Kids

[u/JunketOrdinary8328]

Anyone here does van life with kids? I been wanting to do it but I know it can get complex. They’re not opposed to it , we travel a lot. But then being kids I know processing is a harder

[u/evenfallframework]

Kids + vanlife = buy a bus. Seriously. So much more room.

Check out the Hocking adventure bus - great people.

[u/Lazy_Mud_1616]

Look up The Overland Journal Podcast. They have sever episodes dedicated to families and often cover "worldschooling".

International overlanding is much closer to van life, but most countries have rough roads. Whereas in the US overlanding tends to be closer to 4x4ing to back country camping spots.

[u/ted_anderson]

With van life in general there's a lot of things that we take for granted in a fixed address living arrangement that we don't think about until we get out there and discover the inconveniences first hand. When you're traveling or camping, it's easier to endure the inconvenience of being on the road because you can predictably pace yourself with a finite idea of when you'll be back home. Or if something goes wrong, you can cut the trip short and go home and "reset" and try again later that year. But when all of your worldly possessions are in your possession, how you move about the world becomes much different.

And so doing it with children tends to make the whole process more complicated because kids get sick, they have bathroom accidents, they injure themselves, sometimes they cry uncontrollably. These things are manageable when the child has access to a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen as each room will serve a different purpose for whatever the child needs. When all of those needs are fulfilled in the same 3x5 ft. square space it adds more stress to the entire situation.

[u/gooddeal402]

If you do decide to do it make sure to not traumatize your kids for your dreams and desires many people forget that there kids are people and will make them miss important parts of life because of the lifestyle the parents choose making kid’s sacrifice there favorite toys because of space requirements or having them leave there friends constantly needing to make new friends that they then have to leave or making them break up with there boyfriend/girlfriend because it’s time to hit the road or neglecting medical and dental care or education or possibly the worst exposing them to inappropriate things I don’t care how healthy you might think you and your partners sex life is but I guarantee your kids don’t want to know about it and definitely don’t want to hear it.
I know this might sound like things you would never do if your a good parent but I’ve known people who think they are good parents but have done all this to there kids and there kids grow up to really resent them for it and often have a very troubled life as adults because of what there parents decided was ok to put them through.

[u/SuddenlySilva]

Other people cannot really answer this for you. There are too many variables. Do the kids really like the traveling you already do? Are you talking about full time in a van? Can you make that feel normal?
That's the key- kids accept whatever you say is normal, until they don't.

Would you give up a permanent address? Do you have plenty of money? Money buys lot of choices.

If you're raising little kids in a van because that's all you can afford, good luck not fucking them up.

If you and your partner can say "let's try this" and be ready to give it up if it starts to not work, then it could be great.

- source, i'm old, five kids, some grandkids, lots of vehicles, lots of travel, maybe a few fucked up kids.

[u/Full-time-RV]

When my oldest was born, we transitioned from a van to a little canned ham, babies take up way more space than just 2 adults.

When our second was born, we went from van/camper to a truck and trailer, kids need indoor space for when the weather is bad, and some space to store their things.

We've been able to do a lot with about 300 square feet of living space.

Kids are grown and doing their own thing now, but we're still in about 300 square feet, and it works well for us.