This is meant especially for parents who are thinking about joining this religion and those who will care for children who are members. There are certain issues they must deal with that make life harder than for others. They are indeed suffering from abuse in one form or another. Those who have parents who are "on the fence" may send mixed signals to the kids that allow them to join in normal activities while those with devout parents will not allow them to do anything against the rules. It may send a mixed message to teachers who do not understand fully that those who wish to be "good little witnesses" are the hardest on themselves. They want to be loved and be a normal kid, but at the same time are afraid to do so.
No Holidays! This means no Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Birthdays, Fourth of July, Valentine's Day... It does not matter. All holidays have a pagan origin and if you participate in it you are following Satan and could be killed in the most horrid way. Some kids are too afraid to have anything to do with these celebrations or have parents that want them totally out of the mix and will not allow kids to even do assignments, art projects, or parties with these themes. Other liberal parents may allow their kid in the same room when a party is going on, but most likely will not let them do any assignment in a positive light about the topic.
No Patriotism! Good little JW children do not salute the flag or get involved in anything that promotes the idea of supporting the government, even on a school level. They are not allowed to vote at age 18, so don't expect them to vote in school elections or to run as a candidate.
Forbidden School Topics! Don't count on JW children to embrace any lesson of sex education or evolution. Most parents will fight for the child to be excused from that kind of lesson on religious grounds. Don't even bring up the topic of other religions as it will be refuted as false without consideration of any point of view different from what was taught.
Bad Associations! A good JW will normally have very little to do with other non-JW kids unless there are no other JW kids around. A kid will be a kid and just wants to play, but they will feel a massive amount of guilt for playing with people they know will die a gruesome death.
After School Activities! Forget about it! Those from devout families will not be allowed to join anything at school. Those who do join will only be half hearted about it because they feel guilty about it. Those who join activities tend to feel they are sinning and will not devote 100% effort to any extra project.
Grades! You might find kids who seem very bright who do not try and it will frustrate you to no end to get them to do the work. Just imagine if you truly believe you have no future, the world will end before you graduate school, everyone you know and everything you see will be destroyed. Do you think you will take your school work seriously? Many are taught that high school is useless and college is mostly forbidden.
Here is the portrait of a child in this organization. One who is afraid of their own life and security in this world. Never believing they are good enough to survive the end of the world and if they do they will see the dead bodies of all the people they may have liked being eaten by wild animals and birds. Never being allowed to have a dream for a future as an adult. Always questioning their own worth and mostly depressed and sometimes suicidal. Never knowing how to relate to other kids.
God forbid if the child is a homosexual or in love with a child that is not a member of the religion! It is bad enough to be friends with them, but to get involved with these people means flirting with death. A homosexual must remain in the closet. Don't even think about talking about sex with a JW child who may not know much except from the vague literature given by the WTBTS. Unfortunately, there are children who know too well about sex and have the wrong idea - they were taken advantage of by adults and are afraid to talk. Not just because the abusive one told them not to talk, but because the elders told them to be quiet.
How does a child have a normal life when they are taught to be afraid of life and that everything outside of the religion is evil? How does one cope when they believe they will have no future as an adult and they are most likely never going to be good enough to survive? How does it feel to second guess your own feelings because someone tells you that you are always wrong or bad?
Abuse is one of great shame within this group. Parents are strongly encouraged to discipline their children with spanking. Parents spank not only with the hand to the bottom, but many times will use anything at their disposal and is often done in the heat of the moment in some of the most violent ways you can imagine. Other JWs who witness such abuse seldom ever speak up. In fact, if a JW kid does something wrong and the parent does nothing, it brings more shame on the parent than it does a parent who goes overboard. Elders will sometimes talk to an out of control parent, but these matters are to be kept within the congregation and not to be reported to local authorities.
The same is said with sexual abuse. Children who were molested or raped by members of this organization are deprived of any rights to justice. For punishment of one who molests a child to be activated, there must be two witnesses or a confession on the part of the sinner. With no witnesses present to see such acts, the official position is a "he said, she said" response they cannot act upon. Even if one is caught or a confession is made, a child and the parents are told to not report it to authorities and not to talk about it with other members. The elders then keep the sinner on punishment, although the nature of the sin is never revealed to other members of the congregation to warn them to keep the children away. Children are also victimized by elders not properly trained in dealing with abuse to make the victims feel like they were the ones who brought it on themselves.
Emotional abuse is also common as children are made to feel they are never being good enough and are being a bad child for Jehovah and dishonoring the parents.
Another form of abuse can be seen in field service where children are being dragged out in weather no one should be in. Children can be seen going door to door in extreme heat or cold. Some children are kept in cars on hot days while the group goes door to door. Some children going door to door have been subjected to actions of a frustrated "householder" who may show up at the door nude, with a gun, or other devices to scare them away.
Being a child in this religion, when you have nothing else to compare it with, will rob a person of their soul and true nature. Most who leave as adults will have some form of trouble in coping with life. Some are as "simple" as anxiety disorders and addictions to severe mental illness and suicides.
If you are a parent thinking about joining this religion, consider what it will do to your child. If you are a teacher dealing with a JW kid, try to take it easy on them. They are not trying to be stubborn on purpose, but are afraid to reach their full potential.
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