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Camping Is Child Abuse?

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A Michigan family recently had their children taken away for the crime of… camping.  Christopher and Antonia Hernandez and their six children had decided to camp on a 10-acre property they were purchasing, in order to get a feel for the land and figure out if the wanted to go off-grid when they built their new home on the property.

But nine days into their stay, CPS officials came and removed the children.  While many states have laws against living in tents long term, nine days can hardly be considered long term.  Many people take camping trips longer than that.

Click here to learn more about the case.

A CPS representative also was on the property, and had concerns about the living conditions. CPS made four allegations, according to the official court document:

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  • The family was not in a “stable living environment.”
  • The family had no electricity or water source, and was using kerosene as a means of heat.
  • The children were playing in the woods, cared for by a 15 year old.
  • The youngest child had a diaper rash.
  • The 17-year-old girl, who has Cerebral Palsy, was cold.

Fortunately, due to the mother and children being eligible for enrollment in the Tlingit Native American Tribe and the Indian Child Welfare Act, which makes it more difficult for state officials to separate Native American families, the children were returned to their parents.  And though the case is now closed, it sets a worrying precedent .  Parents should not have to worry that the state will take their children because they went camping.

Want to know more? Check out these related articles:

Kids Who Camp Are Happier and Healthier

Family Camping Tips | Roughing It With The Kids

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28 Comments

28 Comments

  1. Swed.

    July 17, 2015 at 10:20 AM

    CPS is child abuse, clear track record of aiding and abetting child abuse and death.

  2. Jack Black

    July 17, 2015 at 10:22 AM

    What the hell is happening to this country when you can’t even take your kids camping?

    • Anonymous

      July 6, 2018 at 5:07 PM

      Total CONTROL over the Masses JACK, where have You been ? Its happening every where , every day .. Children in pre-school (Virginia STATE) being forced to give Alliance to the Muslim’s God ” ALLAH ‘
      Social Security, there’s talk of cutting it off its not ‘ if ‘ but ” WHEN ” ..
      Conscecration Camps / F.E.M.A. Camps filled with Quillotines and are Active
      Civil Unrest is looming, Dems wanting it so they can declare ” Martial Law ‘ ..
      An active threat from Russia and Iran of an ” EMP ” attack ..
      Looming is the realization of an ” Economic Crash …

      Life is on Edge for us ” We the People ” but we need to get rid of the ” Division and Separation ” that is being
      forced upon us by those that Create Media BS ….

    • Carmine

      July 6, 2018 at 6:26 PM

      It’s the government way, total control, to make you completely dependent on the powers in DC for everything!

  3. Ibcamn

    July 17, 2015 at 11:12 AM

    this regime is on the fast track…all the shit that is going on now has been being implimented for decades,it was just now approved to start taking action against us in the last 6 years,that’s all!
    wake up people,when you have the nerve to say what the gov’t is doing doesn’t effect you!well,your wrong,it effects every single one of us,some of you just don’t know it yet!…this is a good example of it!

  4. hughjassohl

    July 17, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    CPS- Child PROCUREMENT Services… >:-
    Get right with God now, cuz tomorrow will be too late! We are being ushered into the Brave New World (Order) of Aldous Huxley. Soon, they will start the culling, only 500k will survive world wide, to be slaves to the “elite”. What makes you think you will be one of the ” lucky” ones?

  5. cool breeze

    July 17, 2015 at 11:41 AM

    when we camp we are fully armed; long guns and side arms. ya never know when a predator will appear to wreck your vacation.. diaper rash, packing in water, kerosene lamp, playing in the woods. sounds perfectly fine and normal to me. Would michigan cps rather have to notify the county coroner to retrieve the dead bodies that resulted from a drive by shooting at a local city park

  6. paendragon

    July 17, 2015 at 8:01 PM

    NAME the CPS employee who decided to kidnap those children!

  7. larry martin

    July 18, 2015 at 4:55 PM

    Nine days is more than just camping, with no running water or toilets. I camp. I know the difference.

    • Old Boy Scout

      July 20, 2015 at 7:39 AM

      BS! You can camp for more than 9 days and it is still camping. Just because you are a weenie….you don’t get to decide if it is camping. The Gov’t doesn’t get to decide. The family decides.

    • Anonymous

      July 6, 2018 at 6:25 AM

      That’s your camping. We go every year. Into the Colorado Rockies 2 weeks. Me wife & our 4 kids is tradition for last 16 years. That’s camping. ( city folks afraid of nature).

      • Dave

        July 6, 2018 at 10:28 AM

        Wow. Many people in this country have assumed too much about their fellow citizens based simply on a few sentences.
        Calling people sissies or wimpy city folks only serves to divide those with different opinions or experiences.
        Not all of us grew up with the opportunity to experience camping, fishing, hunting, skiing, or traveling to other cities or countries.
        I grew up with 5 brothers and sisters supported by my mother, a waitress. Yes, thats what we called them back then!
        My first camping experience only happened because I was invited to join the Boy Scouts. In the few years with the scouts I learned and experienced a lot of great lessons of life. Every other kid in my troop clearly had years of experience of camping. Some of those kids rode me pretty hard because of my lack of outdoor knowledge or what they used to call tenderfoot. Luckily I was dumb and naïve enough to not care!
        Some people don’t have the opportunity to do some of the things you or I may have. Because they haven’t had that experience they may prejudge you. That is your opportunity to educate them, not call them names. Be the better person, you’ll sleep better.
        As a young adult I continued to go camping based on my love of nature, hiking and fishing. During those years we exposed several of our “tenderfoot” friends who’ve never been camping or fishing. Most of them embraced the experience. A few didnt. That didnt make them sissies. They just had different interests in life.
        In the Michigan case, it appears these govt. officials had likely overstepped their authority by removing the children.
        I have experienced the opposite in an elder abuse case where authorities wont get knvolved. Likely because of potential litigation.
        Both this and the Michigan case indicate that our govt agencies are likely undertrained and certainly inconsistent.

        • Chewie

          July 6, 2018 at 2:30 PM

          Well you have one fact correct about there being a division spearheaded to divide this nation and it’s people and it’s very unfortunate that everyday citizens don’t see it for what it is. There has been a shift of liberals to so called conservative party but what everyone fails to realize is this one simple fact, conservative class of representatives are just as much socialist as liberals and I think even more so. Consider for just a moment if you will, that spending far beyond our means is every bit as much push to bring down this country as Robbin Hood programs stealing from one class to sustain another. The republican party claims they are for working class people while every program and way of hiring is designed to get rid of the middle class. I could give examples but I think most everyone with a mind can see for themselves. And clear proof of middle class burden shift again stealing from one class to benefit another (the rich) and put even bigger strain on a dying class with latest tax bill. We come together as one or we fall into oblivion with all riding down with the same wave. The part I can’t understand is how these representatives expect to be safe from the very environment they are creating???

    • NoMoreMarxistsInDC

      July 6, 2018 at 6:46 AM

      You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re just a shill for the government pukes that want to infiltrate our lives and create problems. Tell us where you live, and I’ll tell you who you are.

    • Anonymous

      July 6, 2018 at 9:44 AM

      MORON

  8. TheTruthBurns

    July 6, 2018 at 5:52 AM

    Be prepared to kill government workers they are the enemy of freedom & agents of Lucifer.

    • Greg Krempasky

      July 6, 2018 at 7:39 AM

      The truth burns! You are all F##### up!!!

  9. debbie

    July 6, 2018 at 7:32 AM

    CPS have children dieing in their care and the care of the people they put the children with. They cant get their shit together and keep those children safe. They need to stay out of the business of folks that take care of their children. someone called on them, I would be finding out who and why? Camping is not abuse. and yes it can last several weeks. and those kids were fine,. diaper rash, oh gee you get that in the city too. and if they are so concerned they should clean up those apartments they have people living in with rats and all kinds of things. They better stop trying to run our lives and take care of theirs. This is getting out of hand and we need to start fighting back. preferably with just words and elections. Those parents should sue CPS for the time they spent trying to get their kids back and the stress it caused to the whole family. That must have been devastating for those kids.

    • Anonymous

      July 6, 2018 at 5:24 PM

      I agree with You but they ” WON’T ” stay out of our lives, on the contrary they are ‘ Invading ‘ our Lives and will continue to do so until people either WAKE UP and fight back or be ‘ Exterminated ‘ altogether and that’s called Genecide, were collateral damage, a means to an end for those that live lavish lives ar our Expense and those are Career Politicians, the ones that can’t be ‘ FIRED ‘ the ones that retire with an income of $300,000 a year …

      Were just ‘ FUEL ‘ to their ‘ FIRE ‘ and they use us through Taxes (IRS) to LIVE the kind of Wealthy lives that they do, were their ” SLAVES ” at Minimum Wage, until ” THE PEOPLE ” rebel we will always be their ” BITCH ” ….

  10. Anthony

    July 6, 2018 at 7:47 AM

    I camp and have camp since I was an infant. Having worked around and with special needs citizens, there are some adaptations that need to be made. Based on the accusations published in this article, the key issues I see are the report of heating with kerosene and a child with CP. that being said, what we don’t know about is was it a kerosene lamp/lantern or a kerosene heater, which then begs the question of was the kerosene powered item a heater in a tent. That is not safe no matter what, especially with the modern nylon tents that most people buy or have access to. I teach camping skills and putting any type of heater that is not specifically designed for nylon type tents or confined spaces is a serious safety issue. There are tents designed for wood stoves, but you can’t buy those tents at the local big box discount store. I think the fact that CPS in Michigan thinks camping in this situation is child abuse, one has to wonder what the family, especially the children, said to CPS. Growing up my family has had many run ins with CPS for various reasons involving my sibling’s children, but most of the problems stem from CPS workers misinterpreting what the children are saying. I am not a fan of CPS and am very much supportive of parental rights, earlier and often exposure to the outdoors in all of it forms and method of recreation by all human beings regardless of there physical abilities or limitations, but I am not delusional about the fact that in most states CPS and the like have free reign to do whatever they want with little to no reason or oversight. These types of situations are prime times to educate CPS, families that recreate outdoors, and the public about outdoor recreation, what it is, what it isn’t, and how to do it safely. Instead blasting CPS for doing there jobs and reminding us all of the various prophecies of doom that may or may not have any basis in reality, we need to educate people, support this family, and recognize that there are many ways of camping and that we each have our own ideas for what is acceptable and not acceptable regarding outdoor recreation, parenting, and that sometimes people are doing their jobs based on very poor guidance, laws, regulations, and lack of knowledge.
    P.S. I will put my real first name because I am not trying to hide and be anonymous.

  11. A.P.

    July 6, 2018 at 9:17 AM

    CPS / juvenile dependency cases, etc., your accuser can hide because their identity is kept confidential and accusations dont need real proof, just the opinion of social workers. Social workers have too much power and the lawyers appointed by the courts dont actually defend, they force parents to plead guilty and go through reunification services. My family dealt with false accusations and it was torture getting my children back. I do not and have never done drugs or abused/neglected my children. I was accused by a relative because I denied that abusive toxic person (that abused me as a child and was cruel to my kids too) to be around my children. Tread carefully always and trust no one.

    • A.P.

      July 6, 2018 at 9:22 AM

      I only knew who the accuser was because Im not an idiot. I knew by the wording of the accusations and the timing of surrounding events. The person later admitted it but my children were already placed in the abusive relative’s custody, we were trapped in “the system”, and even though I finally got them back my children have taken years to get over the trauma. Trust no one.

  12. Sam W

    July 6, 2018 at 10:32 AM

    Yes teaching your children survival is child abuse in the eyes of the left. An adult throwing a drink in the face of a teenager and stealing his MAGA hat isn’t, if a person of color does it.

  13. Dupin

    July 6, 2018 at 2:13 PM

    Dad used to take us deep into the forests where Native Americans went to spend summers to camp and train their kids in woodcraft in Michigan for the summer. Under the supervision of the few adults who could stay during the week, the kids made friendships and passed things onto each other. Dad tells me the idea was to make sure that if we ever found ourselves alone in the forest with nothing we could not only survive but thrive. Those were wonderful days and I have been given that it still goes on though deep enough in the forest that CPS won’t go in after them.

    The thing is, though, progressives want everybody dependent on the government in some way. Camping encourages independence and self-reliance. So they can’t have parents doing that with their children.

  14. Diane

    July 6, 2018 at 2:42 PM

    When I was young, I used to ding my parents to go camping. We hardly ever did. For a long time, the old green canvass tent was set up in the back yard and we would play in it. When I got older, I went to summer camp. Guess what? We lived for four weeks in old Marine canvass tents that were on a wooden frame. Sure, we ate in the lodge, but everything else was outside. We learned how to use a compass, start a fire, engaged in riflery, archery, camp craft, we had nature lore, swimming in the lake which was an adventure because of the clay. The water turned light brown! In addition, we had to hike to the lake. We rode horses. We had a campfire in the evening. We would go hiking in Yosemite and sleep on the ground in Camp 9. Some of the kids went on three day backpacks. It was a lot of fun. I did that for years. The last year I was at camp for six weeks! In tents. And, we had to keep them neat and tidy. No, it wasn’t the scouts, but similar.

    The powers that be are usually people who have grown up in cities and don’t know what they are talking about. Here in CA, the state parks has put in a hands and pans only rule in areas where it shouldn’t be. Again, they are from cities and don’t know squat about the rivers. The idea is to keep it “pristine.” Uh, huh! I can see that rule at Coloma because of it being the gold discovery site. But down at the river that is BLM land and you have to drive a dirt road to get to it, no.

    I have grown to hate CA. Not the state itself because it is beautiful. It’s the politics. And Moonbeam wants to take all the gold and mercury out of the river around Auburn!

    See, they do not understand the river!

  15. Nikie

    July 6, 2018 at 4:19 PM

    I can see the point if the youngest was in diapers that is too young and leaving a teenager to watch the kids in a situation where snake bites ( just to name one) could suddenly happen out of the blue, is probably not the bet idea unless the teen has had training with the scouts, the Red Cross, etc.

    Also, I have cerebral palsy and use a power wheelchair. I therefore know cerebral palsy can vary a lot from very mild physical only effects to very severe impact on physical, emotional and cognitive functions. A very small percentage of people who have it need a jtube because they throw up from trying to drink any liquid. Also, it can make one more sensitive to hot,cold or both.

    For me, I am extremely sensitive to heat, if I am out in weather hotter than 95/degrees I can get noise bleeds and migraines. So, I think whether or not her family should be accountable should depend on her specific physical reaction to being cold as well as whether she is high enough functioning to understand that the changes in living style were temporary and met to be fun as well as her ability to understand and act on instructions regarding how to get and stay warmer.

    If my parents were exposing me to enough heat to cause me to have nosebleeds, especially if I were in a situation where I was unable to act on my own to cool down ( cannot move my chair over the terrain to get to the water source and wet my clothes for example), then it makes sense they should have to answer for there actions.

    If on the other hand, I was only moderately hot, the water source was accessible by me ( solo) and I was simply choosing to act like my disability entitled me to have everyone wait on me ( many teens do this, just like many abled teen act entitled), then it would be a different matter

  16. Russell Starr

    July 10, 2018 at 5:25 PM

    I believe the only time CPS (DCF in my state) should be able to take children away from a family is when there is clear and imminent danger to the child. Diaper rash or a little bit cold doesn’t qualify. Why is there no due process? It sounds like a court case to me. Sue the states a** off.

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