The couple had three children within the first three years: Vivien Brynhilda Carloine Foley (b. July 1895 – 1978), Arthur Percival Foley (b. 27 September 1897) and a second daughter, Nesta Foley (1900–1973). Unlike most parents of the Victorian era, the parents of Rhys-Davids spent a great deal of their time with their children, although they employed a child minder named Minna, a German woman. The first words of Arthur and his sister were German and the children often used German phrases. Nevertheless, Rhys-Davids's parents continued to be busy academics. In 1905 his father became a professor at the University of Manchester. His mother became a prolific author.