Mum Billie Van Der Walt and her husband Selwyn have given up their home in Manchester to see the world with their two young sons, Bligh, four, and two-year-old Rothko
A mum has ditched life in the UK to “give her boys the world” instead of sticking them in a classroom.
Last year, Billie Van Der Walt and her husband Selwyn, 35, gave up their home to hit the road with their two sons, Bligh, four, and Rothko, two.
The couple, who hail from Atherton, Greater Manchester, are currently in Vietnam – and have already made trips to Abu Dhabi, South Korea and Thailand.
It has meant that there were no ‘back to school’ photos from Billie and Selwyn; instead the proud mum took a snap of her little lad Bligh casually posing in his sunglasses with a huge travelling backpack.
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Billie, 36, said: “There’s a little bit of guilt at him not having the milestone of the ‘picture in uniform behind the door’ and occasionally we worry that he’s missing out but we know we’re doing the right thing – giving him the world!
“Bligh is actually a year or two ahead of where a school would expect him to be – which is amazing for us because all of the learning we do is child-led.
“We’ve [also] saved hundreds on uniform, equipment etc – that’s a couple of weeks’ living costs here in Vietnam! We get to spend time together, not worrying about all the stresses of back to school.”
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Taking to social media to share the reality behind her decision, the mum wrote: “Sad isn’t the right word, but I’m definitely in my feels today.
“We know we made the right decision and we’re SO lucky to be living this life… BUT there’s a small part of me that’s missed getting him his own little uniform, packing him a lunch he’ll love and giving him the biggest squeezes at the school gates.
“We know he’d smash it but he’s doing SO well and as someone pointed out to us last week, we LITERALLY are giving our boys the world, still, today’s a difficult one.”
Billie continued: “Sending so much love to everyone waving their whole hearts away this morning as they trot through the school gates and I can’t WAIT to see all of their beautiful first day of school pics all over my feed in a couple of hours time.”
According to Billie and Selwyn, before they left Manchester they were often struggling to pay bills and found it hard to fit “precious family time” into one weekend. And while they were happy and coping, they lived “paycheque-to-paycheque” and relied on credit cards for unexpected expenses.
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Selwyn worked long hours at a kitchen showroom while Billie stayed at home with the boys. Meanwhile, expensive nursery fees and the idea of being fined for taking their children out of school were all factors that pushed them to think differently.
Billie said: “In terms of the kids’ education, there are a few ways to describe it, but we definitely fall under worldschooling and unschooling.
“Unschooling sometimes gets a bad rap – people think it means doing nothing. But really, it’s just learning through life.”
The mum-of-two describes their approach to learning as a mix of museum visits and local experiences. While some days involve reading and workbooks, others are more spontaneous – like stopping to learn how sewer pipes are repaired or talking about history while visiting a landmark.
She said: “People have said, ‘You’re being selfish, the kids won’t even remember it,’ or ‘You’re ruining their education and future.’
“To the ones who say they won’t remember it, we always reply, ‘They won’t remember their first birthdays or Christmases either – but those moments still matter. These experiences are shaping who they are.
“I was truly happy before but now it’s as if my soul feels a little lighter. I didn’t even realise how much the weather in the UK affected my mood until we left and had more sunshine.”
The family say they have no plans to return to their old lives in the UK but hope to eventually settle somewhere with more sunshine and a slower pace. In the meantime, they have their next destination decided – China.