She obviously had no idea how to deal with trauma victims...we are raising him now...if it were one of the other kids....I would have slapped her face into reality. He needs to be in the presence of a licensed psychologist and if she could not afford it she should be looking for resources to help.
shareShe obviously had no idea how to deal with trauma victims
As far as I could tell, the Mother was trying hard to connect with Steven while his Dad was being a total idiot.
I don´t know how true to life the parents acted, but back in the 80´s, molestation was not talked about or publicized as much as it is now.
Poor Steven.
If it harms none, do what thou wilt.
I read the novel.
And in the novel, the parents were both strongly advised to NOT think of Steven as a child any longer. To try to treat him accordingly.
But by all accounts, they did not follow this advice & tried to be strict with him as if he were still a young kid.
Steven, already deeply troubled & unaccustomed to rules, did what he wanted to.
I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.
In real life, it is said that the happy reunion or "honeymoon" period was rather short-lived. It wasn't quite as dramatic and sappy as the TV movie portrayed, with people struggling with feelings and emotions. In fact, Steven was so rebellious that the parents actually kicked him out of the house a couple of times because they wouldn't put up with his trouble making, drinking, skipping school, etc..and this was after losing him for 7 years, so you would think they would have let it slide and let him act out.
The movie portrayed it quite different. The usually strict father even pleads with the mother to not discipline him for staying out all night, because he's not going to lose him again. He tells her to go easy on him and just enjoy his presence because at least he IS COMING HOME every night.
It should also be pointed out that no one in the family got any kind of professional help. Delbert and Kay apparently thought it was better to keep it all in the family and that Steven and the other kids didn't need help, which couldn't be further from the truth. While Cary Stayner admitted that he was having fantasies about raping and killing women long before Steven was abducted, who knows if psychiatric care would have helped the situation or not.
Steven had to re-adjust to a life that he no longer knew. For years, he had been abused and manipulated by a pedophile who conned him into believing that his parents didn't want him anymore, and who allowed him to smoke and drink, etc. It's not surprising that he found the environment that he had been taken from years before hard to come to terms with. He needed counselling at the very least, but his parents were opposed to the very idea of that.
Neither of the parents were being idiots, the father was just paranoid, believing that any kind of tension would lead to losing Steven again but he still tried to connect with him. I love the statement he makes about Parnell and the justice system "that pervert stole my child, held him captive, and raped him for seven years, and he gets off with less than two, as far as I'm concerned, that makes our laws crazier than that sick bastard".
shareDo I feel mom was terrible, no. But do I feel she handled the situation poorly, yes. But this was the late 70's, and things where different then. I believe in the end, she realized her mistakes, and she and Steven relationship will improve.
share