I think they were very secure about their control of the victims.
Exactly,
The Turpins DEMANDED that they had to be in charge of the kids at every possible moment. The abuse with the ropes, chains, and locks was their form of control. Following four different cult like religions at once, the kids could not do anything without a parent being there. As bad as that, they were insistent on not having the kids observe anything that would take away their control. And the religious obsession made matters beyond all comprehension. Can't let the kids date. Their partner might think about sex, and we can't have that. Can't let the kids watch TV, cause the ideas and views they get from the shows are "wrong." And we can't have that. Can't have the kids playing with toys or games because they might get ideas that our not ours and we can't have that, All of these things were Louise's and David's ways of sadistic, cult-like, controlled thinking,
Louise probably hated the idea of the older son taking community college classes, but her being there at every moment was a mandatory condition for the son to do that. She probably would have proffered to be in the classroom with him, but unless signed up for the class herself, school policy would not allow her to do that. The girl who tried to bond a friendship with the son taking the class. He told Louise that he had no friends and she had no friends, asking her if they could be friends. This was only the second night of class, Louise, according to the girl, coldly said "Whatever" and got in the van with her son, who never attended the class again.
I did read that the whole family attended a community college show in 2016, all wearing the same type of outfits. What the show was about I do not know, but I think the older son was in the program. I think that the Turpins saw the outside world as a threat to their authority and only exposed their kids to this, if and only if they were able to regulate the situation.
Nothing that David or Louise did was for the kids, with the possible exception of the toddler. Louise had an obsession with cute things, such as little babies and Disney. Being the narcissists that she and David were, they could not love anything that they did not like. When the babies were no longer cute, to Louise and David, they became ugly and repulsive to them, and their children's' natural curiosities about the world were met with disdain and disapproval by both parents. They had to use physical punishment, intimidation, and torture, to prevent the children from discovery. In their sick minds, if they didn't do this, control would be lost.
I could even see Louise as mentally incompetent in several areas. She may have never been taught the skills of cooking, and cleaning, or what love is. Or maybe she was so sick and twisted that she just didn't care. Cleaning the house and caring for the kids in terms of personal hygiene and nutrition, she never saw the responsibility of being a mother or learned the duties and commitment associated with nurturing and Mothering. David's threats and intimidation made Louise's behavior ten times worse. And when the children became so accustomed to living in this hell hole with these monsters, David and Louise would find new ways to intimidate them. This wasn't going to stop until the kids were able to notify authorities or until the parents were arrested. Even if one of the kids would have died of starvation, David and Louise could care less. She would just want another "Cute" baby to make up for the "dead repulsive one."
This witch was living in a fantasy world with her warlock husband who wanted a life of Disney and "Cute" toddlers.
Satch