Adventurous parents thought outside the box when making sure their baby could experience the joy of travel with them.
Norwegian couple Tora, 32, and Marcus, 31, have traveled around the world together for years, creating content on their epic adventures – and now continue to do so with their young child.
The couple are now parents to a 10-month-old baby boy but his arrival has not stopped their adventures – even putting him in a box for an epic cave tour in Thailand.
In a recent clip posted to their TikTok, the duo shared the innovative way they got past the issue of their baby not being able to swim.
In the clip shared online, the mom showed the baby in a plastic box, with what appears to be Marcus and a tour guide ushering the container along the water before carrying it to the shore.
Tora explained the only way to get to the Emerald Cave, a sea cave in Thailand that leads to a hidden lagoon and beach, was to swim – which obviously their baby couldn’t do.
‘So our Thai guide suggested we put our baby in a box,’ she wrote in text overlay. ‘Worth it.’
The clip then cut to Tora on the beach, holding her son.
‘Our guide had done this many times before, and it felt completely safe (although I was a bit scared before we started, I must admit,’ she captioned the post.
Tora told Newsweek the guide had told her putting a baby in a plastic tub was ‘normal,’ and he’d done it ‘hundreds of times before.’
‘As first-time parents, we are often on the most cautious side of the spectrum, but as we have traveled to non-Western countries, we have learned that if you want to bring your kids along, that sometimes means doing things a bit outside your comfort zone,’ she explained to the publication.
Users were divided over the unusual method of transportation, some praising the parents for trusting the guide and finding a way to enjoy the time with their baby.
‘Very creative way to let your baby enjoy the moment,’ one user shared.
‘This is really the best idea,’ gushed another.
Others slammed the parents for being unsafe.
‘Where is the babies life jacket? Seriously guys come on. That is ridiculous,’ raged one user.
‘Someone truly should call CPS,’ declared another.
‘Just curious though you have a life vest on but baby doesn’t?’ someone asked.
‘It seems kinda unsafe to do it? Box can easily tip over and baby has no floater,’ pointed out another worried user.
Tora responded tp the criticism, acknowledging the reactions are reasonably divided.
‘On one one side, you find the people who are inspired by the fact that we bring our baby along on adventures,’ she said.
‘These people found the story very funny and quite adorable, and they salute the tour guide for the creativity,’ she shared.
‘On the other hand, you find the people who think we are irresponsible for not putting a safety jacket on our baby, and for even taking him on a boat ride or even to Thailand altogether,’ she shared.
‘I’ve been doing this for multiple years now, and the criticism doesn’t get to me anymore,’ she added. ‘Especially when I have assessed my choices to be in line with my values.’
