Amy,
Although I cannot speak for the Amish community in general, I can offer some information that I learned about the Amish community that I spent most of my life near. I lived 39 years in Ohio and interacted with a large Amish community on a daily basis. Like with any community, there is good and bad. Most people that I had the pleasure of dealing with were kind and respectful of others and was always willing to lend a helping hand.
One never really knows what happens within a situation until one is in the situation. I have researched the Amish community for a number of years and have not found any research to be better than living within the area, as far as learning their culture. I would like to say that the information I am sharing is …show more content…
Small children did not wear shoes, even in the harsh Ohio winters. I asked one of the elders one day why the children did not have shoes, and he replied, “when they quit growing they will get shoes”. The most prominent medical issue for the children was hemophilia and most times the parents had the appropriate medication, factor, needed when they arrived at the emergency department. Because of the strenuous and dangerous work that the children did in the fields or at the saw mills, many parents kept enough medication to treat the child at home in case of a severe injury. Childhood immunizations were not given to the children as a general rule, but was becoming more common with the health department free vaccination programs. Some of us local nurses, along with the health department nurses, would make arrangements to have a day in the Amish community and offered free vaccinations. That process eliminated the transportation issue that most families faced. If the family had a daughter that was turning 14 years of age, a candle was put in the window and that signified that the daughter was ready for “calling”. She was ready to date and to be taken as a wife. The daughter did not have a say in who her husband would be; the
Although I cannot speak for the Amish community in general, I can offer some information that I learned about the Amish community that I spent most of my life near. I lived 39 years in Ohio and interacted with a large Amish community on a daily basis. Like with any community, there is good and bad. Most people that I had the pleasure of dealing with were kind and respectful of others and was always willing to lend a helping hand.
One never really knows what happens within a situation until one is in the situation. I have researched the Amish community for a number of years and have not found any research to be better than living within the area, as far as learning their culture. I would like to say that the information I am sharing is …show more content…
Small children did not wear shoes, even in the harsh Ohio winters. I asked one of the elders one day why the children did not have shoes, and he replied, “when they quit growing they will get shoes”. The most prominent medical issue for the children was hemophilia and most times the parents had the appropriate medication, factor, needed when they arrived at the emergency department. Because of the strenuous and dangerous work that the children did in the fields or at the saw mills, many parents kept enough medication to treat the child at home in case of a severe injury. Childhood immunizations were not given to the children as a general rule, but was becoming more common with the health department free vaccination programs. Some of us local nurses, along with the health department nurses, would make arrangements to have a day in the Amish community and offered free vaccinations. That process eliminated the transportation issue that most families faced. If the family had a daughter that was turning 14 years of age, a candle was put in the window and that signified that the daughter was ready for “calling”. She was ready to date and to be taken as a wife. The daughter did not have a say in who her husband would be; the