Living on a boat with 2 kids – how do the girls like it? And how do mum and dad like it!

I thought I would write a brief page on life on board with the girls. Mostly because that is what most people ask about.

Before we left Scotland, John and I thought that Ellen would probably adapt better that Anna. She seemed more excited about the prospect of living on a boat and Anna said that she wanted to stay in Prestwick.
I don’t think that Ellen really knew what it would be like (how could she – none of us did!!), and in reality, I think that Anna has found it easier than her.

Anyhow – there has been no problem with either one of them – the only symptom of adjustment was a bit of finding the boundaries from Ellen while we all found our feet a bit.
They both feel completely at home on Double Helix now (why shouldn’t they – it is our home), as we do, and see living on a boat as fairly normal.

Both Ellen and Anna have got loads better at making friends; when at a marina in Calpe we spotted a boat on another pontoon with children aboard. Ellen dragged us round there, racing ahead, and before we got there had demanded ‘where are the kids?’ They seem to be able to make friends really fast (a useful skill when we are always moving on) and are starting to try and speak Spanish to the Spanish children.

They have also got tons better at amusing themselves together. Their skills in negotiating with each other have improved (maybe that is just age) and due to having long stretches of

time with no fixed engagements (i.e. get to stay in their PJs all day when at sea with no interruptions except food) they get to spend ages in their imaginations – as long as they like!

School?

Ellens home / boat schooling is going well, we don’t do stuff every day, but we are keeping a scrap / log book and getting some basic writing and numbers in sometimes. We never have to lay down the law and say ‘school time now’ as she asks for it more often than we offer it! Anna likes to join in and is going to be the best educated 2 year old around!!

Play?

The bonus of our life is that even in the winter we can be eating outside at lunch time, play on the beach, and go out without waterproofs, windproofs and jumpers. In the summer the girls get to play on the beaches, in the sea, in the dingy and generally have freedom to play in the years where play is really important.

Falling in?
A lot of people ask if we worry about them falling in. Yes occasionally, but not as much as you might think! They are both (by nature luckily) fairly cautious about getting on and off the boat, and know that there are rules about leaving the cockpit when we are underway. The likelihood is that one or both will fall in at some point, but

hopefully will not injure themselves in the process. On the pontoons, I am not so worried – I think you are just as likely to fall off the pavement into a road really, but with better chances of survival!

How is it for Lizzie and John?
For me (Lizzie) it is no hassle – I love having them around me, and I find it much easier and more enjoyable than having them on my own when John was at Uni. – I get time without them to get on with boat jobs, or do my Spanish homework, and we have plenty of time when both John and I are with them.

For John – he loves spending more time with them (and me!). Of course we still have days when it is all too much and there are only so many times you can play fairies and princesses! And – wonderful though she is – Anna is a 2 year old – and that can be fun wherever you live!! I have not yet felt that I have had enough and jumped into the sea!

Going back to shore life?
The things that John and I do talk about, are how it will be when we move to a house again and the girls have to go to school with children who have been together since the age of 4.  Neither of us feels that their education or their social development is suffering now, but how will it be as Ellen gets older and wants more independence from us.
What we do know is that there are no right decisions. It could be that we move to a house after 2 years and the girls settle in beautifully, in which case we will congratulate ourselves on making good decisions, or it could be that we move to a house after a year and they both have a terrible time trying to settle in, in which case we will berate ourselves on having made bad decisions for them. My own feeling is that if Ellen is a bit older when she starts school she may well have more skills to cope with it all than she does right now – and the same of course goes for Anna. We will just have to play it by ear, and enjoy the freedom we do have just now.