Swedish mother allegedly kept son in "harmful fantasy world", authorities intervene.

[Carsomyr]

Swedish mother allegedly kept son in "harmful fantasy world", authorities intervene.

Right, I'm keeping this thread out of P&R in the hopes that we can have a less dogmatic discussion about what happened. I am honestly curious about people's take on this, and would like to see a civil discussion about it. 🙂

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article14386806.ab
News link is in Swedish, but I've made a rough translation in the quote below.

Mother convinced son that smurfs and aliens exist
Son held in harmful fantasy world - for 4 years

Smurfs and aliens exist for real.
That's what a mother told her son, keeping him in this fantasy world for 4 years.
The mother - who was also the son's handicap assistant - has now been put on trial with reference to Lex Sarah [, a law put in place to help ensure the quality of social care for the elderly and handicapped.]

The boy was in need of four assistants, of which one was his own mother.
Now the other three assistants have reported her to the authorities.

Aliens and smurfs
"She keeps convincing him that aliens, and amongst other things smurfs exist for real", they write in their report.
Allegedly, the boy has been submitted to "serious abuse as his mother uses her role as assistant to keep him in a world of fantasy".
The son is said to have reacted through self-destructive behavior.

Continued for 4 years
The other assistants were forced to enter the boys fantasy world, and since the lies were constantly escalating it has been impossible to adapt to them, says the report.
They have tried to persuade the mother into changing her ways, but without results.

Feel free to discuss any aspect of the story, though I have three basic questions I would like to ask. By no means do I demand that you include them in your discussion, but it would be appreciated purely out of personal interest.

1. Was it right of the authorities to intervene, or are they intruding on the family's private life?
2. What trumps what; a handicapped person's right to proper care, or a parents right to raise their child as they see fit?
3. Smurfs and aliens might seem a bit "out there", but if these had been mainstream religious teachings then I can guarantee you that no one would have reported it. However, is there really a difference in telling a child about aliens, or smurfs, or Jonah and the fish, or hell, or the space dictator Xenu with his interstellar DC-8 planes? If there is no difference, why is THIS particular case seen as abusive?

 

[Bohemianne]

It's the same but so far we heard nothing harmful about a child's "Santa Claus" fantasy... In fact, even Mommy can tickle Santa Claus.

 

[c7_assassin]

Without more details about how these fantasies were affecting the kid or why (for god's sake) the mother was lying to him, it's hard to draw too many conclusions.

Still, I like the precedent. Secularists over there should seize the moment and pass more anti-indoctrination laws to protect kids; eventually teaching them about Noah and the ark will be just as distasteful as teaching them the Smurfs are real (if not quite as illegal).

 

[Skipadeedoodah]

I don't think there's nearly enough information here to even form an opinion. Anything that seems to indicate that the mom allowing or encouraging the kid to believe in aliens and smurfs was harmful to him is extremely vague. We also don't know anything about his disability. Many mental illnesses or developmental disabilities have self-injurious behavior as a symptom regardless of whether the kid believes in God and Jesus, smurfs and aliens or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I've worked with a number of adults who use fictional characters or relationships as a means of communicating, relating to people, or helping themselves be understood in a way that is difficult for them to do otherwise. I have no idea if this specific situation is anything like that. I'm just saying that there is a possibility that this mom wasn't doing any harm to her son. Without more information there's no way to know.

 

[TMF Jeff]

If you ever get a chance to see the movie Dogtooth, it's a really great look at this kind of behavior. It's about a family where the parents have kept their three children confined to their house and yard all the way into their adulthood, by telling them a series of lies about how the outside world is a wasteland of monsters and disease.

 

[DontAskJusTckle]

How old was her son? 27? We don't even know. If he's like 5, I don't see the problem. Kids that age are taught all kinds of fantasies about Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and how the government will take care of them.

 

[Bothersome]

I'm a firm believer in allowing people to come to their own conclusions about the world. (Within reason, anyways)

If the kid wants to believe in Aliens and Smurfs, that's fine. I think he should be allowed to research the topics independent of any overwhelming bias, however.

 

[WorkInProgress]

From the limited information available here, it sounds to me as if some extreme and bizarre stuff was going on in that house. I'm not familiar with "Dogtooth," but it sounds like the comparison applies.

 

[TicklesXXX]

If trying to make us believe that we live in a world of fantasy would be a crime, most of the politicians, religious dudes, advertisement guys, television guys, news reporters, and people from the dominant class, should be in jail.