Camper Trailer Australia - April 2018

yes, at her age she was likely to learn more on

the road with us than she could hope to achieve

through formal learning.

SoIhavetosaythatIwasprettysurprised

at how few other parents seemed to be doing

the same thing. Time after time, we arrived at a

campsite to find our daughter was the only kid

around. Mostly our fellow travellers were grey

nomads, ‘doing the lap’. Sometimes a few kids

would appear on a weekend. But, regrettably,

the majority of them would disappear inside

their vans at the first opportunity to mess

around with their devices or watch DVDs.

And this was a real pity for our daughter.

Because there’s one thing she misses when

we’re travelling. And it isn’t technology. It’s

other kids. As an only child, a long day on the

road with nothing but parents for company is

enoughtotestthepatienceofanangel.

But occasionally she was lucky. Now and

againwe’drolluptoaremotecampsiteonan

evening to find another rig already set-up, with

kid’s bikes scattered around, footballs, and two

ormoreyoungkidsracingaroundenjoying

everything the outdoors had to offer. And when

we settled down for a quenching ale with the

SHE'LL BE RIGHT

The three Rs

The ultimate classroom

parents at the end of the day, we found that

virtually all of these families were on trips that

were taking their kids out of formal schooling

formonthsatatime.Somewereenrolledin

school of the air which, from all accounts, is

no second cousin to institutionalised learning

these days. Others were being home schooled.

But all of them had a level of energy, and

socialisation skills that left little doubt that their

parents were doing the right thing. Seeing

thesekidsgavemesomerealoptimismthatthe

new generation doesn’t have to be condemned

to a life indoors bathed in the blue light of an

electronic device.

Don’tgetmewrong.I’mnotsuggestingwe

allripourkidsoutofschool,hitchourwagons

andheadforthehills.Nodoubttherearerisks

in breaking a kid’s continuity with peer groups.

And institutional-based schooling offers a level

of stability that can make a lot of sense.

I just wonder whether there’s an opportunity

being missed, by a whole generation of kids, to

get out into the great outdoors, to get grubby,

and to see what life has to offer when we get

back to basics.CTA

Now, I’m no child development

specialist. But I'm pretty sure it

was the formative experiences

of my childhood that helped

make me who I am today.

FORTUNATELY,formetheseweregood

experiences and involved some extended

periods away from school accompanying my

parents. Luckily enough, part of my dad’s

professional experience involved working at

overseas institutions. The family followed him

and so – between the ages of three and 14 -

for periods of up to six months I didn’t attend

school. Well, not formally anyway. Instead, I

did some home-schooling, and beyond that,

had a series of travel experiences that I reckon

set me up for life. I saw places, met people and

lived in cultures that most of my friends had

only read about in books. And I developed a

strong family bond based on the unique shared

experiences.

So, when we took our six year old daughter

out of school recently for five weeks to trek

6,000 kilometres across the country in our rig,

I didn’t think twice. I knew that, at her age,

the experience would likely leave an indelible

impression in her developing mind. After all,

even today, I can still bring forward my own

six year old memories of living in Canada. My

assurance that the trip was a good idea was

reinforced when her teacher confirmed that,

Words and Pics KATH HEIMAN

KEEPING IT REAL