'I unschool my children - we don’t teach them anything, they learn what they want'

A modern mother has admitted that she has shunned a traditional education for her children in favour of "unschooling" them.

Spiritual influencer Mami Onami has opted to give her kids a different start in life by enriching them day to day with an unstructured and free way of learning. Talking on social media Mami revealed how she chooses not to follow a curriculum or enforce learning hours as she tries the unconventional method.

Talking to her 527,000 viewers in a TikTok tell-all she said: “We don’t teach our kids anything. Everything that they learn is either in response to their interests or their questions. We have no curriculum, no school hours.”

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The trend for unschooling is on the rise with many parents opting to divert away from the normal in favour of self-directed teaching where their curiosity leads them to learn what interests them, not what is dictated to them. The method differs from homeschooling because it does not follow the outline of conventional learning.

There are no standard academic resources or materials used and the child's education stems from their own day-to-day experiences. The ideology first became popular in the 1970s after elementary school teacher, John Holt, made it popular. It was sparked by doctrine inspired by 18th-century philosopher Jean-Jacques Roussea.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw a surge in usage of the method after it had faded away. Google analytics showed that the term "unschooling" reached a peak for internet searches in August 2020. Then a social media epidemic for the method led to another peak in April 2024.

A investigation into the long-term outcomes of unschooling saw the Canada-based study authors write: “Parents adopting this conception perceive rewards, threats, evaluations, and planned sequential teaching as learning disruptors. These parents are also convinced that, when the child acquires in-depth knowledge on a subject that interests them and develops skills on their own.

Researchers also claimed “all the commitment, work habits, and effort put into attaining this knowledge can then be transferred to another learning objective.” Meanwhile, unschooling advocates Adele and Matt Allen allow their kids to set their own curriculum, bedtimes, menus, meal times and chore lists as part of the unusual approach.

They believe in “…enabling kids to take governance of their life, make their own choices, and decide what goes on in their life rather than dictating to them.” Adele said: “This doesn’t mean no guidance. It’s just about involving them in the decisions.”