Our Yorkshire Farm shepherdess reveals her kids have mullets, pets are getting lost and ‘domestic standards have slipped’ during lockdown- but insists you’re never going to have a ‘perfect house’ with NINE children
- Amanda Owen, 45, admits she’s struggling to keep on top of home in lockdown
- Confessed dog Chalky went missing in the washing and was found in wardrobe
- Says kids have mullets, fringes, purple dye jobs and that one child is ‘almost bald’
Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen has revealed her ‘domestic standards have slipped’ during lockdown, but isn’t concerned about having a tidy house with nine children.
Amanda, 45, who runs a 2,000-acre tenant farm in Upper Swaledale with her husband Clive, 66, today told Lorraine about giving her brood DIY haircuts – which include mullets, purple dye jobs and one child who is ‘almost bald’.
She confessed that their dog Chalky went missing and was discovered sleeping in a wardrobe under a pile of washing while trying to keep on top of chores, and that homeschooling includes ‘snowboarding and igloo building’.
Appearing on Lorraine today with her daughter Violet, the mother jovially admitted she’s not bothered with the state of her home, and has made peace with the fact she’ll ‘never have a perfect house’ with nine kids at home.
Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen (pictured with husband Clive and her nine children) has revealed her ‘domestic standards have slipped’ during lockdown
Appearing on Lorraine today the mother jovially admitted she’s not bothered with the state of her home, and has made peace with the fact she’ll ‘never have a perfect house’
‘It’s all about prioritising,’ she said. ‘We have a lot of work on our plate, so the fact is I’m no domestic goddess and standards have slipped.
‘Poor Chalky somehow managed to get fast asleep in the endless supply of washing and odd socks and she was put in the wardrobe and nobody found her but she’s back.
‘You’re never going to have a perfect house when you have nine children in residence, so I thought, “That is how it’ll be. It’ll be untidy”.’
Amanda said that she feels ‘liberated’ to be able to let her children try out whatever hairstyles they want during the lockdown, and that three of her offspring look like ‘Angry Birds’.
Amanda, 45, who runs a 2,000-acre tenant farm in Upper Swaledale with her husband Clive, 66, told of giving her brood DIY haircuts including mullets and purple dye jobs
She said: ‘We’ve had a year of the pandemic and it has to be said when it comes to haircuts and beauty therapies, it’s a DIY job.
‘So at the moment we have Violet with violet hair, Miles has sort of a New Romantic style floppy fridge, we have one kid with a mullet, one with a high fridge, three with very prominent eyebrows – they look like Angry Birds at the moment – and one who is almost bald.’
As for homeschooling, Amanda prioritises her nine children’s mental health and doesn’t believe they should be ‘staring at a screen all day’.
‘What we’re doing is live lessons,’ she said. ‘Violet is very good at making bread and baking. She logged in today and looks at what she has to do and does it in her own time.
She confessed that their dog Chalky (pictured) went missing and was discovered sleeping in a wardrobe under a pile of washing while trying to keep on top of chores
As for homeschooling, Amanda told host Lorraine Kelly she prioritises her nine children’s mental health and doesn’t believe they should be ‘staring at a screen all day’
‘I don’t think it’s particularly healthy for them to be staring at a screen all day, so it’s about striking that right balance.’
She went on: ‘I think the most important things for kids at the moment is to keep their heads right and keep them mentally okay, and if snowboarding and igloo building is part of that equation, then so be it.’
‘We’re really fortunate where we live we have space to go outside, but every day is a school day, they’re always learning.
‘We’re speaking about what’s going on in the headlines and the news, but you don’t learn absolutely everything at school.’