FritsSikkink]

This is how we transport the boys

Well, around the Farm usually

.

Would give them a bit better protection from the sun

[David48]

^^ Looking at the shadows, that photo would have been taken sometime around 5pm, maybe an hour before sunset.

The boys do need a bit of sun as they are indoors all day.

But I do appreciate the concern.