Parents of seven let kids live without rules

They’re allowed to get piercings and tattoos and play with axes - and their parents say it doesn’t matter that they’re failing at school.

The Rawnsley family, from West Yorkshire in the UK, live a life without rules. They invited TV cameras into their home as part of a documentary named Feral Families, and parents Gemma and Lewis Rawnsley explained that their house has no boundaries. 

Image: Channel Four

Children Skye, 13, Finlay, 12, Phoenix, nine, Pearl, eight, Hunter, five, Zephyr, three, and one-year-old Woolf have just two rules to follow: no lying, and no hurting each other. 

Related: Should smacking your children be banned?

Image: Channel Four

None of the children go to school, and instead are taught reading and writing by their parents, with education inspectors checking on them once a year. Until six months ago, son Phoenix didn’t want to learn to read - however, he decided he wanted to in order to message friends on the Xbox. 

“They’re behind their peers in terms of academics, but I’m not bothered,” Gemma said. “GCSEs (high school exams) are a memory test, it’s not about being intelligent.”

Image: Channel Four

The children are never told off for swearing, and are allowed to draw on the walls and play with the spirit burner and chemicals to learn about science. 

Lewis says son Finlay "could put a three course meal on the table" because the kids are learning things "others can't".

Image: Channel Four

Hairdresser Gemma insists the system works for them, saying: “It’s about letting them make decisions, it’s not a feckless attitude where we sit back and let it all happen. 

“It looks like we’re feral, but that’s just one side of us. Feral is left to your own devices, but these kids are brought up to the nth degree.”