News
Greg Evans
Jan 07, 2018
JellyBeanTV/ YouTube
If you are eight-years-old, the prospect of your parents selling their worldly possessions and taking you out of school sounds like heaven.
Of course, the chances of that ever happening are a million to one as most parents prefer to go down the traditional route of a national curriculum education.
However, one family from Hertfordshire noticed that the current system had left them feeling unhappy and unable to follow their dreams.
Rather than continue on this path, they decided that enough was enough and they were going to take their daughters out of school, sell everything they own and embark on a once in a lifetime trip around the globe.
35-year-old Chris Jackson, a former London Ambulance Service paramedic, and his wife, Donna set off on their journey with eight-year-old Ellie and six-year-old Miley last year and haven't looked back.
Speaking to the Mirror, Chris explained why they decided to make this dramatic change to their lives.
It's the experience of a lifetime.
My wife was studying to be a paediatric nurse, and we never saw each other, and never spent time with the kids, so we thought 'let's go on the road'.
Donna added:
People tend to take things for granted and reach old age talking about the things they should have been doing, rather than the things they were doing.
It's such a material world, people are giving their kids iPads, which they stare at for hours, but we're teaching them the things that we want them to know.
Since taking this course of action the family have been very active on social media, regularly uploading their adventures to YouTube and Instagram.
So far their travels have taken them to the United States, Canada, Bahamas, Aruba and Costa Rica, where they saw live volcanoes, something that the girls were unlikely to see for real in a classroom in Borehamwood.
You'd imagine that this sort of radical parenting would have encountered a lot of opposition from the authorities and the girl's school.
But that couldn't have been further from the truth. Chris has said that their daughter's headteacher is a big fan of them and always comments on their YouTube videos.
Their channel JellyBeanTV has over 11,000 subscribers and they recently uploaded a heartwarming highlights video of their first year on the road.
2017 wasn't the end of their journey either. In 2018 they are planning to visit Vietnam, Cambodia and China.
Despite operating on a shoestring budget and exchanging hotel accommodation for social media exposure, Chris doesn't regret anything and would encourage anyone with the same desires to do the same.
People always keep saying to me that they really want to travel, it sounds amazing, but I'm scared.
I'd say don't wait - there is no good time to do it, there's no right moment in life, the only person to affect change is you.
If you would like to learn more about the family and their adventures please visit their website: Jelly Bean TV World.
HT UniLad
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