I work with many different Amish communities and find that the Amish vary greatly church to church. When you have met one Amish man, you have met one Amish man. The Amish are not an entity. Many communities struggle with youth who use the "rumspringa" as a time to indulge in things of the world that are not allowed in a member in good standing. The media is unfair and biased in this instance, but realistically who would read a story about a bunch of young folks playing volleyball or ice skating? Obvious sinful "rumspringa" is an embarrassment to the chruch and familys and they are trying to address the behavior of the youth that are out of hand. Being that a lot of youth in their run around years are not members further complicates the matter. Most young folks are great youth who go to singings and get together for good clean fun and our family has a great respect for the upbring of our Amish friends and neighbors. Elaine

I know that there are a large majority of Amish young people that decide to do "rumpsringa".  I myself coming from a Mennonite family do not have this, but I have family in Sarasota FL that own a lot of rental property.  Most of this property is rented to young Amish that are doing "rumspringa" for several monthes.  They have had some that just like to get jobs, hang out on the beach and "feel" English.  But they also have had some that party everyday (drinking, smoking, girls) and tear up the home.  It all depends on the group that comes in.  They also have Amish come from all over the country.  One uncle said that he believes that 90% of them return to the Amish way of life once having their "rumspringa"

I wholeheartedly agree, Kevin. The Amish I have made aquaintence with, at auctions and such, do admit to their young folks "sowing their wild oats". However, they seem to agree that usually the "english" behave in a much worse fashion. I am inclined to believe that is true because many youth today lack the foundation of respect. I have yet to meet any Amish person, young or old, who does not respect his/her fellow man. Although they keep to themselves,as a rule,they obviously teach their children to respect others. Perhaps we English could take a few pointers! (Speaking in general,of course, no one on this site would be so crass!).Most kids today lack guidance and dissapline. We raised 3, of whom i am very proud. It was not always easy, but we stood by our beliefs. It was not always the popular way to , go but it worked. I think this is what the Amish do..they are'nt influenced by media. The media is usually so far out there, why would anybody resort to "them" for child-rearing? (Guess I had my say-so for today!).~ Barb

Thanks Kevin. That is kind of what we thought, and you are so correct--we can only take a fraction of what the media says as truth. Mext summer when we can move around a little more freely and get together with our neighbors (it is going to be well below zero here today!) I hope to engage some of them in more conversations about their practices and teen years etc. We greatly appreciate the Amish way of life and want to understand as much as possible!

We've been surprised at the number of young people my daughters age, raised in Christian homes, same church as us, even attending Christian colleges, are not living Christian lifestyles.  Some will even party it up on Saturday night, then be leading singing on Sunday morning!  The pull and lure of the world is very strong across the board.   

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Titus 2:5

I gave a talk yesterday in Cincinnati and "rumspringa" is one of the topics that came up.  I always say that Amish teenagers are no different than teens the world round....Some teens go through their youth without ever causing a problem (like me),  Other teens cause quite a bit of trouble.  The same standard can be applied to the Amish. SOME Amish youth DO get very, very rowdy: drinking, smoking and worse.  Of course, most do not.  The media has taken rumspringa and made it into something it is not.    Now, I will say that "rumspringa" (you're correct in your translation, it roughly means "running around") DOES serve a sociological purpose among the Amish....Parents want their children to feel like they chose the Amish religion, not had it imposed on them....so Amish parents give their children a lot of latitude to be rebellious...a "sow your oats" mentality in hopes that the children will see that the world doesn't offer them much, and then they'll come back.  Most children do. 

My biggest bone to pick with "Devils Playground" is not the content....You WILL find examples like that in Amish society, HOWEVER, the documentary chooses 4 or 5 Amish youth and makes the inference that this is representative of the majority and it just isn't...Amish teens, again, are like non-Amish ones, you'll see a wide prism of behaviors......Thanks for stopping by, Patty, hope to see  you here again!!!