Parents say they've 'unschooled' their children and refuse to teach them to read and write
Parents Adele and Matt have taken an unorthodox approach to parenting as they've said they would rather 'unschool' their children and don't believe in healthcare or education.
There's no fixed schedule for learning, bedtimes or meal times, which the Bristol-based parents believe gives their children greater autonomy and a stronger sense of identity as they're not spending all their time doing things other people tell them to do.
The couple have three children, 12-year-old Ulysses, eight-year-old Ostara and young Kai is four, and nobody tells them they have to read or write anything as they're allowed to choose what they want to learn.
Adele, a stay-at-home mum, said they 'unschool their kids' and wait for their children to show an interest in something before delving deeper into the subject with them.
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She explained that she and her husband felt this parenting style was a 'natural progression' after adopting a 'natural living' style together.
The 39-year-old said they 'don't use the education system' and there are other parts of life that many other Brits rely on which they don't.
She said: "We got into natural living before we had our kids, so it just became a natural progression that continued and began to affect all of our decisions after I fell pregnant.
"I didn't have any medicalised births, and we started doing things alternatively and out of this system, but they just didn't make sense to us.
"We didn't do vaccinations for our kids, which people say is cruel of us, and we don't use the healthcare system. Instead, we use natural and herbal remedies.
"We believe in child autonomy and enabling kids to take governance of their life, make their own choices, and decide what goes on in their life rather than dictating to them."
The mum was keen to stress that this approach 'doesn't mean no guidance' but believed it was more about 'involving them in the decisions'.
She said they follow their kids' passions and 'what makes them happy', like with their eight-year-old daughter Ostara who got a sewing machine and lessons after showing an interest in it, with Adele saying 'we'll take that as far as she wants to take it'.
Their eldest child Ulysses prefers animals so they 'take him on trips to sea life centres and animal parks', and Adele said that he learned to read and write when he was 10 as he 'just picked up pen and paper and taught himself'.
"We're always monitoring the kids, their emotions and how they're feeling. We aren't just sending them off to school for teachers to deal with," she said.
"We have to respond and adapt accordingly to how they're engaging. We are taking full responsibility for their development.
"People also think we are also being cruel to the kids because we don't use the healthcare system or believe in vaccinations. It really riles them up. However, we just focus on natural remedies, and grow our own herbs so the kids are involved in that too."
Joe Harker