mtnlites
President of the Imaginary Friends' Club
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2014
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.. Glad you stated that you don't own a mobile phone, however you can Skype. The children didn't have the device; the medium, neither did they have access to any alternative and most importantly they didn't have the freedom of choice. This applies to many other things including Internet-based devices and driving since they didn't live in a well-connected area in terms of public transportation. Examples given previously, amongst others, are all essential to be taught or offered and then it is up to the teenager to decide.
The rest of my comment, which isn't shown, also spoke about how kids need to be taught independence and how the Harts were at fault for taking that away from them. My comment about the cell phone was merely to mention that teenagers don't "need" them as in they are not a necessity. And they're not. Being able to communicate is, which I also said (also not quoted), and being taught autonomy outside of the family is important.
We do not know for sure that the kids didn't have access to the internet or other devices. We are assuming that they didn't but we do not know. There was at least some access in the house (perhaps cell phones) because they uploaded photos all the time. LE removed computers from the homes so we know they had those. We do yet know, however, how available those things were to the kids.
This is the rest of what I wrote:
My point is, kids can live without the things that are mentioned. As long as they are still properly socialized, provided with some type of education (which I would say needs to include an understanding of basic technology), and taught to be independent then they don't need a cell phone, car, or email address. However, they DO need adequate nutrition, education, life skills, independence, and socialization. It doesn't sound like they were receiving these things. THAT is a problem.