Amanda Owen calls screens a 'lifeline' for her family

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 19 Oct, 07:31 · Archive

Shepherdess Amanda Owen says screens have been essential for her family and she does not set limits for her nine children.

Yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen has defended her family's use of screens, saying they have been a 'lifeline' and that she does not set limits for her nine children. The 52-year-old stars in the Channel 4 documentary series Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive And Kids, which follows her life renovating a derelict farmhouse called Anty John's on her remote Ravenseat Farm in Swaledale, North Yorkshire.

Owen said it would be 'incredibly hypocritical' to ban screens for her children, as they have been crucial to her farming business. She explained: 'It's what has given us the ability to put ourselves out there and basically to prop the whole business of farming up, which, let's be honest, is in dire straits. Our farm diversification is through the media and without a screen, that would not have been possible.'

The internet can only be accessed inside the farmhouse, giving what Owen described as the 'perfect split'. She said she feels 'blessed' to have the countryside space that allows her nine children – aged between ten and 25 – to engage in other activities rather than constantly watching screens. She co-parents the children with her ex-partner Clive Owen.

How it is being reported

• Amanda Owen calls screens a ‘lifeline’ and refuses to set limits for her childrenThe 52-year-old stars in the Channel 4 documentary series Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive And Kids, which follows her life in the countryside with her nine children as they renovate a centuries-old derelict farmhouse known as Anty John’s into a modern home.Gazette & Herald (Malton) · 19 Oct, 07:08
• Amanda Owen calls screens a ‘lifeline’ and refuses to set limits for her childrenThe 52-year-old stars in the Channel 4 documentary series Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive And Kids, which follows her life in the countryside with her nine children as they renovate a centuries-old derelict farmhouse known as Anty John’s into a modern home.The Press (York) · 19 Oct, 07:08

In this story: Amanda Owen · Clive Owen · Channel 4 · Ravenseat Farm · Swaledale · North Yorkshire

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