Mum who breastfeeds her four-year-old takes kids on non-stop round-the-world trip because they are ‘too clever’ for school
Paul and Caroline King chose 'global unschooling' for their two boys after rejecting 20 schools
WHILE most kids are settling back into school after a long summer break, Winston and Henry King are on a permanent holiday.
Parents Paul and Caroline King have opted to drop out of the education system and take their boys on a round the world trip – because they think they are “too advanced” for school.
Caroline – who still breastfeeds four-year-old Henry – said the couple have opted for a controversial type of education called “global unschooling” after rejecting 20 schools for Winston, six.
She said: “
Caroline added: “We visited around 20 schools. We asked each one what they would do for Winston. We didn’t want our children to be forced to learn things they already knew – or didn’t want to learn.”
“We came to the conclusion that it wasn’t ethical for our children to be forced to go to school when they didn’t want to.”
Instead they sold their £280,000 house and most of their possessions and set off to show their boys the world.
They have now been travelling for 19 months and stayed in 15 countries and they have no plans to stop.
Paul, 39, said: “We’ll never force the boys to go to school or take an exam. We don’t believe in government interference in education.
“It’s too aggressive and not respectful to the child. We don’t raise our voices to the boys, so why should a teacher be allowed to?
So while other kids are studying ancient Egypt, the boys have been to the pyramids. They have seen tropical fish in Bali and the Maldives rather than learning about wildlife in books and have travelled over five continents.
The Kings aim to be “peaceful parents”, meaning the kids are never shouted at – even when they are incredibly naughty.
Last year Henry smashed a £600 laptop in a fit of rage and laughed when he realised it had broken.
But the couple never raise their voices to the boys because they aim to be “peaceful parents”.
Instead, Paul cancelled a train ride he’d booked and tried to explain they’d used the money saved to help replace the laptop.
He said: “We explain things without shouting. They’re young but they understand.”
Caroline added: “Raising our voices could affect them in the future. We don’t want to cause them any stress. I still breastfeed Henry occasionally.
"It’s how I calm him down if he hurts himself. I breastfed Winston until he was four, too.”
Paul , from Cambridge, and Caroline were keen globe-trotters before they had kids.
They met on a hillside in Kashmir in 2003 when they were forced to take shelter from fire in a border skirmish between Indian and Pakistani forces.
They eventually settled in Gothenburg in Caroline’s native Sweden.
But having children, far from encouraging them to settle down, only made their feet itchier.
Caroline and Paul first looked into global unschooling when they realised Winston was bored at his nursery.
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The pair were also unhappy with the limit on the number of days they could take the boys out of school. So they decided to opt out all together.
Caroline, 35, said: “We had a big house but I hated it in the end. Spending lots of time making the house look nice is exhausting. People kept giving us stuff we never used.
“It was nice to sell it all. There’s not a single item I regret getting rid of.”
Since then, they have visited five continents, spending about £3,000 per month and sharing one cramped hotel room. Their first stop was Romania where they spent a week before moving on to Dubai.
Then they visited India, the Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo, Thailand, Laos, the US, Colombia, Spain, Egypt, Italy and the Czech Republic.
Paul’s business, which makes hammocks, is run remotely and pays for their unusual lifestyle.
He added: “We live a much more simple life and we don’t have many possessions. We travel with just one suitcase and we keep some Lego and crayons for the boys in our rucksacks.
“Sometimes, it feels like they aren’t taking anything in. They weren’t bowled over by the pyramids and when we saw a Roman amphitheatre they said it was boring.
“But later, they will talk about what they’ve seen so we know it made an impression. One morning, they woke up and asked to go back to Egypt. Why read about history and cultures in a book when you can experience them first-hand?”
There have been mishaps. In Colombia a huge coconut fell from a tree hitting Henry on the head. Caroline said: “If it had fallen a few centimetres either way, he would have been dead. That left us in a bit of shock.”
But Paul insisted: “There are risks everywhere. The roads in England are terrible.”
They insist their parenting style means both boys are advanced for their ages. Caroline does most of the schooling. “We do projects based on countries we visit.”
Paul added: “Winston is so advanced when it comes to computers he can teach me things. Henry says he wants to learn to read when he is five.”
Paul admits his own experience of conventional education may have coloured his views. He attended a £4,700-a-term school in Huntingdon, Cambs, but had to leave when his parents could no longer afford it.
Paul said: “They told me I had to go a state school but they all seemed rubbish. That’s when I realised I had a massive problem with state schooling. It’s paid for by theft – all tax is theft.”
The couple are spending the summer in Prague but hope to go to Iceland and Australia soon.
And they have no doubts about “global unschooling”.
“Lots of people have told us they’d love to give their children the experiences ours have had,” said Paul. “But we’ve bitten the bullet and actually done it.”
The Kings aren't the only ones shunning school for a global lifestyle.