Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl01082)

Donna:
> What circumstances are in existance now that would turn children
>into psychopaths?  And what kind of adults will this generation of child
become?

	Good questions.  I work with foster children, and have for over 30
years now.  The new ones are infinitely worse than the old.  The new
generation of foster/abused children is too scary to contemplate.
	One problem that I have found--overly permissive and protective
society today.  Touch a child today, and you have child abuse.  This is
taught to children in schools, and all too soon they learn that they can
pretty well get away with anything.  My wife and I are almost ready now
to quit with foster children.  We have talked to several foster parents
who were beaten badly by foster children.  One husband was actually
arrested for child abuse when he forced the "child" from his wife who
was lying on the ground unconscious from the child's attacks.  My
wife recently threw a glass of water on a child who was throwing rocks
at her and myself and threatening us with all kinds of bodily damage.
She did this to try to calm the child down.  She called the police for help,
and was arrested for child abuse, but (after $1000+ for lawyers) the DA
dropped all charges just before trial.
	 A large percentage of foster parents in our area
have been beaten or hurt by foster children, and none that I know of
has ever abused a child, though many are (falsely) accused.  It is
a sad commentary on our country, when a small child
looks you in the face and tells you that they can do as they please,
and you can't stop them (and they are, of course, quite right).  Its a
whole different world than the one I grew up in.  I cannot even
imagine where this will end up. (The 9-year old girl who threw
the rocks as us is now in a padded hospital room.  But how
long will it be before she is on the streets again?)

	Jerry S.
	Member, TI