A couple have divided opinions after choosing to take their baby on holiday, but leave their toddler at home.
Georgia and Chris Brown, both 30, booked a four-day trip for three to Morocco.
Four-month-old, Harry, went with his parents while George, two, stayed at home with his gran.
READ MORE: Inside the super yacht where the 1% live a life of luxury – and now YOU can too
- Advertisement -
The pair say they wanted “one-on-one time” with Harry that wouldn’t be possible with a toddler in tow.
Business consultant, Georgia, and sales executive, Chris, took George to Sorrento, Italy, when he was a baby.
They said they wanted Harry to have a similar holiday where he could be the centre of attention.
“We wanted to have that one-on-one time with Harry,” Georgia, of southeast London, told What’s the Jam.
“George’s first holiday was all about him and we wanted that experience with Harry.
- Advertisement -
“When you have a toddler it’s a very different experience because you’re always looking out for them.
“He’s running wild and his brother sits in the back seat a lot of the time.
“Harry follows on George’s routine and his life very much resolves around what his brother’s doing.
- Advertisement -
“For example, I may have to wake Harry up from a nap to take George on a play date.”
Chris bought the holiday as a surprise for Georgia’s birthday.
Georgia was surprised when she saw that only one child had been booked for the holiday.
Georgia said: “Dads can struggle to bond at the beginning.
“He’s the default parent to George because I’m breastfeeding Harry.
“Chris doesn’t get to spend that much time with Harry because he’s back at work so it gave him that time as well.
“It was a surprise that George wasn’t coming and when he gave me the ticket and I saw one child, I thought ‘Where’s the other one?’
“But I understood and thought it was quite sweet when he explained.
“George is a very loved baby so I never thought it would hurt him or he wouldn’t have a great time with his gran.”
Georgia shared a clip of her on holiday with Chris and Harry on TikTok and was bombarded with comments branding her a “bad parent”.
She said: “It’s crazy, I didn’t expect it to get the reaction it did.
“So many people have said we’re bad parents, we shouldn’t be parents and shouldn’t have had a second child.
“People were saying ‘that poor boy’ and that he’ll grow up and never speak to me again.
“They said he’d tell the story in counselling.
“I was wondering if I was a bad parent but I’m absolutely not and I’m not going to listen to these people who think it’s ok to put other people down.
“Other people said we can’t handle the toddler but we can because we have a toddler and do handle him.
“A lot of mums were commenting.
“Mums know this is the hardest job in the world so the fact there’s so many women putting me down because they don’t agree with it is crazy.
“People are saying it’ll really impact him and he’ll remember.
“The boy cant remember what he had for dinner.
“He’s independent and never been a clingy baby.
“We FaceTimed him every day.
“He wasn’t crying asking where I was, he was telling us what he’d been doing.
“I can’t let it get to me because these people don’t know me and are just online bullies”
Trolls also accused the couple of choosing to take one child on holiday because they couldn’t afford to take both which Georgia denies.
She said: “About 100 people said ‘Just admit that you couldn’t afford to take both’.
“I don’t need to justify myself to them but that’s not the case.
“Some people said that they would love to do it but they can only afford one holiday a year so they take all the children.”
Georgia says that despite the online abuse, she doesn’t regret her decision.
The North African holiday was back in March and the family have been on holiday as a four twice since to Germany and Ireland.
She added: “I’m so glad we did it. It was lovely.
“I genuinely don’t care about all the hate I’ve got because we had an amazing time.
“People said the baby will never remember but me and Chris will remember.
“My mum and sister took care of George at ours so he wasn’t disrupted and he had a great time.
“He went to the zoo, and went to his cousins to make pizza.
“He had an amazing time and it was amazing that my mum was able to spend time with George.”
Cruel trolls have bombarded Georgia and Chris with abuse for not including George.
Others have been more supportive.
One said: “Forgetting what ‘family’ means.
“Sh*t parenting, supposed to be a unit.”
Vick added: “Surely this would make the older sibling feel even more left out no?
“They’re adjusting to having a new baby in the house and you leave them at home.”
A third viewer said: “There’s nothing wrong with what you’ve done if you’ve left them with loving family members.
“I’m sorry people are just hating because they clearly don’t understand how hard it is and you are entitled to a holiday.”
Mollie said: “Oh no, a mum spending quality time with her other child — call the authorities.
“Her eldest isn’t abandoned, he’s just secure enough not to fall apart when mum takes a break.
“Some of you could take notes.”
Another viewer said: “Someone wanted a holiday without a toddler running about.”
Sarah added: “All mine have been with us on their own.
“We all go together too. Balance of both is ok too.”
Kate added: “Just turned two, so my guess is you have to pay for a two year old now.
“Two-year-olds are feral, especially on a flight.
“You wanted a couples holiday and justified it by bringing the least problematic and cheapest child.”
Yet one said: “As a second child, this makes my inner child happy.
“I always see people thinking about the first child but we seconds do need some alone time with our parents as well.”
Another said: “To be honest, after having kids I totally understand to give the same respect to all children considering all other holidays will be family holidays, I think this is pretty thoughtful.”
Molly McCarthy added: “I don’t see what everyone’s issue is.
“I’ve got two kids 22 months apart.
“I always take them out or away separately.
“They get quality time with me and the other gets quality time with other family.”
READ MORE: Tourists lounge in bed on side of cliff in bizarre attraction
