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A recent post on the NuNomad blog talked about the pros and cons of travelling with kids at different ages. It’s an excellent post, packed with useful info for location independent parents – or those planning a nomadic lifestyle.

One of the things it brought to my mind was the need to keep your kids connected with the world beyond. But how do you do that safely in a world where the internet has brought not just benefits but real dangers to children?

In talking to friends recently, some of them were amazed that my seven year old had her own email accounts, but for me it was an obvious way for her to connect with friends and relatives abroad. She is an excellent reader and enjoys writing emails, so I just had to find a way to make it easy and safe.

To do that, I created an email account for her on my own domain, using Google Apps. I like Gmail because it has a great spam filter and since I limit what she signs up for there shouldn’t be any worrying emails in her inbox in the immediate future. She liked the fact that she could have a child-friendly theme (featuring dolls and ice creams, I believe). I disabled chat and contact sharing, but will review the chat decision when she’s a bit older. For phone calls, she uses my Skype account when she needs to chat.

Like most kids, my daughter loves games and many of these are online. I adapted some guidelines from an internet safety book someone sent me to create some rules that will keep her safe. She knows that she is not allowed to sign up for anything without asking first (and when she does I check the parental information thoroughly to see that her privacy is guaranteed).

For now, I am banning forums though she can use the private messaging system on some of the sites. I’ve found the Disney sites such as Toontown and Pixie Hollow to be pretty good, as is Moshi Monsters – and of course Cbeebies/CBBC is a great site for educational and fun games.

I have enabled Google Safe Search on both browsers on her computer to prevent her from accidentally discovering anything inappropriate. I’ve found this a better option than the parental control software I used before because it allows her to follow her interests while still staying safe (rather than blocking almost everything, which frustrated us both, especially when I kept forgetting the unlock password).

I’ve told my daughter about the importance of keeping personal details secure (no giving out her real name, address, phone number or email address). She’s been very good at sticking to the rules.

For older children, consider a contract with your child about observing the rules for internet safety – a good starting point for an online safety pledge is here.

The final aspect of making sure she stays safe is being in the room (most of the time) when she’s on the computer. That way I can use my parental sixth sense to spot any potential issues early. How do you handle internet and connectivity issues for your location independent children?

Tell us a bit about where you are now. How long have you been there? Why did you choose it?

I’ve been living in Barbados in the Caribbean for about four years. While I had family reasons for choosing this location, it also had a lot going for it in terms of the weather and general stability.

Location Independent Business

Please describe briefly the business you are in.

I am a web content writer, blogger and journalist.

Are there any advantages when doing business where you are?

Barbados is as good a location as any to run a freelance writing business. The infrastructure is good, the Internet connection is more than adequate and of course the official language is English. You can get hold of most items that you need though often at a premium.

Are there any challenges with doing business in Barbados?

While most things work most of the time, occasionally it is difficult when there is a power cut or the Internet goes down. This doesn’t happen often but it’s not as rare as it was when living in the UK. Since I work for myself I don’t spend a lot of time in offices, where the culture is slightly more formal than I’m used to. However most systems are efficient even if they are not always as timely as I would like.

What are your top three tools for keeping your business going as a location independent professional?

That’s easy: Gmail, social networking and Skype.

How much does it cost to get internet access in Barbados?

You can get a stable connection for US$50 a month, though you will probably want the top domestic package (2MB ADSL) at $70 a month, especially if you plan to run more than one computer.

Location Independent Parenting

How are you educating your child?

We decided to send our daughter to a local private school. We made the choice so that she could mix with an international community and have access to a wide range of extracurricular activities, some of which are not available in other schools. So for we are happy with how she’s learning and her enjoyment of the school system.

Are there any major advantages/challenges of parenting/educating children in Barbados?

When you live in a small place you often don’t have access to the range of facilities that you take for granted in larger countries. For example, play activities for children can be limited. However, Barbados has an active holiday camp facility, offering kids a wide range of sports and leisure activities. And during term time, there’s always the beach or the play park at the local fast food joint.

How is your child enjoying Barbados?

My daughter really enjoys living in Barbados though occasionally she expresses an interest in seeing snow.

Location Independent Lifestyle

What’s the cost of living like in Barbados?

Barbados is not a cheap place to live as many things are imported. However if you are happy to eat locally produced food then living here doesn’t have to break the bank. Check out the Barbados page on the Global Cost of Living Wiki for more information.

Are there visa issues for location independent parents?

British citizens can stay in Barbados for up to 6 months a year. Even other nationalities are able to stay for months at a time. However if you want to work, that can be more difficult. In order to get a work permit you have to be doing a job at a local is not qualified to do or you have to be bringing business into the country. Many people do it successfully so it can’t be that hard.

What about the cost of accommodation in Barbados?

Accommodation varies. It’s a tourist destination and the prices reflect that, especially in winter. A mid range 1 bedroom furnished apartment will cost upwards of US$100 a night, but if you can find an apartment marketed to locals, you will save a lot on that rate.

What are your best tips for things to do for parents (without the kids!) while in Barbados?

Some of my favourite activities include swimming out of Brownes Beach, enjoying a mocha at the Coffee Italia and eating fresh fish at the Just Grilling restaurant on the south coast. The Barbados wildlife reserve is a great place to visit and you can get a great view of much of the east coast from the Farley Hill National Park that is opposite. There’s also horse racing, golf and polo on the island.

Are your children ready to make the leap into location independence?

So you’ve decided to become a location independent parent. That means your children have to become location independent too – and for some children that could be a big problem.

For many younger children, routine and familiarity are everything, while for older ones, it’s attachment to their peers that may prove a sticking point. It’s a real worry for parents, who may worry that their children may not settle into the nomadic lifestyle and won’t be happy when you move abroad.

The lesson I learned when moving from the UK to the Caribbean is that preparation is everything. Here are some strategies you can try…

Check Out Your Location Independent Destination

Many people spend a long time planning for their next move. If this is you, and you’re planning a semi-permanent relocation to somewhere that you visit regularly, schedule a family trip to that destination to ‘sell’ it to your kids.

Plan some fun activities that they will remember when you return to your current home, so they will have something to look forward to when you move. If you’ve got friends with children, plan some get-togethers so that when your children arrive in the new location, they already know someone there. That will ease the transition for them.

Living Space

Do you already know where you’re going to live? Then show it to your kids. If a visit to the location is feasible, then do that, otherwise use Google Earth and other web resources to give your kids as much information as you can about the country they are moving to.

Use the Internet to find photos of the place you will be visiting, research fun activities in the area and generally get informed about your destination. With older children get them to help. They can create a wish list of things to do when they arrive and prepare a scrapbook to tell their current friends about where they will be going.

In our case, we were relocating permanently (more or less, anyway) and we were able to show our daughter the house and her room. We took photos back to the UK with us so she could show them to her friends. We started this process about nine months before the move.

Education

How are you going to educate your children?

You may already be homeschooling, in which case you will be doing the same thing in a different location. If not, let older children help you research schools and visit them all when you arrive (preferably before the start of the school term or semester).

Hook up with a couple of expat groups who may have children in the same schools. This will give your kids a small circle of friends to start with.

Focus On Fun

If your children have any favourite activities then find out where they can do these in the place that you are going. It will help them to feel that they are not leaving their entire way of life behind.

Also, explain to your kids why you are going and what benefits you think it will bring. Kids have a sense of adventure – so appeal to it!

Preparing To Move

Get your children involved in the preparation process. Even children as young as three can make decisions about which toys to take and which to leave in storage. We gave our daughter a suitcase of her own so that she could decide what would go with us and what would come later.

Be sure to explain that toys which are being boxed are not being thrown away but saved. Our daughter was also happy to help wrap items for packing (even if we had to add some extra tape later!).

Keeping In Touch

The great thing is that these days, moving halfway around the world doesn’t have to mean losing touch with your friends. Photos of the people and places they love really help, so get that camera out!

If you have email, a laptop with a webcam and Skype, your kids can talk to friends and family back home, which will make the transition easier. When my daughter first used a webcam, she was very excited. And now, she regularly Skypes with a friend in Gibraltar while they play an online game together.

Talk, Talk, Talk

For us, the key aspect of the whole thing was communication. Our daughter had lots of friends whom she’d known since birth and was a bit upset about leaving them. All our friends talked to the children about the fact that we were leaving, but would still be in touch.

We spent lots of time together, took lots of photos and exchanged Skype IDs. Since we’ve left, several of my daughter’s friends have come to visit and we’ve been back to the UK once. And although she missed her friends at first, and still talks about the UK, she’s settled well into her new life.

Photo credit: Japs – TheGypsy)

The Interface

When you visit the CBeebies site, there’s a menu across the top that allows you to explore options such as playing games, listening to songs, watching videos, hearing stories and making and colouring things. As you hover over each option, it says what it is, so children who are not yet reading can still use the site successfully. The homepage is brightly coloured and will appeal to a wide age range. Activities on the site relate to the programmes shown on the excellent UK television channel. Most content can be watched through the built in online player, though there may still be some requiring RealPlayer or Windows Media Player.

No registration is required to use the site, which is constantly changing to reflect changes in programming and to ensure that even regular visitors to the site never get bored. There is plenty of information for parents who will want to know about the thinking behind the site and the child development themes covered. When using the site, we tend to go straight to the show browser, so that my daughter can click on any picture she finds interesting and view the associated activities.

Games, Songs And Stories

My daughter likes the site because it’s fun; for me, the advantage is that fun is successfully combined with education. There are counting games, sorting games, colour games and alphabet games for younger site users, as well as more involved games about the senses and other scientific activities. The songs range from common children’s nursery songs featured on the TV channel, to programme theme songs, to fun songs about any and everything. My daughter particularly likes the songs about the seasons, which are music videos featuring the CBeebies presenters.

The stories include retellings of fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel as well as new stories featuring television characters, such as Charlie and Lola.There are games for children with special needs. (For example, the Something Special tie in games teach children how to sign, which my daughter enjoyed learning.) And finally, there are games which mimic traditional online games, such as the Tommy Zoom game where children have to use the arrow keys and spacebar to get their character to collect treasure. This one is a particular favourite. If you have a printer, then you can print off drawings to colour and recipes to try, giving children something to do offline as well.

How We Use The Site

The way we have used this site has changed over the years. When we started it was in part a way to keep our daughter in touch with something familiar. Now it’s just a site with cool games. At the age of three our daughter enjoyed drawing games, puzzle games and listening to stories. Now that she can read, she doesn’t listen to stories as much but she still enjoys the songs and the creative games. The games have introduced her to new concepts about the world and have helped with literacy and numeracy development. Best of all, my daughter’s had a great time.

She is now beginning to look for more challenging activities and I know just where she will find them — on CBeebies’ sister site, the BBC schools website.

What sites have you found most useful for balancing fun and education for your location independent children? Contact us if you would like to provide a review.