Jehovah's Witness Children are Kept Alienated from the rest of the world! (page 3)

Tigerman

A friend of mine who is a teacher's assistant told me that she overheard a pre-kindergarten little Jehovah's Witness girl , in the school bathroom , saying the Pledge of Allegiance. She wasn't allowed to say it in the classroom, but in order to be like her classmates she repeated it to herself when she was alone. How heartbreaking.

GentlyFeral

Dragonlady76,

Oh let's not forget that JW's are strongly encouraged to home school their children.

Is this a recent tendency, or perhaps a regional one? I remember clearly that, when I was preparing to homeschool my children (not strictly for religious reasons), that it scandalized about half the congregation. Who would witness to the poor benighted school children, if my children were not there? And if they were not taught by credentialed teachers, would not their future illiteracy and ignorance be a poor witness for Jehovah™?

But I was, for once, something of a trendsetter: within a couple of years, nearly all the children in my congregation were being homeschooled. Some of their parents were seriously underqualified (one mother was trying to teach pre-algebra and did not know what a least common multiple was). To their credit, most of them returned their children to school within a year – because they saw it was too much work to do the job right, and they really did want to do right by their children.

Of course, non-isolationists get all panicked about homeschooling and socialization™. My son came through all that unscathed – he is a solid, well-connected member of his community today. My daughter, ~~not so much~~ similarly – but her community is all online. She had some traumatizing experiences which short-circuited the whole 3-D thing. Things that could have happened even if she had been in school, and probably would've been no less disturbing. We're working on it.

gentlyferal

</HIJACK>

under_believer

No, the JW's are not strongly encouraged to home school their children.

Someone posted this on the JWD before. I pasted and saved it to my personal files because I believe it. I wish I knew who the original poster was. Raised as a JW, every point presented, except disfellowshipping, applies to me personally.
Ways that raising children as Jehovah's Witnesses can harm them.
1) Teaches children to have an air of superiority regarding other human beings.
2) Teaches a siege mentality about the evil, horrible world where children feel like the world is out to get them.
3) Superstition regarding demons and Satan
4) Sets kids up for teasing and ridicule because of no holidays, no flag salute, and constant pressure to "informal witness" at school. This feeds back into #2.
5) Often Witness kids miss out on cultural touchstones of their generation--cartoons, movies, music, etc.
6) Heavy discouragement to go to secondary education. This leaves adult Witnesses ignorant, often unable to properly provide for themselves and their families, and unable to reach their full potential.
7) No b lood transfusions, of course.
8) The "two witnesses" rule raises the likelihood that pedophiles will go unpunished and abuse again.
9) Families are often torn apart by the disfellowshipping arrangement. There is no overestimating the ill effect this kind of turmoil can have on children.
10) Independent thinking is heavily discouraged, meaning that many Witnesses grow up without the tools to question what they're being taught or told--whether by the Society or others.
11) The Society's primary motivator is guilt, institutional, grassroots-enforced, top-down guilt. I do not know a single Witness or ex-Witness that doesn't have serious issues with guilt. It is just not healthy to be raised with constant guilt.

DJK, that was me! http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/132925/1.ashx I'm so glad that post meant something to someone. Every single item in there applies to me, too.

Stealth453

I still have a hard time making friends, as a result of that horsecrap.

Anony-Mouse

Technically, I'm still a kid, right? :P .

I'm homeschooled, and have been since before highschool. The JWs I'm around just about all like me, but I'm shy. I was 'popular' in the congregation. That is, once we transfered to one that had kids my age in it a year ago. Before that I had no freinds.

And now? No freinds :P . I've disfellowshipped myself, I guess. Sure, I hang out with folks when asked (Ironically, it's been happening more...), but I don't put any effort into freinds.

The internet is another story. People love me, and I love them :P . So I'm 'social' through the internet....does that count?

"JW kids are the most alienated, immature, socially stunted and miserable kids, no wonder they go crazy when they get out of the cult."

I agree I'm alienated. I havn't had a real life freind outside the religion for 4 years.

Socially stunted? Possibly. I think I manage it better than average JW kids. If I put my mind to it, I'm outgoing. I think that's how I am deep inside, it's just supressed a bit.

Miserable? Without the internet, I'm not sure I'd be alive, let alone miserable. Without it, and if I were alive, I would be VERY miserable.

Oh I skipped one?

Immature......most definately :P . I think it's one of my greatest personality traits! Just my opinion :P .

Will I go crazy? Nope. I have no desire to do drugs, or drink, or engage in wild sex with many people (one at a time please.....jk) . Mom doesn't realize how lucky she is that I don't plan on screwing myself up like that.

AWAKE&WATCHING

My son and daughter have major issues because of being raised in the cult.

I did that to them and I will never forgive myself.

moshe

My kids got out of the JW's as teenages about 5 years after their mother divorced me. But the relationship damage had already been done. Only after another 10+ years do have I noticed that they are doing better with relationships. I am gald to be able to be in their lives- I have that much to be happy about.- had I waited another 5 years to make the break, it might have been too late to get them out.

jeanne40love

I have felt for a long time, that children (in general) are not wanted in the organization.

I think the pressure on children to make an adult decision (baptism) when they are in their very unbalanced years is rubbish! And then to hold their feet to the fire, if they make any false step (which we all do) is really lousy. Not what Jesus meant when he called the children to him.

Sad, Sad, Sad

Jehovah's Witness Children are Kept Alienated from the rest of the world!

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