Debbie,
this is so thoroughly repulsive,beyond words…

Chiefscotty24 on June 2, 2010 at 12:40 pm

I could only watch a couple of minutes of this. Those parents should be jailed for child abuse and the children given to foster parents who will enforce some rules and get them into school. Right now they are going to grow up as useful idiots, susceptible to any suggestion from anyone about anything because they will be sorely lacking in critical thinking skills. Not to mention any social interaction with other children.

kenny komodo on June 2, 2010 at 12:42 pm

I totally agree, this is child abuse. Idiots! How will the children ever know what they want to do if they are not educated enough to know what is available to them. I am sure these two dopes of parents went to school, surely they know how to add up how much rent is owed. Sad.

CJ on June 2, 2010 at 12:47 pm

This is illegal in my State. And that incessant racket would not last 30 seconds in my home.

pat on June 2, 2010 at 12:50 pm

It’s criminal that adults like these should be allowed to breed!

shariasucks on June 2, 2010 at 1:10 pm

Deb,
It seems that every answer from the mother was “I don’t think they’ll need to know that when they’re older.” What is it that they’re teaching the kids anyway? Those kids won’t last a day out in the real world of work – in an office or out in any kind of trade. They are being raised to switch their attention at a moments notice – if they feel like it. G-d forbid they are asked to concentrate on a subject for more than five minutes.

Here’s some algebra for you Dayna,

(Mother+Father)-learning “school stuff”=Your kids will suck at life.

Evan on June 2, 2010 at 1:15 pm

These “parents” would rather be their kids’ friends. And taken to the extreme!

I’m not a fan of the rigid, super-strict household, but these kids do need some structure in their lives. There is a time and place for everything; life can’t be all fun and games…

Alan on June 2, 2010 at 1:17 pm

Future welfare boobs. The girls may get lucky and marry providers though.

hermster on June 2, 2010 at 1:24 pm

I totally agree! This is child abuse. What happens when the kids are 18-20 and completely illiterate. Oh how they will HATE their parents. They will end up as welfare rats.

Mary on June 2, 2010 at 1:25 pm

The book Summerhill by AS Neil was the banner for this nonsense in the 60’s.
Summerhill and these parents pretend to make available the knowledge they think the kids will want naturally. These parents are masking their slovenly propensities with slovenly thinking. These kids are not going to be the next great contributors to science or humanity. They can’t be bothered because self interest has been raised to highest moral. Self-denial is to be avoided at all cost to preserve the self. How is this an ideal to be aspired too?

James Everest on June 2, 2010 at 1:34 pm

As a father of 3 kids (10,8,6) I found this to really be child abuse. These kids have no structure or learning in their environment. I’m sorry, but DCF should come in and take the kids and put them in Foster Care. You then force these dummy parents to take parenting classes and when they get their kids back, if the kids don’t go to school every day—parents go to jail.

These kids will be a burden on society for their whole lives. It is IMPOSSIBLE to learn to read, write or do math on your own—you must be taught. When will people realize that until your Kids are Adults (say 25+), you WILL NEVER and CAN NEVER be their friends—you are their parent. You teach them knowledge, proper behavior, customs, and prepare them for the hard and cruel World. It is a tough job, but it must be done —or you get these kids. I’d love to see how they are all doing 10 – 15 years down the road.

jimmyPx on June 2, 2010 at 2:15 pm

This is how the real world works, isn’t it. I want something, I get it. Isn’t that how it works for you? These kids are going to be so grossly unprepared for the REAL world that it really should be criminal. Even if they manage to develop a talent for something, they will be taken advantage of at every turn. They won’t comprehend managing their finances and they will spend a great part of their adult lives learning what they should have learned at 10. Absolutely criminal.

Adam K on June 2, 2010 at 2:15 pm

I think this is sad in that it limits the potential of the children… but is it criminal? I see no difference in the repulsion of a “free range” home schooler compared to a religious home schooler who teaches their children that the Earth was created in a day less than 10,000 years ago. The result is the same – adults who don’t possess the tools to survive outside the bubble they were brought up in.

Jerry on June 2, 2010 at 2:16 pm

Absolutely that is child abuse. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if they were at least disciplining their children, but what they are doing is abdicating their God-given responsibility to teach their children and allowing the children to run the household. Failures raising failures.

DragonLady on June 2, 2010 at 2:17 pm

Really, the hair is child abuse in and of itself.

I bet that this is the backlash against parents that plan every second of their children’s lives, and the funny thing is that this is JUST as bad. I mean, it’s pretty well documented that children need a combination of structure and free play – all of one or the other leaves you with children lacking in major skill sets, be it the ability to do what you’re told or the ability to figure it out on your own.

I have no problem with creative homeschooling based on your kids’ individual needs, but there has to be some structure, some basic things you teach your kid whether YOU think they’re important or not. Because like it or not, at some point your child is going to be at a point where they are competing with other kids – for college acceptance, for jobs, for whatever – and they are going to be at a major disadvantage if you don’t at least ensure a basic curriculum.

hellcat on June 2, 2010 at 2:20 pm

Oh and she’s also pitching a book “Radical Unschooling: a revolution has begun,I’m sure it is filled from front to back with some serious gems.

Chiefscotty24 on June 2, 2010 at 2:35 pm

This ABC hit piece was obviously aimed at home schooling which has nothing to do with what these people are doing.

Dayna Martin is a prime example of feminism gone wild.She is just doing what she learned in the Public Schools.She is so dumbed down it is pathetic. It just amazes me that Dayna has never been confronted with her behavior and that the local school officials have not done anything when they go after home schooled all the time.

I just love her comment to the other mother “It is about having their needs met”. Liberal 101 She is advocating raising idiots.

Dayna should be in a mental hospital IMHO

Notice how the kids ran wild out in public. I can hardly wait until they are teenagers and have their first experience being pulled over by a traffic cop.

BTW I tried to leave a comment on her youtube page which is highly censored by her and she allows no negative comments period.

ScottyDog on June 2, 2010 at 2:46 pm

Scottydog, how is she an example of feminism gone wild? I didn’t see the piece (work computer blocks video, although I saw something similar on ABC a few weeeks ago) so I don’t get how this relates to feminism.

hellcat on June 2, 2010 at 3:00 pm

Wow. As a parent and as a taxpayer I’m saddened, stunned and outraged. Those poor kids will be left to fend for themselves with no job prospects, so life skills and no means of support. The parents are condemning those kids to a life of menial labor or government handouts. Sickening. Liberal passive child abuse is a very descriptive and accurate term.

Kaiser Sozay on June 2, 2010 at 3:01 pm

This piece really got my underwear in a wad so I did some research.
This fraud is making money hand over fist marketing her “education technique”.She puts on seminars and does home visits advising parents on how to rear their children for a fee of course.

She is in negotiations for a Nickelodeon TV show!! (scroll down)
http://thesparklingmartins.blogspot.com/

More dumbing down of America kids on a TV network.

Pathetic

ScottyDog on June 2, 2010 at 3:03 pm

Sounds like the mom didn’t like or had trouble with school as a kid and just doesn’t want to bother dealing with it (thru her kids) now. What a shame!

Lee in IL on June 2, 2010 at 3:12 pm

I would never let my kids watch most Niicklelodean shows because the channel’s slogan was “Kids Rule”, and most shows reflected that and made all adults look like idiots. The shows had kids disrespecting them and getting away with it. Not a good lesson and not funny. Sounds like how these kids are growing up; life imitating art at it’s worst.

JW on June 2, 2010 at 3:30 pm

yep, this sort of thing is going on in liberal homeschooling groups, (if there is such a allowable label in their love for the public education system). however, in homeschool consulting, I have found its the new agey types do this and it is quite destructive in the long term.

google “open homeschooling internet forums” or something terms that. its out there and its scary!

SCARY!! we might have to hire these pple later when they grow up!!

LP on June 2, 2010 at 3:32 pm

ah! but this is all about making good homeschoolers look bad. risky and “UNCONTROLLED”.

LP on June 2, 2010 at 3:36 pm

Are you sure this is not from the Onion? I’ve seen the guy’s picture before and I’m sure it’s from there.

NJ Liberal on June 2, 2010 at 3:41 pm

Keeping my fingers crossed that this family or at least the kids win the lottery. If not then line up at the goverment teet! Oh and I like the “answer a question with a question” approach mom takes. Won’t stand behind her parenting style on its merits because there are none. The only thing missing was tie dyed t-shirts on the whole family and dad spending his days “cultivating” the family business.

Jim on June 2, 2010 at 4:14 pm

I bet dad is making lots of money selling his “toys”. It takes him one week to make a product that you couldn’t sell for 50 cents. This is what your typical liberal trust-fund baby looks like. I wish the reporter had done a close-up on the kid’s teeth. The good news is that these kids will be too lazy to vote. What will they do with the rest of their lives? They will be good liberals. They will never grow up and they will always need to have someone take care of them. Don’t think that this isn’t going on in public schools. Why do you think mom is such an idiot? She is a product of public education.
But I agree with an earlier post. This is just a smear to make all home school families look stupid. Funny thing is, they had to use liberal Obama voters to do it.

Desiree on June 2, 2010 at 4:14 pm

I see future clients. As I am in law enforcement. Unreal. Reminds me of my exwife!

samurai on June 2, 2010 at 5:11 pm

no critical thinking skills are developed… by completely avoiding ALL academic discipline these kids will be unable to learn anything as adults (in the unlikely scenario they would want to try it)…

the rationalizations by the mom are astounding in their inorance.

an afterthought: it seems these kids are going to grow up to be the perfect empty-vessel archetype for a dictatorial government to mould and use as rational-proof shock troops.

howardroark on June 2, 2010 at 5:21 pm

I see your point, but in some ways kids might be better off not knowing about FDR.

Little Al on June 2, 2010 at 5:59 pm

What will these kids do when their impulses are thwarted by other people? They won’t be able to cope.

They will never learn to control themselves and take hold of their lives. This is akin to the Nazi philosophy of living by your nature and putting down anyone that gets in your way.

Facts Life on June 2, 2010 at 6:47 pm

Another excellent post, Debbie.

I concur that the parents are idiots and their children will regret that they have been raised like this.

JeffE on June 2, 2010 at 7:53 pm

(hugs, and says): “You’re doing a great job” to the bad mother in training. Priceless…

spiffo on June 2, 2010 at 9:35 pm

This was very hard to watch. The parents (especially the mother)are complete morons. They’re setting these kids up for a horrible life on their own.

Andy on June 2, 2010 at 9:50 pm

This was a hit piece on home schooling pure and simple. I have been home schooling for 5 years and have NEVER met anyone like this woman. ABC News had to work hard to find this woman – she can only represent a minuscule segment of the home schooling population. An outlier. Yet, here we are on a freedom loving blog with people calling her and her self-employed husband child abusers. One slanted news segment and you’re all willing to take their children away and put them in foster care – a truly abusive system. This illustrates how well you were all trained in public school. Just trust the government and let them handle it. And what happens when your weekly McDonald’s run becomes grounds for child abuse charges because your child is a little chubby? Where does it end? We need to be very careful what we call child abuse. And careful about empowering government to come in and take our children.

Yes, I was appalled by her apparent lack of structure. I was also appalled at how the interviewer went after her. Where are her new stories on our terrible public schools, their failed and unscientific pedagogies, the waste of taxpayer dollars? Please spend some time asking a recent high school graduate his multiplication tables, what he thinks of George Washington and his favorite work of classic literature. Once you hear his answers, you’ll be screaming child abuse and in this case you’ll be right. It is criminal what our government schools do with the time they are supposed to be educating chldren.

Nadine on June 2, 2010 at 10:22 pm

I particularly enjoyed the photo of dad. I had to take a second look. My first impression was the father paying homage to the recently deceased Fess Parker by wearing his Coonskin Cap. I can’t wait to see this guy when genetics and time make him look like Kyle Gass in no-time-flat.

#1 Vato on June 2, 2010 at 10:23 pm

They’ll grow up with their hands out as this is the only way they know. Then others who are educated will work to provide food, shelter and medical care for them. They’re the ultimate entitlement liberals.

Bo Knows on June 2, 2010 at 10:32 pm

Debbie, I don’t see anything wrong with that family. The kids have two wacky, somewhat intelligent parents in their house who seem devoted. Those kids will be better off than lots of the kids filling classroom space. And missing out on the never ending diet of GBLT Tolerance Week, Black History Month, Glocal Warming lessons, Islam Appreciation Day, Feminist and Person of Color Theory and speeches from Obama isn’t the end of the world. If ABC wanted to expose really bad parenting, there are plenty of other parts of Detroit they could have picked where kids go to school.

A1 on June 2, 2010 at 11:16 pm

A1 HAS A POINT. Sort of. I was going to post something about putting those kids in a spelling bee or cash cab, against a Deroit public school kid the same age or even a high school graduate.lol

samurai on June 2, 2010 at 11:48 pm

After spending some time on the wife’s blog, I see a loving family and devoted parents. Both parents are self-employed, creative people. They are modeling entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency. They also travel a lot it seems which, based on some recent writing by the author who penned “Blink”, will give them advantages that mostly only upper middle class kids have. My guess is that as the children get older, they will be expected to do more. In ten years, the older boy will probably have his own business.

It is also no coincidence that this news story ran in New Hampshire. There are several legislators there who want desperately to control home schooling. No doubt, they get a lot of campaign money from the teachers’ union.

Debbie, thank you for your excellent blog.

Nadine on June 2, 2010 at 11:56 pm

While I am not into the whole Max Weber theory to life I do believe in a structured societal normal life to about 80%. The 20% is reserved for personal time off.

Atlee Yarrow on June 3, 2010 at 10:18 am

This isn’t home schooling. It is non-schooling. Of course if the intent of the story was to defame home schooling, they could not subject traditional home schoolers. Because the traditional are extremely disciplined and by every serious study far more leaned than their public school counterparts.

pat on June 3, 2010 at 12:46 pm

I felt the need to comment on the video. My husband and I home school and I have unschooled. I have 5 children and look forward to them being functioning adults in our society. While my children are just as unstructured as the children on the video, their vast knowledge of life and people is something I am glad of. The experiences, hands on experiences our children have had are priceless. We are in the process of building our log home and they are a part of it. Our oldest at home in the next year will start his own log home. This same child also paces his own online high school work on his own now, carrying a B average, what more could I ask for. I expect two years of community college out our last 3 sons at home. This is a requirement they know already. I only ask for that two years for them to get a base. Then if they choose to get more they have a foundation. I expect my children to know history as well, this family did not push history to their children. Without history you dont know your future. These children will likely make decisions on life based on this, they will make decisions only to do what they like. My sons dont like it they have chores,(who does? I hate dishes too.) but thats training ground for a job that will support them and their families. Im all for unschooling and home schooling, and its something that we all see differently. I do not agree with the undisciplined side of life in that video. We have to have order or what will society be like, only do things you like to do? What happened to taking care of business and sucking up life and dealing with it as it comes. Like I said.. I hate dishes, but they get done.
Ha-v-v

Ha-v-v on June 3, 2010 at 1:17 pm

P.S. I would have been embarrased to have shown myself on a national television show if I had that idea on life. The homeschooling Mom she went to visit had the smarts not to feed the kids the whole bag of cookies. What if her child had an illness and couldnt eat all those cookies, would she say no?
Ok Im done
Ha-v-v

Ha-v-v on June 3, 2010 at 1:19 pm

The sad truth is, kids actually not need but thrive best when we offer them structure, boundaries and yes…. even discipline.
Sure, there are those who take that fact to an extreme level, and there are some adults who see it as their mission in life to take away the innocent joy of just being a kid.
But this is complete and utter nonsense.
As a teacher, some of the harder frustrations I and my colleagues face is teaching young people a sense of accountabilty, the willingness to take responsibilty for their own behavior and a commitment to self-discipline.
This isn’t a home that’s being built with a foundation of love and respect.
Instead, it is one that is mired in laziness and self-serving pride.

Dan on June 3, 2010 at 2:14 pm

Debbie –

Please follow up on this in a few years to see if the kids have become dopers, criminals, drones, or successful adults.

It would be very interesting (and possibly instructive) to see how they turn out.

JohnK on June 3, 2010 at 10:08 pm

I think the real crime was comitted by the parents of these two misguided people. Im thinking it might be they who belong in orange jail jumpers and leg irons for such wreched failure as parents.

hill billy on June 4, 2010 at 12:01 am

This isn’t liberal child abuse, it is serious child abuse. It’s what comes of years upon years of parents hearing the public school system demonized by idiot talking heads out to make a quick buck via their ratings. They start to think that they can do a better job themselves; unfortunately, not all people are prepared for the job.

It doesn’t make them not parents as your mis-guided hyperbole would suggest, but it does make them poor ones. It’s too bad that after years and years of “The Conservative Movement” whittling away at CPS services by cutting funding and railing against their mission, the state would probably have an uphill battle succeeding in helping these kids.

And Obama has nothing to do with it, don’t be stupid. He’s shaping up to have plenty of legitimate faults; you should probably stick to attacking those to make your points.

aquietwhyme on June 15, 2010 at 9:57 am

dayna might be stupid as a doorknocker but at least her kids won’t be putting on lipliner like debbie schlussel – what a look you’ve got!
and dayna martin is far from a feminist. she’s a housewife protecting her kids from getting stupid hanging out in the daytime jail that school is. in the end, her kids will run circles around gals like you

not dayna on July 8, 2010 at 7:06 pm

What is really sad to me is that most of the comments here are made by people who take what is on a TV show at face value. At least the Martin kids will know, really truly know, how the media distorts facts to influence what people think, whether it is true or not.

How many 11yo boys do you know who will choose to bake bread from scratch when they can do anything they want to do? Why is everyone assuming that, because the parents aren’t dictating what and when the kids learn specific things, that the kids aren’t going to learn anything at all? If you truly look at the kids in this segment, you can see kids who are curious and doing very interesting things. Keep in mind what the bias of ABC would have been and then think of all that must have been left on the cutting room floor (or recycle bin on the desktop as the case may be).

And when did a mom, married to the father of all her children, staying home and caring for her family become a “feminist”?

Also, who is that photo of? You really should label it, otherwise people will assume that it is a photo of the family you are writing about. The only way it is of the Martins is if it is a Halloween picture…

Joni on July 8, 2010 at 9:09 pm