Raising kids is a hectic job, and just about everyone has a different approach on how to go about doing it. While many choose to raise their kids by easing up on the discipline and spoiling them, others prefer a stricter stance. However, there is one couple who decided to do away with society’s conventional rules, and a chose a more natural way to raise their kids. But although some people may judge them for using such controversial techniques, these parents insist that they’re doing what’s best for their children.The couple from Brighton is blessed with a son and a daughter, who are quite attached to them, especially to their mother. But that’s probably because they are still breast fed, despite the children’s ages.
The couple believes that most major childhood illnesses occur due to emotional distress, and they said, “We think most illnesses are caused by emotional problems so we want to get to the root of that rather than fill the body with medicines that will only serve to make the problem worse.”
A writer by profession, Adele is comfortable with the decision to not send her children to mainstream schools. Talking about her son, she said, “Ulysses is home-schooled, but I haven’t tried to teach him numbers or the alphabet because I believe children naturally start decoding language around seven or eight. I’d much prefer it if he was outside enjoying nature.”
About their “off the grid” parenting, Adele said, “We parent according to what we feel in our hearts. We don’t want our children to be institutionalized.” Adele further added, “Everything is natural. We never wake them up at a set time, we want them to be in tune with their bodies. We have a positive approach to discipline and don’t call them bad or naughty. That is too negative.”
So, she along with her then Yoga teacher, Matt, started looking for alternative ways of living. The couple met in a cocktail bar where Adele worked and later got married on January 2010 in Goa, India in an intimate ceremony.
Talking about their friends and family and their shocking reactions, Adele said, “People we know criticize our parenting style, but it’s only because they have been conditioned to the conventional way of thinking.”
Both of their babies were born at home, and according to Adele, “Matt taught me lots of breathing exercises that helped manage the pain. It’s all about listening to your body, and I knew my body could handle childbirth without medical help.” To increase the family bond, they all sleep in the same room.
As a toddler, Ulysses had minor asthma attacks, which she treated with a mix of steam from the shower and eucalyptus oil. She’s also used her breast milk to treat her children’s eye infections, and lemon juice for their colds.
She points out that, “Ulysses makes friends so easily because he is out and about all day, interacting with people of all ages and not stuck in a classroom. Our lifestyle might seem unusual, but I truly think our children are healthier and happier because of it.”
Defending her daughter, Adele wrote on Facebook, “Well done to Ulysses and Ostara for putting up with the media chaos today… and Ostara did have a nappy on the show, but shock and horror, sometimes they leak!! #herecomethetrolls.”
They are asking people to donate £100,000 for them so that their dream can be realized. If you’d like to adopt the couple’s way of raising their kids, you’re in luck. Adele shares her opinions and thoughts of raising her kids in an unconventional manner on her Facebook page, The Unconventional Parenting.
