Taking 1 year out to travel the world

[halfandhalfagain]

Are there any grown up children out there who had been taken out of school to travel the world with their parents?
How has this experience shaped you?
Was it positive or negative?
Would you choose to do the same if you have the opportunity?
I’ve read so many blogs written by parents who have done the above with almost all saying it’s been a wonderful and enriching experience for the kids as well as for themselves. However I do wonder what it was like for the kids and the long term impact.

I think there is a book by a girl who travelled with her family and sailed around the world. She hated it.

A 1 year old will barely remember it. Will just stick to you so you can travel if you like it. But it might be hard work.

An older child (age 5+) needs stable education and friends their own age which they can't get when travelling.

I think you’ve misread the title…. I think op means taking one year as in 12 months out of school to travel the world. She hasn’t mentioned age of DC(s). At least that’s the way I interpreted the title!!

DH and I made the decision that sabbaticals involving being away as a family should stop after pre school age. Those were work sabbaticals, I wouldn’t even consider just traveling as there would be a pension hit. The main thing regarding schooling is not being able to get back into primary school of choice. The other thing to remember that any traveling is essentially for you not for your child as they won’t remember much about it.

Hi .. I’m a father to two kids ages 9,10 and it’s something my wife and I would like to do. It’s easy to justify it by saying it’s a great learning experience for the kids, but as@Yikesthathurt replied, they may hate it. I read the book Yikes was referring to and it was a 10 year nightmare for the child. She was living her dad’s dream of sailing around the world and her mum was extremely mean to her.
I would feel more confident if our kids were younger. The 11plus syllabus is easy enough to administer and friendships are still fluid.
It’s a shame we don’t hear more from adults who have had this experience. I’m guessing it’s relatively novel and the generation of child travelers are growing up. We have yet to hear their side of the story.
Or maybe it’s just not that big a deal. It’s just a patch on the tapestry that is their life.

I think the biggest issue may be school places on your return

Until DDs were 8&10, we moved around a lot due to DHs job. They lived in three countries.

By the time they wete that age... they just wanted one base. We settled in time for Secondary school applications for DD1.

It was brilliant when they were younger though.

My best friend at 9 did it for 10 months. She's still my friend now (we are 48) and she doesn't have amazing memories. She remembers missing her bedroom and her grandparents and was behind in school when she returned.

We travel a lot with our children; not a year off for work and school reasons; but various holidays throughout the year. DD1 sometimes complains of too many holidays; she quite enjoys a quiet time chilling at home. DD2 liked it.

DH was taken out school for a year when he was 11; to travel around Europe from Australia; he always remembers that trip very fondly, an amazing adventure, he always talks about it. His youngest siblings don’t remember much, they did it in a small campervan. They went back from America to Australia in a big ship/cruise and he remembers the adventure and free food on the ship for a few weeks,

DH likes exploring. Learning about other cultures, history, exploring new places. I don’t think it was entirely down to that trip but his childhood in the scouts and also personality

I met a girl at uni who did that, sailed the world with her parents and sister for a year. I spent a couple of days with the whole family. They were American and spent the year home schooling on the boat in the different countries. They did have a good experience, obviously with its challenges and then had to reintegrate to high school. They didn't write a book.

We went to live abroad for a while when I was young. We did go to school for some of the time, but also spent a lot of the time out of school.
It was in the 70s when 11+ was still a routine thing for everyone and I had some catching up to do when we got home to make sure I passed it and went to grammar school.

Would your secondary applications be missed due to not being in the country at the relevant time?

And you'd be offrolled from their current provision.

Could you bear to wait 10 years and just the two of you go when the DC are off at uni?

I would try 2 months first. 3weeks plus six weeks holidays, before I pull them out of school completely.