Amish parenting

By Kevin Williams

Time for our weekly peek at whatever Amish news is out there in the world. I have a few items of interest today, starting with:

A new book out explores Amish parenting practices.

AMISH PARENTING: Author Serena Miller has a new book out called "More than Happy: The Wisdom of Amish Parenting." I think this book - which I have not read - is probably part truth, part romanticism. First the romanticism: The notion that all Amish children all well-behaved little angels is more myth than truth. I've met some Amish kids whose antics would strain the definition of "well-behaved." And what age does the book cover? I've met plenty of Amish teenagers that really push the boundaries. Now, it is true that I've also met many, many, many just angelic, superbly-mannered Amish children. That may have less to do with them being Amish, however, and more to do with the fact that Amish kids generally aren't immersed in a world full of video games, chat rooms, and texting. There's a connection with actual, real people and the world around them that is becoming increasingly blurred in non-Amish society. So I think the reasons that many Amish youth are so well-manner may be quite complex. Click here to read more about the book.

DON KRAYBILL RETIRING: When something "Amish" occurs in the news, often the first person the media turns to for a colorful quote or a factual tidbit is Elizabethtown College academic, Donald Kraybill. The professor and author will be stepping down from his post at the college. Read more about Kraybill and his career here.

MENNONITE SEWING CIRCLE - OLD MEETS NEW: This is a sweet story that someone will probably make into a book sometime, but the gist is this: a long-time, graying circle of elderly Mennonite ladies have met weekly for generations to sew blankets for the needy. As time passed and society changed, the sewing circle grew smaller, the ladies older, and its future bleaker. That is until some refugees from the Far East arrived in town searching for a place to belong. They found such a place in the sewing circle. Read the rest here.

READING TERMINAL - ALL CLEAN! This article has less to do with the Amish and more to do with the strict food safety protocols vendors in Philadelphia's iconic Reading Terminal Market must follow. But I love the jolly demeanor and colorful quotes from Amish vendor, Moses Smucker. And there is a great picture of Mose which also illustrates the wide variation there is among the Amish concerning photos. He was happily posing for a photo, something many - but not all - Amish would find anathema or even if they didn't find it personally objectionable they'd not pose for a photo for fear of flak from other Amish. But Mose seems confident enough to not fear that and his church obviously is more liberal with photos. Click here for more!