Wild child mayhem
FERAL FAMILIES C4, 9pm HYPER children are ransacking the fridge for ice cream late at night. A teenager is juggling fire and playing with knives, and one little girl decides to shave her head.
These are scenes from this fascinating film, which follows parents who have decided to live a life with no rules.
For these families, there is no bedtime, no school and no boundaries. Their kids can do exactly what they like, when they like.
The three families in this documentary feel passionately that their children are healthier and happier with their freedom. But as we see a bunch of rowdy kids sliding full pelt down the stairs on a mattress and a toddler grabbing a knife to play with, it’s no wonder others are astonished.
“It’s a better way of life,” says Jenna, who has three sons. But Jenna’s 13-year-old son Archie, who has not been to school for six years, still struggles to read and write. “I can just talk into my phone,” he says.
Meanwhile, Vicky and Mike have just taken seven-year-old Jessica out of school. She now has purple hair and makes her own meals. She’s happy, but Mike worries that she needs more structure. And Gemma and Lewis have seven children. Gemma says: “Every day is kid day for them.”
Their children are clearly thriving on a life of picnics and play, but your jaw will drop open as you see them literally climbing the walls (up the door frame) at 10.30pm.
And your heart will go out to Finlay, 12, who at one point is alone upstairs tidying his clothes away. “I think rules are important,” he says. “I’d like to go to school. I’d feel proud of myself.”
But how will Gemma reconcile his bombshell decision?