The children living next door are being horribly abused by their parents. The only way to stop the abuse is to adopt the children and care for them in your home. Would you?
Asked by
Storms (
811
)
April 6th, 2010
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
62 Answers
Absolutely.
edited for poor spelling
Oh, and also – I’m a survivor myself, and I can’t stand seeing other kids suffering. I know I can’t save everyone, but in this hypothetical situation, there’s an option in which I can. So, yes, I would take it.
I hope to adopt a few children at some point in the future. My husband and I both want a large family.
Not enough info. Plus if the parents are living next door….that would be horrible.
Nope, it’s hypothetical…..so it doesn’t matter anyways because of the beauty of reality lol.
Of course.
they would also double as emergency rations, hmm…
In a heartbeat, but I’‘m afraid that isn’t legal. I know where I live i have to call child protective services and report. I couldn’t legally have the children unless CPS put them in my custody. Picking up random kids and keeping them, even for good reason, is sort of a felony (kidnapping?) . Also a person must have legal guardianship to take a kid to a doctor, sign permission forms, enroll them in school….
This is far too hypothetical; nothing in life is so black-and-white.
In real life there are city and county agencies who would provide institutions (distasteful as that may be to some) or foster care short of outright adoption. And others are usually more qualified to adopt before I would be (such as closer family members, grandparents, etc.).
I’d save anyone’s life, but I’m not about to say (especially at my age and in my circumstances) that I’d be better qualified than hundreds of other families… right here in my town.
Your question has an untrue and outrageous conclusion so I can’t answer it as asked. However, if I knew the children were being abused I would report and follow up that abuse.
@CyanoticWasp I maintain that it is precisely as hypothetical as a hypothetical scenario ought to be. We assume that it’s legal and that no one else can do it, it’s the only way, etc.
No – I’d report the parents and let the problem be solved through proper legal channels. It’s only a hypothetical, so I just change the terms.
Of course! I could use a couple more helpers with the chores and I wouldn’t have to buy that really expensive snow blower next winter!
@Storms
People take “hypothetical” scenarios far too literally. You really have to lay out all the terms if you want to get real answers.
And risk a kidnapping charge?
No thank you.
I’ll call the police like a normal person.
@Storms fine. I would hypothetically slaughter them, drain their hypothetical blood into a hypothetical compost pile, grill up the hypothetical steaks and hypothetical chops, and feed the rest to my hypothetical dog. And that’s just the hypothetical kids.
Who knows what kind of hypothetical deviltry I could get up to with the hypothetical parents.
I would, but I like being married to much.
Yes, I would. No problem! As long as we’re being hypothetical, can I imprison the parents in my basement and do the same things to them that they did to the children, if the authorities don’t take any action? I have an affinity for symmetry.
Good to see that everyone is drinking their cranky juice today.
@Storms Cranky juice?! Bahahahaha!!!
@phillis I have some hypothetical chains and shackles you can use if you let me join in the hypothetical fun. Hypothetically, anyway.
@phillis I would too! Hypothetically, anyway.
Assuming I could get legal guardianship, had the resources to afford their care and the time on my hands to contribute to their schooling and socializing then yeah, there’s a good chance. When married, my ex-husband and I took in a niece of his for off and on board, we were very young and hadn’t a lot but I think he’d agree the experience was better than not for all of us.
Ok I get it. So this is hypothetical. I am not going to even hypothetically state in writing that I would commit a hypothetical crime. I am too paranoid for that.
So hypothetically, as long as I am not committing a crime, those babes would have everything they need and I would welcome them with open arms.
I think the OP’s use of the word ‘adoption’ implies that it would be legal.
if this was the only option to prevent these kids from experiencing such torment, then YES I would in a heartbeat.
If this truly is happening, please contact the proper authorities.
You could always hypothetically push the parents into a hypothetical wormhole. Stephen King wrote about it, so it must be possible.
@CyanoticWasp What if….....nevermind. One can dream, right? Now, move over! I can’t get a full arc on my swing. These cast off patterns are deplorable. I’m embarrassed.
This is a public forum in which we have the liberty to think outside of your box.
durr
If I had the resources to take care of them, definately!
And even if the question did say kidnap instead of adopt, I would just what my mom was going to: Run!!!! Run away! Flee the country! Flee existance in this botched society! And live in a treehouse in the jungle & survive on ICE CREAM!!!!
Why is adoption the only way to stop the abuse? What happened to calling Child Protective Services or the police department?
Due to the laws governing adoption, it would not be that simple, unfortunately. I definately would contact the authorities and follow through to see the issue was dealt with. If the only person willing to step up and fix this would be me, I would.
@Bluefreedom The point of posing a hypothetical scenario with binary options is to induce reflection and discussion. I thought we’d start out with something easy.
@Storms. In that case, let me think it over for a nanosecond…...yes, I’d certainly considering adopting the children. After I did that, I’d have the mother arrested for neglect and abuse and I’d body slam the father right onto the concrete driveway. And I would feel good about it afterward. No one should ever abuse or neglect children and there is absolutely no excuse for doing so.
What is lovely about this being hypothetical, is the children could all be hypothetically well mannered and neat, and food could hypothetically cost only 4 dollars a week per kid, and they could hypothetically not ever have any hypothetical tantrums. This hypothetical stuff is fun. The babies would only hypothetically have a poopy diaper once a hypothetical month. How far are we allowed to stray from reality here? No limits? Ok each kid comes with a hypothetical trust fund….
@escapedone7
I took the question to read: “If asked to do so, would you take in a pair of formerly abused children, knowing the trauma they had been exposed to and the physical and psychological issues they will face in the future, and raise them as your own children while helping them overcome all of it?”
To that, my answer would still be “Absolutely, I hope to do just that, as soon as my own recovery is more progressed.”
Hypothetical questions have problems because they’re not specific enough to the situation. So, a few things I’d need to know would be: how many children, what kind of abuse (since that would vary how much treatment and therapy the children would need), the ages of the children, who is abusing them, why are they being abused (mental illness in the abuser? abuser was abused?), etc.
The younger the children are, and the longer the abuse has been doing on, the more likely the children will have lasting psychological damage. This would create a difficult situation for whoever takes on the task of raising the children. If the children are abused by their parents, that will add more damage. If the children are abused sexually by a family member, that would create the most damage.
Considering all of that, I don’t think I could adopt them. I am not in a place in my life where I could raise children (and I am not entirely sure I will ever be there). This is especially true if the children have extra issues, and need extra care. I would rather let someone more capable to adopt them so they can get the care they need.
If the question is exclusively I adopt them or they continue being abused, well, I have a hard time imagining that since that situation would be extremely unlikely to occur. If it did magically occur, it’s something I would have to decide when the time comes.
Yes. I always thought about fostering. I would rather have a loving partner though. I might be old fashioned but I’d rather the kids have a mom and a dad. Can I have a hypothetical husband?
cries Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. sob
If this was an imaginary world where I could just take them without legal repercussions, I’d take them without a question if the kids would want me to.
Yes. In a New York minute!
@ubersiren Yep, it’s an imaginary world. One where there are only two really concrete conditions: Adoption is the ONLY course of action that stops the abuse (unless, of course, one adopts the children and then abuses them) and it is permitted.
Yes, and I would stipulate that the parents must continue to support them for the rest of their lives and they must be sterilized.
IF it was as easy as you say, yes of course I would.
Never avoid doing the right thing simply because it’s difficult.
No.
I’m sure that if they could survive the “horrible abuse”, years of counciling would help. I could never afford to raise multiple children on my income.
@Storms I meant it if it was possible to adopt them, then yes I’d do it.
This experience reminds me of the scene in The Invention Of Lying where the main character is trying to read his “facts” off of the pizza boxes.
Yes of course. I can’t stand child abuse and I will get any child out of that situation that I am able to
Probably not. I would alert the authorities. I might have my boys do a little abuse to the father. If I could stop the suffering of children in the world I would, but I can’t.
Certainly that’s not the only way to stop the abuse. I could put the kids out of their misery and enslave the parents. Hypothetically, of course.
I would have to do some serious considering before I made a decision such as this. How damaged are these kids? How will their behavior, wounds, and attitudes impact the family I am raising? As much as I would love to say I would adopt them in a heartbeat, I know I wouldn’t if it meant hurting my own children. I would of course call Child Protective Services and advocate for these children.
Answer this question 
