http://attachment-disorder.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/the-orphan-trains-did-they-carry-kids-wi Addresses challenges faced by parents of children with Reactive Attachment Disorder and provides news and support. Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:13:41 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://attachment-disorder.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/the-orphan-trains-did-they-carry-kids-wi/comment-page-1#comment-435 CREAMPUFF_SUGAR Tue, 15 May 2007 23:09:30 +0000 http://reactive-att.www.adoptionblogs.com/2007/05/14/the-orphan-trains-did-they-carry-kids-wi#comment-435 The childrens' therapist went to an African country and told our support group that the behaviours of orphans being taken in by some widows were to same RAD behaviours seen in the U.S. It's not surprising that lack of attachment manifests itself similarly across culture and time.<br /> patricia The childrens’ therapist went to an African country and told our support group that the behaviours of orphans being taken in by some widows were to same RAD behaviours seen in the U.S. It’s not surprising that lack of attachment manifests itself similarly across culture and time.
patricia

]]> http://attachment-disorder.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/the-orphan-trains-did-they-carry-kids-wi/comment-page-1#comment-434 Nancy Cozadd Tue, 15 May 2007 00:17:53 +0000 http://reactive-att.www.adoptionblogs.com/2007/05/14/the-orphan-trains-did-they-carry-kids-wi#comment-434 It made me think that today's "real world" existance makes it more difficult sometimes to isolate yourself from the rest of society, and still be able to work at a job that is self-supporting. It made me think that today’s “real world” existance makes it more difficult sometimes to isolate yourself from the rest of society, and still be able to work at a job that is self-supporting.

]]> http://attachment-disorder.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/the-orphan-trains-did-they-carry-kids-wi/comment-page-1#comment-433 nancyderen Mon, 14 May 2007 23:25:28 +0000 http://reactive-att.www.adoptionblogs.com/2007/05/14/the-orphan-trains-did-they-carry-kids-wi#comment-433 From what I've read about the orphan trains, there were lots of "disruptions" when kids ran away or requested to be transported back to NYC. Many of those were cases where the family was looking for more of a slave than just a farmhand, many occurred because a Protestant family was trying to "save the soul" of a Catholic or Jewish child who didn't want to change religions, and some took place because the kid couldn't handle the change in environment. Many of the orphan train riders did make the choice to be there- child welfare was just starting out then (remember that child protective services and laws against child abuse started with a lawyer from the ASPCA, quite a few years after animal rights had started, and decades after the orphan trains began), so there wasn't a lot of documentation or investigation. Some kids who were abused claimed to be orphans and were put on the trains with few questions asked. So at least some of the kids made a conscious choice to get a fresh start. Many of them had also received services in NYC that focused on teaching them to be independent, find jobs instead of begging, etc. starting at very young ages, so they were often very prepared to be good farm hands, and had some sense of competence. I think for kids then and now, having areas in which they feel they are good at something and can be proud of their skills is a huge piece of moving forward in life, and that's something that many of the orphan train riders had. They had opportunities to have a very real sense of accomplishment. And many of the kids who ended up on the trains were kids who had already formed some basic level of attachment to workers who arranged for them to get on the trains. These were the kids who chose to ask for help, rather than living entirely on the streets and staying out of the way of adults. But it does sound like many of the runaways were the kids who couldn't attach to the new families in the ways they were expected to. From what I’ve read about the orphan trains, there were lots of “disruptions” when kids ran away or requested to be transported back to NYC. Many of those were cases where the family was looking for more of a slave than just a farmhand, many occurred because a Protestant family was trying to “save the soul” of a Catholic or Jewish child who didn’t want to change religions, and some took place because the kid couldn’t handle the change in environment. Many of the orphan train riders did make the choice to be there- child welfare was just starting out then (remember that child protective services and laws against child abuse started with a lawyer from the ASPCA, quite a few years after animal rights had started, and decades after the orphan trains began), so there wasn’t a lot of documentation or investigation. Some kids who were abused claimed to be orphans and were put on the trains with few questions asked. So at least some of the kids made a conscious choice to get a fresh start. Many of them had also received services in NYC that focused on teaching them to be independent, find jobs instead of begging, etc. starting at very young ages, so they were often very prepared to be good farm hands, and had some sense of competence. I think for kids then and now, having areas in which they feel they are good at something and can be proud of their skills is a huge piece of moving forward in life, and that’s something that many of the orphan train riders had. They had opportunities to have a very real sense of accomplishment. And many of the kids who ended up on the trains were kids who had already formed some basic level of attachment to workers who arranged for them to get on the trains. These were the kids who chose to ask for help, rather than living entirely on the streets and staying out of the way of adults. But it does sound like many of the runaways were the kids who couldn’t attach to the new families in the ways they were expected to.

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