Infants and toddlers: the practical brief.

What changes when the youngest is under three

Everything downstream of the booking changes. The accommodation is chosen for its layout rather than its view, because a villa where the pool is a stride from the living room is a different proposition with a toddler. The car changes, because a proper child restraint is not a given here. The day changes, because it now has a nap in the middle of it. And the packing changes, because what you can buy easily in Bangkok is not always what your child will accept. We treat a family with an under three as a different brief and ask a different set of questions before booking.

The reassuring part is that Thailand is a straightforward country in which to have a small child. Thai attitudes to babies and toddlers in public are warm to the point of enthusiasm, staff will hold a door and carry a bag without being asked, restaurants produce high chairs readily, and hotel housekeeping will handle bottle sterilising and laundry volumes that would raise eyebrows elsewhere. What requires planning is supply and safety, not welcome.

The flight, and when to take it

Flying time from the Gulf to Bangkok runs roughly six to seven hours, with Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Kuwait Airways, Gulf Air, Oman Air, Saudia and Thai Airways all serving the route. Six hours is the awkward length: too long to power through, too short for a full night's sleep. Families settle on one of two patterns. The late night departure lands in the morning and buys one broken night in exchange for a usable first day. The mid morning departure arrives in the evening, easier on the parents and harder on the child's bedtime. With more than one small child, most of our clients take the overnight.

Settle the practicalities at ticketing rather than at the gate. Bassinet positions are limited, are assigned by the airline rather than sold, and go early, so request at booking and reconfirm. Infants under two on a lap ticket do not get a seat, and a separate seat with an approved car seat is far more comfortable on a six hour flight if the airline permits it. Pushchairs can usually be taken to the aircraft door and are returned either there or at the carousel, and it is worth knowing which before you land with a sleeping child. Suvarnabhumi is large and the walk to immigration is long.

Gear: bring, buy or rent

The general rule is that Thailand's cities carry good international brands of almost everything, and that the one item your child is attached to may not be among them. Bring what is critical to sleep and safety, and buy the bulky consumables here. Department stores, hypermarkets and the international pharmacy chains stock nappies, wipes, bottles, sterilising tablets, sun hats and feeding equipment in depth. Baby equipment rental services operate in Bangkok, Phuket and Samui and will deliver cots, high chairs, pushchairs, stair gates and pool fencing to a villa for the length of a stay.

• Bring: the child's own sleep aid, comforter, sleeping bag and blackout material, since sleep is the thing most easily broken and hardest to fix
• Bring: an approved car seat if you want certainty about restraint quality, or confirm in writing that the car company will supply one that fits your child's weight
• Bring: enough of the exact formula, milk or food your child currently takes to cover at least the first week
• Buy here: nappies, wipes, bath products, swim nappies, sun hats and most feeding consumables
• Rent here: cot, high chair, stair gate, pool fence, pushchair for a stay longer than a few weeks
• Confirm before arrival: cot type and mattress, bed rails, whether the villa pool can be temporarily fenced

The car seat deserves its own line. Thai law was amended to require child restraints for young children in private vehicles, and enforcement is inconsistent, so the responsibility sits with the family rather than the driver. Airport and metered taxis will not have one. Private car companies and hotel transfer services can supply seats, but only if the request is made in advance with the child's age and weight, and a seat without a proper base or anchorage is not a seat. We specify this in writing on every booking involving a young child.

Formula, milk and baby food

International formula brands are widely available in Bangkok supermarkets and pharmacies, and in the larger stores in Phuket and Samui, but formulations, stage numbering and labelling differ between markets, and a familiar name here may not be the same product your child takes at home. Changing a young infant's formula is a matter for your paediatrician and not for a shop shelf, so bring what your child is on, in quantity, and treat local supply as a backstop. For a two month stay, a shipment through a relative or a courier partway through is common.

Jarred and pouched baby food is available in the international supermarkets and is broad in range. Halal certification appears on packaging where it applies, and for infant products it matters particularly around gelatin and animal-derived ingredients, so read the pack. Bottled water is universal and cheap and is what most visiting families use for preparation. Sterilising equipment can be brought, bought or rented, and housekeeping at the properties our clients use will run a sterilising routine if asked at the start of the stay.

Cots, connecting rooms and the layout question

Hotel cots vary enormously, from a proper wooden cot with a firm mattress to a canvas travel cot with a thin pad, and the difference decides whether anyone sleeps. Ask what the cot actually is, ask for a photograph, and ask early, because a hotel holds a small number and allocates them in order. Connecting rooms must be booked rather than requested: a hotel will note a preference for adjacent rooms and will not guarantee a connecting door unless it is contracted, and the difference matters at two in the morning. Specify the nanny's room placement at the same time.

For villas, layout beats everything. We ask where the pool sits in relation to the living space, whether it can be temporarily fenced, whether bedrooms are on one level or spread across a hillside, whether stairs are open-sided, whether balconies have climbable railings, and whether the kitchen can be gated. Hillside villas with dramatic views frequently have open drops, unlit external stairs and no barriers, and they are the wrong choice with a toddler however well they photograph. A flat, walled, single-level house is worth more than a view for these two years.

Heat, and the very young

Bangkok and Phuket in June to August sit around thirty three degrees with heavy humidity, and infants and toddlers manage heat less efficiently than older children. What we advise is scheduling and nothing else: outdoor time before ten and after four, the car cooled before the family gets in, water and shade, a pushchair covered with a breathable cover rather than a blanket, which traps heat, and the day built around a nap in an air conditioned room. Anything further, including sun protection, hydration for infants, insect repellent, vaccination and any question about a particular child, is for your paediatrician before you travel and a doctor here if your child is unwell.

Paediatric access, as logistics

This is preparation, not advice. Decide before you travel which hospital your family will use, register with its international office in advance, and have the address, department and telephone number written down in the villa and saved in every adult's phone. Bumrungrad International, Bangkok Hospital and Samitivej are the principal private hospitals serving international patients in Bangkok, and Phuket and Samui have private hospitals with their own international desks. Confirm what paediatric cover your insurance provides and whether the hospital bills your insurer directly.

Carry the paperwork a doctor abroad will ask for: vaccination records, a list of current medicines written with generic names as well as brand names, a short written summary of any ongoing condition from your own doctor, and allergy information. Bring prescribed medicines in original labelled packaging with the prescription, and check restrictions before travelling, because some medicines that are ordinary at home are controlled in Thailand. Our guide to children's healthcare logistics covers this in full. The rule underneath it does not move: if a child is unwell, see a doctor.

None of the above is medical guidance. Consult your own paediatrician before travelling about vaccinations, formula, heat, sun protection and any condition your child has, and see a doctor in Thailand if your child is unwell. Confirm rules on bringing prescribed medicines into Thailand with the Thai Food and Drug Administration or the Royal Thai Embassy in your country before you fly, confirm child restraint requirements and the seat that will actually be supplied with your car provider in writing, and confirm cot type, connecting rooms and pool barriers with the property directly.

This briefing is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Thai rules change frequently and individual cases differ. Verify current requirements with the relevant authorities, including the Immigration Bureau, the Board of Investment, the Land Department, the Department of Business Development and the Revenue Department, and take advice on your own facts before acting.