Raising kids at sea: Meet the Parkers

Meet the Parker family. Modern-day pioneers, of sorts.

This family of four lives an adventurous lifestyle, sailing the seas of the West African coastline on the world’s largest civilian hospital ship. Scott Pelley met the Parkers while reporting this week’s 60 Minutes segment, “Africa Mercy,” and he compared them to the Swiss family Robinson.

For 27 years, Dr. Gary Parker, a maxillofacial surgeon, has worked for the Africa Mercy, bringing smiles to faces once disfigured by tumors. Gary met his wife, Susan, onboard and they started a family, raising two children in a 630-square foot cabin. Carys and Wesley -- who 60 Minutes interviewed when they were in 11th and 8th grades, respectively -- have lived their entire lives at sea.

In the above video, the family opens up about their unique lifestyle: the joy, the tension, and, sometimes, the kids’ confusion: Where is home? (And, what does a mailbox look like?)