After breakfast the kids would fill their napkins with bread from the breakfast buffet and feed the many carp ponds around the resort with Lola. O knew exactly whom he liked to feed best and after giving a few crumbs to the what we called the “teens” (read: smaller), he’d toddle away shouting “big ones!! big ones!!” to the pond with the biggest carp, who reminded us very much of pirhanas, being able to polish of an entire loaf in seconds.

Just so you dont think we wiled away our holiday without letting the children experience the Thai culture, let me assure you that we also visited the mummified monk and the Wats around it, where N lit incense and shook the fortune sticks. We also stopped off at the Big Buddha, where large mermaid statues jutted from the sea, and both kids were fascinated at the top of the shrine where we had to walk around the area, ring the large bells in line with the Buddhist tradition.

We also made it to Samui’s national park, where the daring N went on elephant safari with her daddy, riding on its head, and later riding a baby one bareback at the elephant show. O was a little less daring, saing “no, no no” matter-of-factly when I asked him if he wanted to ride the elephant as well.

N made great friends with some expat kids who came to the hotel one afternoon, spent hours on the beach, got 2 tattoos (temporary of course!) and was saying “Kap Kun Ka” like a native! O had his first experience using water wings and was in total ecstasy feeling independent in the water for the first time ever. It was wonderful for both the Grandparents and the kids to spend quality time together, and my husband and I got to sneak off on several occassions to sample some of the great restaurants on the island.

Tanned and happy, it was a wonderful holiday, not without its hitches, but with kids, it was a good as it gets!

[tags]Thailand, Koh Samui, Travel with Kids[/tags]

We arrived Koh Samui and were happily greeted by Lola and Poppa Joe (my Mother and step-dad who had moved to the island last April). My four-year old N was thrilled (as she adores her Grandma) as was the little O, who unfortunately by now had a fever which spiked to a ghastly 39 degrees.

We checked into the Banana Fan Sea Resort in Chaweng beach, which was the main beach and tourist area of the island, which suited us well, as it was also the most child-friendly. Our “hut” for the next two weeks was wonderful, right on the beach with our own little terrace, and a tiny garden enclosed by a wooden gate - perfect for deterring my darlings from running straight to the beach. Aside from a pool area which stocked a good supply of water games equipment, and a little tykes playground on the beach, the hotel had a kids menu, crayons, and fantastic themed buffets nightly where the kids ate free. Add a very reasonable and friendly baby-sitting service and we were set up. It was perfect!!

As luck would have it, we had also arrived right on time for Loy Krathong, one of the biggest and most beautiful festivals in Thailand. On this night of the full moon, pretty little rafts made from banana tree trunks are filled with flowers, candles, incense and banana leaves are set afloat in rivers all over the country. There are contests and fireworks and
in our case, after a traditional show , we all set the rafts afloat in the hotel pool, which you can imagine, thrilled the children to no end. My girl N was actually the last person on the poolside, arranging the floats that had drifted to the edge of the pool and pushing them away again.

The days that preceeded were lazy and in true holiday-mode, except for my little boy’s awful cold, that is. After a few days of a seemingly relentless fever, Lola and I took him to the impressive Bangkok Hospital, where a very good doctor said that his cold had progressed to an ear infection and ordered him to take some antibiotics. Barely two days later O was back to his normal self, and our remaining days at the Banana Hotel (as N called it) were filled with swimming, eating roasted corn and mangoes from the vendor on the beach and when it rained, shopping at Tescos for toys and art supplies, and eating at Svensens ice cream.

[tags]Thailand, holiday, Loy Krathong, Travel with Kids[/tags]

After my last post and my recent uncomfortable experience, I thought it would be useful to know HOW to talk to young kids about divorce. Whether its you and your husband going through one, family members, friends or a movie or tv show, here are some useful tips I found to explain the rather serious matter to little ones:

1. Keep it short and simple - lengthy elaborations can be lost on tots, instead say something like: “A divorce is when two people who are married stop being married. They do this because they aren’t happy living together anymore.”

2. Honesty counts - If the divorce is yours, make sure you tell your child why (”we were fighting too much/making each other sad”) AND always say that it ISNT their fault and thet you’ll both always love them.

3. Talk about it - You need to help the child understand what is going on and dispel as much fears as you can from them by continuing to talk and answer questions when they ask.

4. No blaming - If its happening to you, dont make it seem like your partner was the baddie (even if he was - well, to a point.). Same goes for friends, family and so on. Negative comments can do damage to a child, if that child has a relationship with the person in question.

No, thankfully not mine, but when it happens to people close to you. My daughter sees it on television and I’ve explained it in concept - “when mommies and daddies can’t get along… are fighting too much, and wont live together anymore…” etc etc..

But what I find harder is when a new person comes into the scene. Later today, my Mother is coming to visit us with her new “friend”. In her 50’s, she’s decided to leave her husband of 15 years (my stepdad, whose also been married 3 times before), because she says that for the first time ever, this new guy is making her feel things she never felt before.

Without wanting to be the judgemental, moralistic daughter (okay, so I am a bit), I cant help but feel VERY uncomfortable about the whole affair. Things arent really tied up with my Stepdad yet, and yet here comes my children’s Grandmother, passing by for coffee en route to the resort down the road where they’ll be spending the weekend - like its the most normal thing in the world!

I tried to explain to my daughter who this person her Grandma was coming with - a friend who was a doctor and that they were going to the resort to meditate and do yoga (something my Mother is passionate about and her ex-to-be wasnt, but this guy is - get it now?). She took it with a grain of salt, but I do wonder what will go through her 4-year old- mind when they arrive later.