Intuitive Parents, Intuitive Kids founder Emily Robinson on avoiding burnout

A rare form of cancer forever changed one family’s mindset and lifestyle, leading to a life of homeschooling and travelling the country. Here’s how the young mum wants to help other parents avoid getting burnt out.

The Robinsons have made it to Darwin in their travelling school/home. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Emily Robinson is the first to admit her parenting style is unconventional to say the least.

But when she was faced with an unexpected health battle coupled with a stressful job in a hometown she didn’t love, Ms Robinson decided a change was what her family needed.

And the lessons she learnt from her huge lifestyle change has informed a thriving business to help other parents stuck in a rut like she was.

“I guess like I just really burnt myself out, like I just was stuck in this lifestyle of push and hustle and just really trapped by that kind of daily grind,” she said.

“So I ended up with a really rare form of cancer — and I just didn’t stop, I just kept going.”

Thomas Robinson, Sasha (dog), Isabella Robinson, Emily Robinson and Charlotte Robinson are travelling around the country in a motorhome. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

It was then she decided to uproot the family from the UK to outback Australia in search of a more “simple lifestyle”.

“It was like falling from one extreme to the other,” she said.

“We were like 55km from the nearest grocery store, and I got there and I loved it.”

But as time went on living in a small town started to wane on the kids a bit, so another major shift was required.

So mother became teacher and the kids moved into homeschooling.

“I did that really because I wanted to spend more time with (her son) and at school I noticed that the more he was there the less and less he wanted to engage when he was at home — I didn’t want to lose the connection,” he said.

But if the two life adjustments weren’t enough, the family decided to take school on the road and live out of a motorhome while travelling around Australia and potentially the world.

“Every time we’ve done these huge shifts of moving across the world and then homeschooling and then have this random idea that we should sell up and move into a motorhome it just worked and we’ve really lent into it.”

Ms Robinson is intent on sharing everything she’s learnt through her business, Intuitive Parents Intuitive Kids, where she coaches parents on how to trust your gut when it comes to raising children.

“I think it all just began as a way to form better connections and have a more kind of peaceful, calm lifestyle, which was the complete opposite of where I was,” she said.

“I started the business because I saw how beneficial this was for my kids and everything I have learned from my own personal development — I thought I could teach other families this.”

The biggest takeaways she hopes the families she crosses path with is a sense of being present, learning what to prioritise and participating in life.

She said for Territorians that might be looking “at what’s around and what’s on your doorstep — there are so many places to just go and be present with your kids”

“Go to Berry Springs, go out to Kakadu, go to Arnhem Land, go camping, go to Dundee,” Ms Robinson said.

“I’d definitely say like making the best use of the weather and the things that are around here.”

Originally published as Intuitive Parents, Intuitive Kids founder Emily Robinson on avoiding burnout