Quote:
Originally posted by valkyrie
I just watched Devil's Playground, which is a documentary about Amish kids going off on their rumspringa. It was interesting.
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Haha, how did it end? I had to take it back to the video place before I watched the last twenty minutes.
Anyway, while I understand that legally the man has rights to visit his child, I think there is a degree of selfishness in his behavior. There is no way a kid can be raised in both the Amish and non-Amish worlds and not come out supremely screwed up. And who's going to have to deal with the fallout of that? The mother, who is both the primary caregiver (and will end up being the primary disciplinarian) and much younger -- this dude could easily be DEAD before his child reaches adulthood. He doesn't seem to understand or respect the Amish culture very much, either, given that the article reports "Erdelt offered to provide health insurance for the child, monetary support, toys, clothing and other material gifts." Now, the offer for health insurance I can understand, even though the Amish don't use health insurance -- it's understandable to want to see your child "safe." But the other offers mystify me -- he wants to provide his kid with toys and clothing and money in a culture that allows children few toys and even then only simple ones, only simple Amish clothing, et cetera? Why?
Now I agree that there is also an element of selfishness in the mother's behavior, but I feel like that has more to do with an understanding of how this child is going to be affected by the dual cultures, whereas I don't see that with the father. I certainly think he should be allowed to visit his child, but I think that further involvement in her life gets pretty tricky.
If nothing else, if he's still alive when it gets to her rumspringa, maybe she can go live with him then.
