Parent of the year award?

Not exactly a thread anyone was looking to bump, but this caught my eye this am:

Adolf and his younger sisters were removed from their parent's home by NJ social services.

Yep.

Sounds like their real problems take the cake.

[ouch!]

I was just coming to post that ^^^

DAMN YOU!!!!! *shakes fist*

Good. That's the appropriate response to using children as political props.

Some great comments on that story:

While everyone is entitled to freedom of speech, sometimes you still need to keep it down and not draw too much attention to yourself. Since stupidity is not a reason to take someone's children, I'm curious to see what angle they are using.

I was curious too. The story said there had been no reports of abuse or neglect, so why have these children been taken into custody? Is naming a child Adolf Hitler considered abuse in and of itself?

I think the argument could be made. That kid is going to be abused and ridiculed for the rest of his life (until he changes his name). There is no way the parents didn't know that.

The article also states that the father is a Holocaust denier and decorates the house with swastikas. That's not directly abusive but I don't think it's healthy either.

I liken it to a mother starving her daughter so she can be a model. It does get a bit esoteric here, since we don't yet know of any physical abuse, but it's the same attitude - using a child to fulfill one's own agenda instead of raising him or her as a child.

But yes, I'm interested to hear what has to be said. They will need some very specific and convincing language.

I didn't come back in time to edit...

I should add that I don't think they will be able to take the kids away just because the parents are racists or Holocaust deniers. Unfortunately you can't take someone's kids away just because they believe disgusting, absurd things. I would be very concerned if child services started taking away the kids of parents they disagree with.

*cough* FLDS *cough*

Not quite the same, since that started with a call from a minor citing abuse.

Don't forget that Child Services is also a publicly funded social service. I am sure there was an outcry from the public and from government officials about this and Child Services felt the need to react and do something, even if it is hypothetically wrong.

There are no laws against flying flags like The Confederate Battle Flag or the Nazi Flag, as long as you can prove that you're not doing it in a way that is provoking hate. I don't like these parents, i don't like their belief structure in so much i am disgusted by it. However, being an Atheist, does this mean that Child Services can look at me and remove my daughter because i don't believe in God? Or because i don't support the war in Iraq? I didn't realize that there was a required belief structure in order to be a parent.

I don't agree with their views, but unless you can prove to me without a doubt that the child is in immediate danger, i don't see why they removed the children. The names suck, their attitudes suck, but care for and of the child is supposed to be objective.

yeah, but the FLDS fiasco sets a precedent against CPS being allowed to remove children from homes based on the beliefs of the parents--as i recall, CPS was handed an unfavorable ruling when they rounded up all the FLDS kids. i don't think it's a legal precedent, since these two events occurred in different states, but still.

This was kind of what I was driving at. You can't take away a kid just because you give him a name that might be subject to playground ridicule or scorn. If this were the case, I'm sure many foreign-sounding named children would have been sequestered by DCFS over the years. However, is Adolf Hitler a heinous enough name choice to constitute child abuse? After some thought, I don't think so. It's a horrible name with a horrible legacy, but I don't think it merits state intervention.

I'm with you here, but you aren't using your daughter as a political tool against religion. You didn't name her "Godless ChristiansAreStupid Reject". I don't think it's the belief structure that prompted the removal, but the way they let that belief structure dominate their ability to be decent parents.

That said, there is certainly an argument to be had over whether that constitutes child abuse significant enough for removal of the child. Like Katieesq said.

Maybe they were using this logic:

This is all speculation. We don't know why the children were removed and the agency is not allowed to reveal that information to the general public.

I didn't name her after a Saint. Drove my rather catholic parents and relatives crazy, but i see your point.

I think Adolf Hitler is about as bad as you can get, as far as names go. If I'd met a racist named Adolf Hitler when I was younger I'd have smacked him around and I was a wuss in school. And with his parents there is a damn good chance this kid is going to grow up with a seriously warped world view.

I don't think there are grounds for taking the kids away, at least not based on the reports so far. Maybe CS knows more than we do. That said, if it were up to me (and luckily it's not) I would yank these kids away in a heartbeat. Their parents are clearly morons.

True, can't just pick on people because of their beliefs, no matter how stupid you think they are.

But the FLDS kicks out lots of the boys, due to the sexual arithmetic, and some of the boys are as young as the age of 13, according to articles like this one.

That's negligence. What should CPS do if they can be sure that a large percentage of FLDS boys are going to be abandoned like that?

My biggest problem with it at this point, is the only reason it was recognized as an issue is because of all the publicity. Had they not tried to get the birthday cake with that name on it, would the kids and the parents behavior even been noticed?

Having dealt with Children's Services first hand, at least in Ohio, they overlook some pretty blatantly obvious stuff. It is just speculation, but i know of, and deal with parent(s) that were around, not addicted to drugs, not selling their stuff to support their gambling addiction and leave all their children in the care of one child, who isn't of age. I have called them and given them proof, and i get "sorry sir there isn't anything we can do about it".

I wonder how many abused/neglected kids are being forgotten about to satisfy the whims of a political figure or the public?

I guess there is such a thing as bad publicity.

I suppose that depends whether you think they really care about these kids or if they just want to use them to advance their own "America is hostile to white pride!" agenda.