Parents take young children out of school for year to “slow travel” world

A British family has embarked on the adventure of a lifetime, leaving behind their routine life in the U.K. with their two young children to travel the world.

Emma and Daniel Niblett, along with their sons Noah, 8, and Oliver, 5, posted a video on Instagram showcasing their journey so far in Bali—where they’ve been living for over a month—and shared their plans to “slow travel” for at least a year.

“Our decision came from a desire to reconnect as a family and share new experiences. We felt that we were living in an endless ‘Groundhog Day’ of work, bills and chores in the U.K. and wanted to reset our view of the world, experience new ways of living and discover the unknown,” Emma told Newsweek.

In the viral clip, which has been viewed 3 million times, the 36-year-old said that the family will live in Bali before heading off to New Zealand or Japan next.

While the Nibletts had initially believed they were thriving back home, the trip quickly proved that wasn’t the case and revealed just how much stress they had been under.

“The lack of fun, enjoyment, large community that comes with a routine that is day in, day out the same is underestimated. Stress doesn’t have to come from being busy—it can also come from being bored, frustrated and lacking engaging experiences,” Emma said.

The couple has also taken their children out of the U.K. school system and enrolled them in a three-month program at a pop-up school in Bali. The goal is to expose Noah and Oliver to different cultures, social opportunities and educational experiences while traveling.

“[The] school was extremely supportive. [It] completely supported the opportunity for the boys to learn in a new environment and experience different cultures. We thought they would express concern, but we felt a huge amount of love and support,” Emma told Newsweek.

She added that their friends and family were also understanding of the couple’s desire to seek new experiences: “I think it helped that we were very sure in our decision, and the move was nonnegotiable for us.”

The boys have embraced life in Bali, though Emma said they aren’t quite used to the tropical heat yet. One highlight for the boys is their daily commute to school by scooter—a far cry from the more traditional school run they were used to at home.

Noah, the couple’s eldest son, has even taken up surfing with his classmates and a local instructor. “The huge amount of confidence that builds in an 8-year-old is amazing. It’s taught us that we often steal opportunities for independence from our children, and this impacts their self-esteem,” Emma said.

As well as the millions of views, the video (posted on @theniblettfamily account) has garnered over 3,000 comments from other Instagram users—some of whom felt inspired by the couple’s decision.

“You have escaped the matrix, congrats,” one user commented. Another shared that they had just spent two months in Bali with their two young children and said it was the “best thing” the Nibletts could do for their kids.

Since moving to Bali, Emma has also noticed a dramatic improvement in her health. She said that she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] and an autoimmune disease triggered by stress, both of which were managed with medication in the U.K. “but in Bali, I am medication-free and doing really well,” she said.