Can you imagine being given this opportunity

It reads like one of those stories where you think you’d have loved to have been in that situation but in reality, after a while it would have been horrible..

the lack of parental responsibility or any compassion to the kids is shocking…
 
Good read but absolutely horrific

Incredibly selfish of her parents and without her own drive her life could be a total shambles now, shocked anyone would think this was an opportunity to be cherished
 
Norman_Conquest said:
I want Molten to point the abusive parts for me.
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No proper education, even when they were land bound for two years in Hawaii, they didn't send her to school.

No proper food.

No chance to socialise with anyone her own age.

She nearly died on multiple occasions.

Most importantly, she had absolutely no choice in the matter.

I can only assume you didn't actually read the article that you linked, she herself lists the many, many bad things that happened to her during the experience.
 
TeaCider said:
No proper education, even when they were land bound for two years in Hawaii, they didn't send her to school.

No proper food.

No chance to socialise with anyone her own age.

She nearly died on multiple occasions.

Most importantly, she had absolutely no choice in the matter.

I can only assume you didn't actually read the article that you linked, she herself lists the many, many bad things that happened to her during the experience.
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Education - Other than Matilda, I've never known any kid who wanted to go to school. All joking aside, her parents thought the life experience would be education enough. For some, it would have been but not for all. There have been other people who have given their children similar experiences and they have turned out to be rounded people.

Food - This is the only part I can see that could be abusive. Very bad planning on the parent's part.

She nearly died - No one can control the weather and every hospital in the country is full of kids who have had accidents. At her age, two of my classmates got run over crossing a road, one died and the other one was very badly injured.

Choice - What seven year old gets a real choice in the decisions their parents make? You could look at army children, people who have emigrated etc.

I know this lifestyle isn't for everyone (one man's meat is another man's poison) but I would have loved to have been given this experience. I might have got sick of it and longed for home but then again, I might have enjoyed it.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
Education - Other than Matilda, I've never known any kid who wanted to go to school. All joking aside, her parents thought the life experience would be education enough. For some, it would have been but not for all. There have been other people who have given their children similar experiences and they have turned out to be rounded people.

Food - This is the only part I can see that could be abusive. Very bad planning on the parent's part.
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Kids dont like school, but nor do they like having to educate themselves, no access or ability to develop friendships, no access to fresh fruit, being covered in salt, being abandoned 40 miles away from their parents and having to renew her own Visa. It is lucky she educated herself well as not many careers accept several years on a sailboat as a CV.
 
She spent most of her childhood friendless and unable to socialise with other children. It's like one of those families that lock their kids in a basement, with added seasickness.
 
ThatFragranceGuy said:
Kids dont like school, but nor do they like having to educate themselves, no access or ability to develop friendships, no access to fresh fruit, being covered in salt, being abandoned 40 miles away from their parents and having to renew her own Visa. It is lucky she educated herself well as not many careers accept several years on a sailboat as a CV.
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We were on land in South Bank and only saw fresh fruit in our stockings at Christmas and looked forward to the man from Del Monte bringing his tins. ;)

I would love to hear the parent's side to add some perspective to this story but then that could interfere with her selling her book or having parts of it published in The Guardian.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
I want Molten to point the abusive parts for me.
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I think others have beat me to it but I particularly found the part of her being stranded in a foreign country as a minor, when her parents were in another country working, with hardly any money to get by with, being made to run her parents company whilst her visa was running out.

Not sure about you but that doesn't seem like a normal, loving upbringing.

But what do I know? Apart from attending numerous courses on child neglect, the consequences of it on the child and and currently caring for children suffering from neglect. Like you say Norm, she should have appreciated the opportunity eh?
 
Norman_Conquest said:
We were on land in South Bank and only saw fresh fruit in our stockings at Christmas and looked forward to the man from Del Monte bringing his tins. ;)

I would love to hear the parent's side to add some perspective to this story but then that could interfere with her selling her book or having parts of it published in The Guardian.
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But you were in school, had friends and lived with your parents I presume
 
MolteniArcore said:
I think others have beat me to it but I particularly found the part of her being stranded in a foreign country as a minor, when her parents were in another country working, with hardly any money to get by with, being made to run her parents company whilst her visa was running out.

Not sure about you but that doesn't seem like a normal, loving upbringing.

But what do I know? Apart from attending numerous courses on child neglect, the consequences of it on the child and and currently caring for children suffering from neglect. Like you say Norm, she should have appreciated the opportunity eh?
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With my serious head on now.

No one in their right mind would argue that being left in a foreign country to look after a sibling isn't a form of neglect and I am sure it is still impacting her. Like you, I have also attended numerous courses on neglect, have numerous books on the subject and might have even delivered some of the courses that you have attended. We have fostered in the past and have seen the impact neglect can have on children first hand and although I have made light of it in this thread, I do fully understand the consequences it can have in future life.

Many other posters have mentioned the lack of food and social interaction with other children as contributions to her mental health, and again I cannot argue against that but, without trying to play down any of it, I do feel that she's sensationalized her story to sell her book - I would like to hear the parents side of the story but maybe they are in on the writing of the book.

This could and should have been an opportunity of a lifetime but was badly planned from the outset by the parents on several fronts and should have ended at the end of Cook's journey but didn't. This part for me is where it all goes wrong and the majority of the child abuse comes in. I would have loved to participate in that first part of her journey but you can see and understand how a dream opportunity could turn sour.

I tend to watch a lot of Ben Fogle's programmes about people living and raising their children in the wild. The majority of these children are well grounded and live an idyllic lifestyle, but I am sure there are many in reality who would love to be running around a tarmac playground playing footy with other kids.

Maybe my view of her adventure lies in the Treasure Island and Swiss Family Robinson books I read as a child.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
With my serious head on now.

No one in their right mind would argue that being left in a foreign country to look after a sibling isn't a form of neglect and I am sure it is still impacting her. Like you, I have also attended numerous courses on neglect, have numerous books on the subject and might have even delivered some of the courses that you have attended. We have fostered in the past and have seen the impact neglect can have on children first hand and although I have made light of it in this thread, I do fully understand the consequences it can have in future life.

Many other posters have mentioned the lack of food and social interaction with other children as contributions to her mental health, and again I cannot argue against that but, without trying to play down any of it, I do feel that she's sensationalized her story to sell her book - I would like to hear the parents side of the story but maybe they are in on the writing of the book.

This could and should have been an opportunity of a lifetime but was badly planned from the outset by the parents on several fronts and should have ended at the end of Cook's journey but didn't. This part for me is where it all goes wrong and the majority of the child abuse comes in. I would have loved to participate in that first part of her journey but you can see and understand how a dream opportunity could turn sour.

I tend to watch a lot of Ben Fogle's programmes about people living and raising their children in the wild. The majority of these children are well grounded and live an idyllic lifestyle, but I am sure there are many in reality who would love to be running around a tarmac playground playing footy with other kids.

Maybe my view of her adventure lies in the Treasure Island and Swiss Family Robinson books I read as a child.
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Do you require this burden of proof of all authors or just ones that squandered the opportunity to enjoy child neglect?

One of the weirdest takes I've ever read on here
 
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