Rumspring Analysis of the Hands-Off Parenting - 602 Words

Do I agree or disagree with the hands’ off ignore-the-behavior approach; Amish parents and leaders take with their children during rumspringa? Well that is simple, no I do not agree with it. There have been plenty of studies done to show that permissive parenting, (what they are doing during rumspringa) hurts the child in the long run. It causes them to have low impulse control that can lead to things like substance abuse (i.e. drugs and alcohol), and problems with the authorities. The permissive parenting style is also something that theses teens are completely unprepared for, seeing as up till the age of sixteen the parents practiced an authoritarian style of parenting which gave the children little to no freedoms at all and demanded absolute obedience to the ways of the family and church. The direct translation of rumspringa, (according to the documentary) means â€Å"running around†, and running around is exactly what theses teens are doing. While most of the teens still live at home during rumspringa it is not required. As a result you have sixteen year olds, typically boys, living without any supervision at all that cannot even find decent employment. Because children are made to drop out of school after eighth grade; due to the fact that the Amish culture believes it â€Å"leads to pride† these children are left in the world with less than a high school degree. The jobs they are normally able to have are very labor intensive and can be unsafe. Now you are left with children