Comments on: When Travelling Kids Hit Their Teens

By: Theodora

Theodora — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 02:52:58 +0000

In reply to Kay Taylor. Thanks, Kay! I love him dearly. But, of course, he's entering the stage where he's growing away from me, which is healthy...

By: Kay Taylor

Kay Taylor — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 22:19:00 +0000

You are so amazingly talented. This post made me cry… Not so much because of any extreme feelings or emotions that normally make us cry, as because of its utterly everyday truth about small and big sacrifices we make to keep our families together and to make sure our kids are happy…I think, you are way more mother to your son than you realize.

By: Selma

Selma — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 01:30:43 +0000

Tough call … I think it would be a good thing to slow down for a year or two and see where your son is at after that time. Everybody gets travel fatigue after a while, kids/teens included.

By: Theodora

Theodora — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 05:59:57 +0000

In reply to Lily Lau. Yes, indeed. And - children change! More so, and faster, than adults do. I feel very privileged to have had the experiences we have had together, in all honesty. And I think Zac feels privileged for it too.

By: Lily Lau

Lily Lau — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:35:31 +0000

Now that I read this I remind back in the day when I used to travel with my parents and I was more or less Zac’s age…and all I wanted is to travel everyday, to move from home! Sadly we always want what we don’t have and the other does…

By: Theodora

Theodora — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 06:45:01 +0000

In reply to Jenn.

Hello – and welcome back! I’d suspect the girlfriend would be at the heart of it — so what a dilemma for you all. Ours is slightly easier, as we were always going to settle at some point, which didn’t make the actual act of it any more fun. How does he feel about school? Is he anti-school? Or would he like formal qualifications etc.? That’s another factor that becomes increasingly important as children grow…

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 13:21:20 +0000

I’ve bee reading you blog for a few years but just had a baby in April and stopped reading blogs all together for the past few months. I was shocked to come back and find you are settling for the time being. I also have a 14 year old (and 11 year old) and he did show signs of wanting to settle. (We’ve been traveling by rv for 3 years in the US and Canada.) After spending the past year getting used to the idea of settling he suddenly wants to stay on the road and gets annoyed at me when I talk of settling. It may have something to do with his girlfriend who also lives on the road with her family. 🙂 I’m just terribly torn. As you know we just want what’s best for our kids but to be honest I just don’t know. Anyway best wishes on this new adventure. I look forward to watching it unfold.

By: Theodora

Theodora — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 07:27:55 +0000

In reply to Heather.

Thank you for mentioning that movie, Heather – I’d never heard of it, and just looked it up. It does sound as though several of the kids carry a degree of anger about the absence of schooling, which is a surprising choice for a medical doctor. Zac’s always been fairly clear that he wants school and university, and I think both are really important today – although, of course, if he has something else he wants to pursue when he’s 18, I’ll support that.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 21:05:36 +0000

I am a casual reader of your blog and trying to pick up ideas for when my son is a little older (he is three now). Your travels are very inspiring. In regards to the question of schooling, I think it’s great that you are both thinking of the future. It made me think of the movie “Surfwise” about a family that took their large group of kids on the road in an RV for their entire childhood/teen years and the kids were not schooled at all. One of the adult kids was very sad that because he wanted to be a doctor but had never completed any significant schooling so the idea of going back and finishing high school, then college, then med school while already in his 30s was daunting, if not impossible(?). Allowing kids to finish the basic levels of official schooling gives them a launch pad for whatever they want to do in the future, whether it’s a doctor, human right lawyer, nomad, writer, etc.

By: Theodora

Theodora — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 02:12:57 +0000

In reply to Barbara.

Ahahahahaha – yes, VN is definitely on the cards. BUT your own visas are on the exxy side, so I want to make it longer than a visa run, which will require a pause and some planning…