From: "Sanna-Mari Tonteri" <[log in to unmask]>
wote:

> Katherine D wrote about a 6 yo girl who slept with her parents, none
> of them wearing clothes, and her father gave her a backrub at nights.
> The child was taken away from her parents.
>
> What do you ladies think, this could be a cultural issue, couldn't it.

I didn't read the post like that. I interpreted this post as 3 cases, the first as
an unjustified case of interference of the CPS, the third as a justified case
(though ridiculous that it focused on breastfeeding), the second as an case in
between.

I just didn't come to my mind that there is anything wrong with he first story,
but now you point at it, I think I misinterpreted the story.


The thing that bothers me is that there seems to be such a arbitrariness in the
acts of these CPS workers. How can one decide to take away these children. Who
makes the decision?

In the seventies our CPS was under attack for doing so, and this has lead to
reorganizations. Nowodays all decisions regarding families that are investigated
by the CPS should be done by a judge that is specialized in it. Only after
investigations, and hearing different parties , the judge decides to take away the
children. But they first try to find other solutions, eg organize at home support,
eg everyday attendance of specialized workers. One firmly believes that taking
away the kids often doesn't help them. It causes a trauma, and the child misses
the parent-, even when it is a bad parent. A life spent in forster homes and
fosterhouses often sets up for troubled lives, no matter how good the forster
parents are. So, one first tries to help the whole family as a unit. And only
after that doesn't work out, the children are taken away, preferable with
agreement of the parent so that the parents are able to make visits.

Of course there are emergency situations, where children are at risk for their
lives. Then the children can be taken away quickly, but only after the judge is
called.

I must admit, these stories keep me out of my sleep. It is such a horror to have
your child have been taking away because of extended bf or because of naked
sleeping together.
I do these things and in my country extended nursing isn't accepted either (I
think even less accepted that in the US). It will cause some CPS workers to raise
their eyebrows too. But I know this will never lead to such quick actions of
taking away my children. I think it is even formally not possible to do so, before
they ever have talked to us, the parents.

I really hope these cases are exceptions.


regards, Annelies Bon
Lay counsellor of the Dutch bf organization "Borstvoeding Natuurlijk"

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