Do you think a person would be a bad parent if they couldn't afford electricity?

I come from a very povershed area in Eastern Ky and knew other people growing up who had no electric or running water, they used "outhouses". The kids turned out ok as far as I could tell. I stayed the night once and it was kind of an adventure for me. We climbed to the other side of the hill to the spring to get water. It was a hot day, so we kind of played in the water and helped each other wash our hair. I don't see anything wrong with not having utilities, it's just a way of life. As long as you have food on the table and can manage to get by, that's all that matters. Sometimes I think of buying some property in the hills and getting away from all of the hustle and bustle.

The 3 basic necessities of life are food, clothing and shelter if I remember correctly. As long as the kids were kept clean, warm, fed and had a roof over their heads I see no problem with a lack of electricity and running water. Unless there was some neglect or some other issue going on that they didn't mention... Several years ago, my sister and I shared an apartment. I had 2 jobs, she had 1. I lost one of my jobs, the main source of income for our household, and we ended up in a situation where the only bill we could afford to pay was rent. While we had running water, we had no electricity to heat it. We cooked and boiled water to make our baths not freezing on a small propane camp stove (we used it on the balcony) that a friend loaned, and our friends provided us with food. I also (sorry to say) stole a good deal of food from the remaining job I had. Am I proud that we lived like that for a month? No. But I would do it again if it meant making sure my son has what he needs.

hi beautyqueen!!! oh that is sad...no, not at all. i don't think they are bad parents just because they don't have electricity. yeah, i agree there may have been other reasons. but i don't think the lack of electricity is one of them none of our lives is perfect. sometimes, at one point in our lives, whether we like it or not, we find ourselves destitute and have lack of money to finance our material needs. but we survive and eventually surpass our circumstances. so that does not mean we are bad parents at all. when we stop trying to become parents, i guess that is the problem. take care and thanks for sharing! God bless you!

If the basic needs of the child are taken care of like food, clothing warm place to sleep adn a loving enviorment then all is good so long as the parent is doin what is right for the child then i see no reason there is no law saying thay you will have eletricity. Waht if a family chooses to live away from electricity and provides everythign for a chidl is thatone gonna be taken away too?

I don't think so. Some people just happen to hit on hard times and although things are tough for them and their families, they do the best with what life throws at them and it is for this reason that we cannot say they are bad parents. Watch the pursuit of happiness (it is basically all about that, aswell as other things)

i am in the same situation as that family on tv. we do not have electricity. my husband is working 2 jobs and right now i am not working because i am 9 months pregnant. Between the two of us we have 5 children. he had 3 and i had 2 when we got married. now we are expecting our 6th son. right now we can not afford electricty and can not seem to come up with the $1456.23 we need to get it turned back on. we live in a town were minimum wage is only $5.50 and his second job does not bring in that much money. i don't think that the state will even give us until christmas before they take our kids. today i was told that if they decide to take the boys that they will do it right after i have my son because it is easier to remove the baby from the hospital following labor then to let us take him home then remove him. WHAT DO I DO? I'M AT A LOSE AND NEED ADVISE. PLEASE HELP.

Parents who cannot afford the proper food,clothing and other facilities that are basic for kids,i think them to be the bad parents and how they are poor,and by what and how they can do to their kids i want top know whether they are disabled or doesnot work to bring up thie kid and i think lack of electricity and water are not the exact reasons.

They'll be taking away amish parents' children next then, *grimly muses* the health department is already after the amish for their baked goods..even though nobody's gotten famously ill from their food or anything. As long as no harm comes to the children and they're loved, and the parents are trying t providefor them in the best way they can..then the parents are good parents. Just because they're not liing under 'normal' conditions, doesn't automatically make them bad parents. This is a tough world..it's not their fault if they hit a rough bump and couldn't afford electricity and running water. But we all know the system's gone rabid anyway. There's no real justice in a system that'll allow someone with enough influence or fame get away with murder, or rape..or any multitude of crimes we wouldn't let someone who's average or we don't all know, get away with. Or that legalizes torture.

there are many reasons for a person to become a bad parent .. A person should raise his (or) her child as a socially good person.. this is duty of a parent.. This makes them to work hard for a secure future of their child.. The couples should think , can they raise a child with this income.. when this question is answered "yes" it is good for both the child and the parents to survive in the society..

I find it absolutely appalling that Social services can jump in and take a child from it's parents .There must be a safety or health concern involved with the case that you speak of.It would have been nice if you gave a little more info.I suspect not having running water to be an issue more than likely having to deal with human waste and being able to bathe.

A lack of electricity alone, I don't think, would constitute having one's children taken away and no one who could afford to pay their electric bill should be deemed bad parents on that basis alone. However, if the home is without electricity, plumbing and is unfit to live in, then the children should be removed for their own safety, until the parents can regroup.

That is a very tricky question. This case sounds like the parents ran out of money and could no longer provide the neccessities of life to their children. That does not make them bad parents...just very unfortunate. However, in this case the children should be taken away until the parents are back on their feet. There may be more to this case however, but if not, that would be my view. :) cheers,

I don't think poverty should be a reason to deprive parents from their rights. There also is an issue which is not addressed by the authorities and I think it is a critical one. what happens to what the child wants? I think that a child needs love, his basic needs addressed and a good education to be able to make it in life.

of course not. just because they are unable to provide their children with wealth doesn't make them a bad parent. what i define as bad parenting is not giving enough care & love to the child. those two things are the only thing needed.

I'm not saying that parents who can not afford electricity are bad parents, but I will say that it is not the problem of the children that the parents can not afford electricity or running water. I think the child or children must have been taken away for a chance at a better life, not necessarily because the parents themselves were bad. Children hae basic rights, and the right to a safe environment with the necessities is one of the/

That is really awfull...!! Its almost sounds impossible to me, how can one take away one's kids just because they can't afford electricity..!! Like we had this "electricity" thing from the very begining..!! huh..!! Children never grew up when there was no ELECTRICITY..?? They did..!! So they can grow without electricity today also..!! Unless kids are not taken care of well ..like their parents hit them every day,parents are not giving them any education and etc..!! Electricity is somethings very small thing to take the kids away from their parents..!! One needs to change such law in the constitution..!!

I think that rather than the children being taken away from them, the county or state should step in and try and help them. I don't think not being able to afford electricity would make anyone a bad parent, but it also depends on whether the parents are doing all they can to provide important necessities for their children. Then again, a lot of people may not consider electricity to be a necessity. As long as they are able to properly bathe and feed their children, then I don't see any crime being committed.

I think the kids should not of been taken away just because the parents coulodnt afford electricty, If anything Social serveices should of looked more into the family and realized they were very good parenst BUT as we all know everyone goes through hard times in life so Social Services should of provided information for the parents as to where they can look for help on how to get back on their feet. Its sad because alot of the time Social Services go after the families who are just having a minor setback in life (we all go through them) but they also NEGLECT the real kids in life who need to be taken from their abusive or neglectful familes.

Beautyqueen26 i think here in the philippines we don't have a law such as that. In which the Social Welfare can get the child because the parents are not equipt to handle child parenting. In the USA its a must that the child gets the most of what he/she needs and if the parents can't do their responsibility the gov't can take them away and give them to a more responsible family. I do hope and wish that they would take a look on this, especially here, where even the kids who should be in school is just on the street, loitering and selling stuffs. Children should not be deprived of their rights and if such parents can't provide them then i think its better to take them somewhere where they can enjoy their rights :)