Hellobee

Living abroad on a remote tropical island with kids isn’t for everyone. But after living here for 3 1/2 years, I think that my kids are having a better childhood here than they would have had in the United States. I’ve previously blogged about why I like raising my kids in Southeast Asia, and the biggest benefit for all of us is undoubtedly our simpler lives. Now that I’ve been here for a long time, here are 5 more reasons why I prefer raising my children on an island abroad:

1) America is not the same. We moved here in November 2015, and Trump was elected president one year later. I sent in my ballot (for Hillary), and excitedly watched the election results come in live with my kids. When it became apparent that Hillary was going to lose, I really couldn’t believe it! Since then America just hasn’t seemed the same to me. I don’t know if my perception is skewed because I’m living abroad, but each passing day seems to bring a more shocking news story than the day before. We are 12 hours ahead of New York, so as soon as I wake up I have a full day’s worth of (bad) American news to catch up on. Last year when moms of kindergartners in one of my Facebook groups started posting about buying bulletproof backpacks, I knew that I didn’t want to go back to the US anytime soon. Living abroad, the increasingly negative perception of the US by foreigners is apparent, and tourists are more reluctant to visit now.

2) I don’t worry about bullying. As the new girl in high school, I suffered through some pretty severe bullying, to the point that I asked my parents if I could switch schools. It subsequently triggered an intense depression and anxiety that has followed me my entire life. My parents did not allow me to change schools, but if my kids were in the same situation, I’d definitely consider other options, including homeschooling. Charlie already experienced some bullying in the US in pre-k and kindergarten, and let’s face it — kids are mean. Olive goes to a small progressive school here with only 10 mixed age kids in her class. Because it is the only progressive school on the island, all the parents are very like-minded. In fact all the kids, other than Olive, have known each other since birth, so they’re all great friends. Charlie, of course being homeschooled, doesn’t really have opportunities to get bullied. They’re little for such a short time, and I don’t mind them having a more sheltered childhood free from bullying one bit.

3) The kids don’t have access to the internet. They have never turned on a computer, typed in a url, or even used a mouse. None of their friends have phones or video game systems. They’ve never surfed youtube so we don’t have to worry about things like fake Momo challenges. The very limited online experience they had was with their ipads and Kindle Fires, which they almost never get to use anymore, and even when they do, they’re not online. Because their friends don’t have access to the internet, cell phones, and game systems either, they don’t feel like they’re missing out.

4) We spend so much time in nature. I’ve been following a blog called 1000 Hours Outside, that aims to spend 1000 hours outside with kids each year. That averages out to 4-6 hours a day, which is understandably difficult for busy families, especially those with cold winters. But given that the average child watches over 1500 hours of television a year, that doesn’t seem so farfetched! We don’t get 4-6 hours every single day, but we do get a lot of outdoor time daily and weekends where we’re out the entire time. From beaches to farms to mountains, we have so much nature all around us and we take full advantage of it. The physical and mental benefits of spending time in nature have been immeasurable, and there truly is no toy in the entire world that is better than nature.

5) There is so much less pressure on me as a parent. I was often in awe of how so many moms in the US seemed to do it all – work full-time, cook delicious meals, make Pinterest worthy crafts, maintain a clean home, all while managing to look put together. Parents here are soooo laid back and everything happens on island time. There isn’t much school pressure because we don’t have many education options, and there is a big community of homeschoolers, unschoolers, and world schoolers. No tiger moms here! Having domestic help is the norm so everyone has clean homes and I’m actually one of the only ones amongst my friends who cooks. No mom here is looking on Pinterest! And we all dress like hobos since we live on an island — all my clothes are from the thrift shop. I didn’t realize how little pressure I feel as a parent here until I started writing this post. It’s a beautiful thing!