MUM of nine, Amanda Owen, has revealed that she does not have time to do everything for her kids, which she believes has made them more “independent”.
The shepherdess, known for her appearances on Our Yorkshire Farm lives on Ravenseat Farm, in Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales, alongside her bumper brood, who she shares with ex-husband Clive.
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Her nine offspring Raven, 24, Reuben, 18 Miles, 15 Edith, Violet, 14, Sidney, 13 Annas, 10, Clemmie, 9, and Nancy, 8, often help out on the farm, with some of the kids even following in their parents’ footsteps.
Life in rural Yorkshire is a world away from the everyday most of us are used to, with some of Amanda’s children having to travel a whopping two hours to get to school.
Over the summer holidays, Amanda revealed that her kids only left the farm twice, despite many of their peers jetting off on foreign holidays or waterparks.
However, the 51-year-old believes the kids are learning so much about life from their unique upbringing.
Speaking to Georgia Dayton on the Made By Mammas podcast, Amanda who, admitted she never planned to have such a big family, said she does not have the capacity to be able to do everything for her kids.
However, she believes this gives them “strength and resilience”.
“They have to be more independent”, she said.
Sharing an example, the author revealed that the other day, she asked her kids to make their own breakfast as she had some work to do, and when she came back, her eight-year-old was making pancakes on the Aga.
The youngster was even testing the temperature by waving her hand over the cooker.
“I thought, ‘I’m so proud of you'”, she beamed.
The reality star added that she believes that as a society, we are risk-averse, but that this does not make us safer as adults.
“You learn really from doing things”, Georgia said in agreement.
Amanda said there are “tons of risks” on the farm.
“You don’t have to go very far to find something that will kill you”, she admitted.
Amanda Owen’s relationship timeline
The Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen has lived most of her life in the public eye as her Channel 5 series Our Yorkshire Farm shined a spotlight on her rural life with ex-husband Clive and their nine children. Sadly, Amanda’s relationship with Clive hit the rocks and in 2022 the couple announced their split. Let’s take a closer look at the timeline of their relationship, plus Amanda’s other notable romance…
Amanda married Yorkshire farmer Clive Owen, who is 19 years her senior, in 2002.
The couple welcomed nine children together over the course of their marriage.
Their nine children, in descending order of age, are Raven, Reuben, Miles, Edith, Violet, Sidney, Annas, Clemmie, and Nancy.
There is a large age gap between some, with the oldest, Raven, now 23 and the youngest, Nancy, only 8.
Clive and Amanda appeared to be very much in love as they documented their home and working life together at Ravenseat in their Channel 5 series.
However, they shocked their fans on Thursday, June 9, 2022, when Amanda shared an Instagram post confirming that she and Clive had split.
She said: “Clive and I have are sad to confirm that we have made the difficult decision to separate.
“This hasn’t been easy, but we both believe it’s the right choice for the future of our family.”
Clive has since opened up about his part in their split, admitting his “anger drove her away.”
Following their split the Sun revealed that Amanda had been having a relationship with web designer Robert Davies, who is 22-years her senior.
He was a “good friend” to them, Clive said as he confirmed that Amanda’s new relationship began after they had separated.
However, in 2024, Amanda revealed that her relationship with Robert had ended and that they were no-longer on speaking terms.
Meanwhile, Amanda and Clive have become good friends and continue to co-parent their children and work together on the farm.
They will reunite for a new Channel 4 documentary series that will see them attempt to restore an neglected property on their land.
However, she lets her children play unsupervised, so they can learn about risks themselves.
During the summer, Amanda allowed her children to go “night swimming” on their farm as she knew that if she told them not to, they would just want to do it more.
“The minute you put a ban on something it becomes illicit pleasure”, she said.
The mum explained that her parenting style isn’t a “free for all”, but is all about balance.
“It’s about balancing what they’re going to get out of it and what they’re going to lose from it”, she explained.
For example, she said that often other parents will criticise her when she shares pictures of her kids horse-riding online, as they won’t be wearing the proper safety equipment.
“If you don’t want the risk of riding a horse, you must never get on one”, she said.
Another way that the mum teaches her kids independence is to make them make their own way home when they get a detention from school.
“Woe betide anyone that gets a detention”, she said.
“Because actually the worst punishment is not the detention, it’s coming out of school and figuring out how the heck you’re going to get home.”
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