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"A household located in North London is looking for an exceptional and skilled educator to support their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."

Upon seeing this advertisement, you might easily overlook the term "initial stages" as just an expression.

But, it might be the most significant part of this unusual employment listing, as it attempts to hire a mentor for a 12-month-old.

Hundreds of responses have already been submitted since the unnamed family posted their call for the £180,000 per year tutor, who must be "someone very special".

During the past few weeks, the advert has received attention in the news, with numerous questioning why?

Innovative Idea

The CEO, head and founder of a global tutoring firm, which is assisting the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding early scepticism, he found the concept "forward-looking", and "innovative".

When he met the family, he mentioned they recognized the atypical aspect of their requirement, and how immature their son is.

However, they clarified that they "preferred not to postpone any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their older child was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already set in".

What exactly did the family mean by "cultural leaning"?

It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "The way you eat, how you speak".

He explained the elder child had adopted "extremely delicate, non-verbal cues" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to the consultant they hoped to prevent history to happen again with their infant.

The plan: To bring in a British tutor, who needs to speak with standard English accent, to influence the baby from the very start.

Subtle Influence

"A great deal of the education at the beginning here is rather osmotic," stated Adam.

It's through this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the UK customs they wish to instil.

The consultant said the tutor must be someone who went to "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family plan to send their son to".

"The instructor just has to be the appropriate candidate, they'll be doing things they don't even know they're doing, just naturally," he commented.

Expense Not a Factor

The family told the expert the selected educator should preferably also have familiarity of or interest in riding, skiing, artistic pursuits and musical activities so as to inspire the child in a broad spectrum of passions.

Additionally though, he stated the family wanted the tutor to register the child on a selection of courses so the child would be "horseback riding and picking up an instrument by the time they are approximately three years old".

In the family's perspective, assisting their son become a "British gentleman" will bring about accomplishment and provide access.

"For all the rights and wrongs of that, because it's definitely a status symbol," he adds.

However, notwithstanding all this instruction in "UK identity", would the child pick up so-called cultural influence from the globally influenced family he is raised by regardless?

"Absolutely", said the CEO. "They understand this may not work, but they've merely embraced the view of, 'let's give it a go and we should start as early as we can', because the price of it is irrelevant," he said.

Overly Optimistic

Several in the private teaching field who have these concerns.

Another CEO, chief executive of Blue Education, who also offer individual instructors, commented that "the development of becoming bicultural, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be grown into, not designed."

He wrote that he had moved from China to the United Kingdom at the time of childhood, and had been brought up knowing and practicing two backgrounds. He went on to learn at the University of Cambridge.

"The idea that an individual can act as a representation of English culture, a person who can in some way transfer the characteristics of a UK sophisticate to a one-year-old child, appears naive and unrealistic," he commented.

"Based on my background, engaging a typically English tutor from early childhood will will not automatically achieve the result they hope for.

"I wasn't provided with that kind of mentor, and yet I have been lucky enough to enjoy many of the situations they desire for their son."

He stated: "The truth is, self-identity can not be forced from the outside influences; it must be selected, and it must come from within."

Buying Britishness

Of course, Britishness is something the expert thinks can be taught – and sold.

"In my view the fact that the world views us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating