I recently watched an interview with Matt & Adele Allen on their "off grid" approach to parenting, where they were interviewed with their two young children.
The public backlash this couple have received has truly saddened me. There were aspects of their chosen lifestyle I truly admired and felt inspired by, and yes, there were some issues, such as, not vaccinating that I personally didn't agree with...but that is my personal opinion & in no way did I feel compelled to take to social media to voice my disagreement. Debate is healthy, disagreement is healthy, what isn't healthy is proclaiming that their children should be taken into the care of Social Services, that they won't live to their teens, that their parents should not of been blessed with these two beautiful souls. What gives those individuals the right to make such hurtful, evil comments?
Vaccinations will forever be a controversial subject, some parents vaccinate, some don't. It's a personal choice & we should respect people's choices not hang them at the first available opportunity.
Adele and Matt, in my opinion, were highlighting a lifestyle which could contribute to a more sustainable future for this planet. The world has developed into a fuel guzzling, environmentally harming, selfish, technology ruled, frightening place...(in my eyes) many have forgotten the simple fun, the homemade, the creative and the excitement of exploration and adventure. Children seem to be forever confined to computer games, mobile phones and imaginative play outdoors seems to be seen less and less. Even my children occasionally are guilty of this.
Although I am far from achieving a fully off grid lifestyle, we as a family, try to be as self sufficient as possible, which in this current social climate can be hard to achieve.
Adele and Matt's children were branded as feral and uncontrolled....I wonder had the line up of the show not branded them as 'off grid parents' would they have received such a negative response to the behaviour of their children. I fully believe that viewers were instantly homing in on the children to watch how they behaved in order to dissect reasons as to why one 'wet themselves' and why the other was excitable, blaming it of course on the parenting practises of Adele and Matt. The children were 5 & 1 years old & in a completely alien environment, with cameras, strangers, bright lights....I would imagine for such little babes it was completely overwhelming.
The children of Adele & Matt are loved, fed, cared for & are experiencing a lifestyle that is truly beautiful. They do not need to continue this lifestyle when they're older, as stated by their parents, they have the freedom to reject it should they wish, but I believe most importantly they will be able to reflect and appreciate that they were lucky enough to experience it.
We have no right to judge people on their way of life, it works for them and that is what is important.
I wont judge them- I liked their ideals - disagree with the anti vax and although i am a retired teacher not convinced 100% on their education ideas( they ought to explore a Montisorri education but they probably cant afford it). What I wrote on their funding page is their attitude towards letting their son bounce about on the sofa- which wasnt theirs to bounce on and the lack of a reaction or apology when their daughter weed on the floor would not have endeared the audience at all. Also asking for 100k to be self sufficient is really taking the proverbial. If they had shown how they were also saving money by working to fund it as well as answering peoples queries about a business/ budget plan, the negative comments would have been fewer. The big question asked by many is they wont be allowed to live in Costa Rica without their kids being vaccinated and they will have to go to school. Why dont they join a commune here in the UK? There are plenty around. I wish them luck but they have shot themselves in the foot the way they have gone about things.
ReplyDelete