Survival experiment: The family outing has been criticised as reckless. Photo / Supplied
Survival experiment: The family outing has been criticised as reckless. Photo / Supplied
Parents Ed Stafford and Laura Bingham from London saw nothing wrong with bringing young Ran on their desert island castaway, claiming there was more danger at home in London.
The plan to decamp to Merak, a small Indonesian island, was part of a TV show Man Woman Child Wild. The parents filmed their off-grid family experience, referring to it as the "ultimate survival experiment."
While they said they were aware of the risk of taking their 2-year-old son to the uninhabited island of Merak, speaking with the Mirror the couple said you "could just as easily come a cropper in Chiswick" the leafy west London borough where they live.
Family time: Ed plays on a vine swing that he and Laura have fashioned for Ran. Photo / Supplied
Ran was born to be wild. Named after the explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, his parents Ed and Laura hold the record for walking the Amazon River in 860 days.
The couple said they took up the offer to make the TV for Discovery as a way to challenger the ways they were living and parenting their son.
The choice to put their child in harm's way for the sake of a TV show has been heavily criticised, though they say it hopes it encourages other parents to be more adventurous.
Families should "take more risks with their children, get out of their comfort zone and expose them to more things," Laura told the Mirror.
With no other people for miles, the family arrived with just a few knives, some bananas and the clothes on their backs.
The family had to assemble all their shelter and tools from what they found. Photo / Supplied
Like a modern day Swiss Family Robinson they took about constructing shelter, tools and even play things for young Ran.
There wasn't even a film crew to lend a hand. The entire "experiment" was self-filmed. Part of the challenges of survival was getting along as a family unit without any distractions.
This involved keeping each other fit, and maintaining filming – all while caring for their 20-month-old child.
Having had an early argument on day one about filming techniques and priorities, they quickly realised that arguments were not something they could spend time on.
The family wer dropped off with few supplies and the clothes on their backs. Photo / Supplied
They were challenged early in the experiment by a tropical storm, and Laura fell ill.
However, the real value of the off-grid experience was survival as a family unit and raising Ran in the wild.
As Ed recounted in an anecdote for the Mirror, where they were returning their camp late from fishing and they were caught out in the dark.
He described the worry they felt as parents being tempered by their child's calm presence. "Ran was just on my shoulders singing and completely oblivious to the potential dangers."
"Ran got a lot of mum and dad time, so he thrived with that. He also didn't know to be scared or that he was part of an experiment."
Whether the Ed and Laura should have been more scared for the safety of their young son is a different matter. However, they survived their "experiment" and lived out a fantasy of self-sufficiency and desert island escape that many families have dreamed of.
Ed and partner Larua hold the record for the fastest walk down the Amazon river. Photo / Supplied
Since 1800s and the publication of a The Swiss Family Robinson, it's been a common theme in film and fiction, though few families have dared to attempt to be cast away voluntarily.
In spite of the criticism, the family said there will be future adventures with Ran, though if their lifestyle ever became detrimental to their children they would stop.
"I've got this lovely dream about when our kids are about 16 or 17 and we row across the Atlantic in their summer holidays," Laura told the Mirror.
Rest up, Ran. Your parents have some big – slightly terrifying – plans for you.
