What is it like to raise children on a small island where nearly everyone is family? Normand Schafer of Far and Away Adventures.com (https://farandawayadventures.com/) visits Aitutaki in the Cook Islands to talk with local Heidi Rose.Plan a multigenerational Aitutaki trip or family reunion with a Far and Away Adventures specialist.

Heidi admits the move to Aitutaki was a big change for the children, leaving home for a new family home with cousins they had not met before. But being outdoors, away from iPads and phones, and connecting with extended family made it worthwhile. Families planning a reunion will relate to her description of family life: beautiful, chaotic, but beautiful.

For visiting families there is the lagoon, motu trips, fishing charters and whale watching, and the One Foot Island passport stamp kids will love collecting.

Her son Arama thrived outdoors, swapping screens for chasing chickens, which she credits with helping him win at school athletics.

Family is everywhere. Many relatives still live on the island, others are in New Zealand, and when reunion time comes around, the gathering is huge. Heidi also describes the end-of-year round-the-island village celebrations, when families pile into cars, trucks and buses, perform at each village and are showered with lollies and flower ei, and when Cook Islanders living overseas come home to join in.

Heidi's father was born on Aitutaki and comes from a family of 16. She grew up in Rarotonga, spending school holidays on Aitutaki with her Auntie Rima, and later moved there for a slower pace of life. She remembers a backyard at the harbour, and how after chores the kids could grab an ice cream from the shop next door and go for a swim.

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