Hello everybody, we need a quick bit of advice. My wife and I are planning our third trip to Thailand for next july. WE would like to make travelduo into traveltrio and bring my son who will be 9 and a half at the time.

The problem is my ex. She says that he is too young to go, and that she has heard all these terrible things about Thailand.

The main reason we want to bring Parker is to visit the boy who we sponsor thru Compassion International, who lives north of CM. Parker and Sathit have been writing back and forth to each other for 3 years, and Sathit asks every month if Parker is coming to come visit him and eat jack jan(locust).

Anyway, I was just looking to see if anyone out there had any helpful comments that I could use to help argue my case for going. I am not sure any will help, since she thinks that by not letting him go she is hurting me, when she is actually only hurting Parker and having him miss out on an opportunity that he will remember for a very long time!

Thanks in advance, Jeffre

tell her you have given parker a choice: a trip to the tatoo parlor or a trip to thailand.....

no, i guess that would not work...

how about having him beg her to go??
explaining all about the other kid...
tell her about your thai church experiences...

sign a paper binding you to bring him back at the end of the vacation, if that is her problem....

pray for divine intervention

Bob, he already has his tattoo picked out for Blake to do when he turns 18!

He tried talking to her himself about it, but gave up because"she is just mean"

She took him on a cruise when he was 4 years old, and I asked her what she would of done if I told her he was too young for that. I said the same thing could happen to him on some island than could happen in Thailand!

I think I would find out specifically what her concerns are then tackle them. We are taking a 4 year old and a 10 month old next year - and will be joining plenty of other families with young children and plenty the age of your son. I wouldn't ever take them on a cruise though - hotbeds of food poisoning in my experience!! Too many buffets, which we always avoid in thailand.

Medical - fantastic hospitals/facilities and staff. Disease - get the vaccinations, take the precautions - but we have never had any real problems other than perhaps a bit of tummy upset (from too much chili). I don't really know what else she could be worrying about - it is otherwise a safe stable place to visit.

BB

I have been to thailand so many times without ANY problems of any kind. The food is fab and has NEVER made me sick.
I now have a 4 year old son and he has been to thailand at least 3 times. Admittedly he got stung by a jelly fish last time but the local put some crushed green leaves and I gave him some panadol and he was fine.
Good luck.

We just returned from Thailand with our kids 9 and 11 and they loved it(even though it was their 2nd trip)and as you know it is perfectly safe. So there is no doubt your son will love it and his pen pal will be thrilled to meet him.

You definitely have a dilema about getting permission to bring him. Does he have a passport yet, because both my husband and I had to go in person to apply for our kids. I believe the reason is to prevent one parent from leaving the country without the other's permission.

You might not like this idea, but what about inviting your ex to go to Thailand with you and your family? She may accept and then your son will be able to go, or she may refuse, but then she shouldn't refuse your son because you gave her a reasonable alternative.