Do you come from an unconventional background?

[Azzie]

At the weekend while walking in the Peak District we came across a group of New Age types living in the woods, including some who had quite young children. Dh and I were wondering what impact an unusual childhood like this has on people at school (not easy to invite your friends home for tea to a bender in the woods, I suspect), and whether when children from unconventional backgrounds grow up they hold on to their parent's beliefs or go to the extreme opposite? Anyone got any experience of an unusual upbringing?

Rozzy, what you are doing sounds wonderful to me, taking off with your children to other countries etc but I have a couple of questions, what do you do job wise, do you and/or your dh have jobs which just allow you to take off for 10 weeks? How do you fund it, do you work while you are away or are you able to just holiday it?

I would love to do this sort of thing but dh doesn't get nearly enough holiday and wouldn't be allowed to take it all together anyway and we couldn't possibly afford to have a 10 week holiday - can't even afford a weekend at the mo!

My upbringing would not be considered unusual today probably.My dad died when I was 6 and my sister was 8. My mum was 32! We spent 6 years as a wholly female household which has served to make us very close. When I was 11, I started being bullied my one of my close friends and her new gang. After several months of braving it out alone i eventually told my mum and she raced round to my "friend's " house to discuss the situation with her parents. She discovered that they were going through a messy seperation hence the anger and aggresive behaviour of the daughter.To cut a long story short my mum and my friend's dad got married two years later and we all moved in together my sister and I, my friend and her two older brothers seven in all. They are still married 23 years later and despite many rows ( I was the youngest when we moved in together at 13yrs and there was one school year between each of us). Can you imagine 5 teenagers in the same house.Surprisingly the result of this is that despite not being married, I have quite traditional views on family life and feel that the role of the father is greatly undervalued in today's society. I had a very happy childhood especially the years before my mum remarried and never felt the loss of a father, yet I am determined to make my relationship with my partner worl at all costs because I can't bear the thougt of my two boys not having a two parent family. Odd isn't it?

To revive the earlier part of this thread - Rozzy your childhood experiences sound absolutely FANTASTIC and I am well jealous, having been brought up by stiflingly strict religious parents in a mindnumbingly dull london suburb and then spent much of my extremely extended adolescence in a druggy/alcoholic stupor, wondering how to escape. I wonder what kind of mother/person you are now or anyone else who lived "unconventionally." I also wonder if anyone has managed to make the leap - ie brought up in a very conventional family and now choosing to live in yurt, backwoodsman's house, etc. I saw grand designs last night and it was about a man who worked in a forest in sussex and built his own house out of the timber found in the forest according to a medieval design, he solar and wind powered it, built a stunning clay fireplace, he was basically totally self sufficient as he grew all his own fruit and vegetables, everything came from the forest and went back into it. It was absolutely incredible to see the faith and determination he had in his project, and the house was stunningly beautiful, and now he can live in total harmony with nature. Really inspiring. Anyone else done that??? or similar??? or wants to?

To revive the earlier part of this thread - Rozzy your childhood experiences sound absolutely FANTASTIC and I am well jealous, having been brought up by stiflingly strict religious parents in a mindnumbingly dull london suburb and then spent much of my extremely extended adolescence in a druggy/alcoholic stupor, wondering how to escape. I wonder what kind of mother/person you are now or anyone else who lived "unconventionally." I also wonder if anyone has managed to make the leap - ie brought up in a very conventional family and now choosing to live in yurt, backwoodsman's house, etc. I saw grand designs last night and it was about a man who worked in a forest in sussex and built his own house out of the timber found in the forest according to a medieval design, he solar and wind powered it, built a stunning clay fireplace, he was basically totally self sufficient as he grew all his own fruit and vegetables, everything came from the forest and went back into it. It was absolutely incredible to see the faith and determination he had in his project, and the house was stunningly beautiful, and now he can live in total harmony with nature. Really inspiring. Anyone else done that??? or similar??? or wants to?

Louche I did see that programme but thought that the fact that he lived in a caravan for 10 years awaiting planning permission showed a kind of dedication that not many would aspire to!

I saw this, thought it was amazing. Certainly better than that horrid wooden box the other week. Cost them nearly £300,000.00 and only had 2, pretty smallish, bedrooms!!!!!

Did you hear he has to bulldoze it when he eventually moves out?
That was one of the stipulations of the planning consent. Kevin McLeod was on Richard and Judy earlier last night when he said this, although I am not sure it was mentioned on Grand Designs.
Is that not the most ridiculous piece of nonsense you have ever heard?

I was just about to go in search of this thread. As I just mentioned on the Australia thread, I spent the day yesterday with my friend who has just got back from living out in Oz for a year.

I guess it got me thinking about what I might have done had I not had children when I did. And it occurred to me - what's to stop me doing it now? Not Australia obviously, but I could pack in my flat, buy a camper van and travel round the country for a few months. (I do need to pass my driving test first but that's a minor point...)

My kids are 4 1/2 and 2 but I'm planning to HE anyway so that's not really an issue. Anyone have any experience/ideas/thoughts/advice???

anais, go for it. It'll only get harder as they get older, more settled with friends etc.

That house was soooo beautiful. And yes, he can't sell it. If he sells the land and moves on the house has to come down - although how any one could enforce the destruction of something that beautiful beggars belief.

Philliapat, the only other person I've mentioned it to so far (other than Mumsnet!) is my own mum, who was characteristically (sp?) negative about the idea ("well it's your life I suppose...", so that kind of encouragement is exactly what I need, thanks