The Parents That Raise Their Kids Without ANY Rules | Raised Without Rules | FULL DOCUMENTARY Origin 

When he said that at 13 years old he could not read/write it broke my heart. There is a difference between homeschooling and neglect.

Jeez there's nothing scarier than being around someone who's never been told no

My parents let me do whatever I wanted from 14 on and all I wanted was rules. I wanted guidance to tell me how to be a strong healthy individual. It took years for me to correct the lifestyle I had. I’m not finished yet. I’m 43 and been fixing the sabotage from my childhood since 25.

I grew up like this. It's on par with neglect because what it really means is the parents have little interaction with a child. And I am still suffering, in multiple ways (as are my siblings) at 38 years of age. Absolutely abhorrent.

I was struck by a bit of hypocrisy: they said they supported what their kids want to do but then laid an emotional guilt trip on them for wanting to try school and making fun of them when they got home. Calling them aliens and asking them if they smelled different. That's not support, that sent a very clear message that you are now no longer one of us. That's shameful.

"I don't care if she ever learns to read or write as long as she's happy." Your role as a parent it to prepare your child for adulthood. You're setting your kids up for failure. The real world is going to hit them like a ton of bricks.

Archie is lucky to have his grandfather's support. Watching a child his age struggling to read is so heartbreaking.

That 12 year old boy is so well spoken and mature, hope he’s doing well in life.

A mother thinking a kid doesn't need to learn to read or write is seriously lacking in parental skills.

In other words: “ I don’t care if they’re broke and homeless in the future, as long as they’re happy.”

Boundaries is an act of love and children flourish because of it. It’s those boundaries (such as eating a nutritious home cooked meal as opposed to eating ice cream for dinner at midnight) that sends the message that the parents cares for and loves their children. Anything less is just pure selfishness and laziness.

What a sweetheart Archie's grandfather. Paying for his lessons to keep up education!

I think it's hilarious that a family without rules creates a rebellious child that wants to clean, follow rules, and enjoys schoolwork.

I definitely don't think these parents have the right to call other parents lazy when they can't even be bothered to teach their children how to read a book

I can't imagine a parent not caring about their child not being able to read and write. Just blows my mind. I'm in agreement with Granddad...at least a tutor for reading and writing. I have a feeling that those kids will resent the parents one day. And it is lazy parenting. I'd hate to see how they act when they're in the "grown-up" world and don't get their way.

Poor Finley is craving structure & rules so bad. He’s wise beyond his years. Children need structure & rules to learn boundaries & to strive in life.

That one child is so brave to want to go to school in an environment that discourages it. I pray that he finds the structure that he needs to thrive.

I can't believe Jenna took her eldest out of school because he was struggling to read and write, then never taught him how. "If I need to write anything I'll just say it into my phone." Sorry, kid, life isn't that easy, and your mother has failed you.

This type of parenting is also a form of control “No one loves you more then me look how I let you do what you want and you will love me for it and never leave me.” The first family in particular give off this vibe the mother manipulated that intelligent little kid into not returning to school. The parents clearly have some trauma from their childhoods and they are trying to heal through creating pretend little worlds as if they are living in a bubble.

So as a 30 year old woman who was also raised this way. Let me share my experience. I was diagnosed with ASD when I was a child. And then, Not Otherwise Specifed Psychosis as well. School was not happening. I was always bullied, thrown out of the district, that couldn't accommodate people like me with learning difficulties. I couldn't bond with anyone and didn't make any friends. Once I was taken out of school. My days became less depressing and more tolerable. I felt like I was actually starting to live. I wasn't stuck in a classroom, trying to learn times tables. I was outside learning how to fill out money orders. So when I was an adult, I knew how to pay rent. I wasn't being forced into group projects. With children who made fun of me, for not picking up on their hurtful 'jokes'. I was in therapy learning how to manage all my symptoms. With both practical skills and medication. I was taught by my mother, by being brought outside into the world. Being shown things from all walks of life. Instead of looking at a paper and memorizing things. Government assistance? I knew how it worked from 14 years old. Community outreach? I know where all my safe places are. Even when I moved across states. I will always know how to get help when I need it. A lot of children around me, were being taught to smile in people's face. And that the adult is always right. I was told if I had an opinion, I was to speak it. If I had an idea, I could do it and that I should try. If it didn't work out, it's okay to give up and do something new. Not the rhetoric that; 'You should never give up.' No it's perfectly fine to walk away from something or someone that hurts you. That's how I managed to have only postive interactions with others in my life growing up. All of this in my upbringing, did wonders for my creativity. Because lo and behold I was a creative thinker. While I couldn't and still can't memorize times tables. I can write very well, I can sing, I have learned other languages. What I benefited from was not being stuck in a box everyone else is in. But being given the keys to my own future. Since nobody is going to live it except me. I can hold normal conversations. I no longer have self confidence issues. I believe in my ability to get my point across. I am more than capable of surviving on my own. I have been living alone since 19 years old. I have my own home. I have my own freedom. I know how to sustain it. I don't think all unschooling is bad. I don't think no rules households are bad. I think if you're giving something valuable to your children. Teaching them the actual things they need to survive. Then your child is going to be perfectly fine. I definitely am and I'm much happier for it. Being taking out of school at 12. And being given freedom to engage my special interests 24/7 without the fear of being told no. And being treated for my disability instead of told 'I just need to work harder.' Was the best thing my mother ever did for me. Thank you Mom. ❤

I genuinely want to see these kids years later as adults and see if their upbringing was for the better or worse....

My ex grew up in a home exactly like these homes. He was never told no & he was given free reign to do whatever he pleased. He was taken out of school after he screamed & cussed out teachers. He was violent & abusive bc he didn’t like the word “no.” This is not a way to raise children. It’s laziness.

If they are not taught rules, what are the parents doing? That's what parenting is all about. Guiding and teaching along with loving

Met a parent and daughter who didn't know how to read and write. Daughter was 20. Mother was almost 50. They needed to fill out government forms but wasn't able to do since they don't know how to read. Even simple things like checking if married, widow, single. They don't know because they can't read. Learning to read and write is a must even if you don't want to send your kids to school. Please teach them to read and write. What if they need to buy medicine etc.

I find it disheartening how the one mother kept making comments about her two children that wanted to try out school.Calling them aliens, asking if they smelled different etc. It seemed like she was trying to guilt and shame them out of wanting to go to school rather than respecting and supporting their decisions about their education.

As a mental health professional for children in care… If I’ve learned anything it’s that kids need structure and boundaries as much as they need love and support. I understand why a parent might want to homeschool their child. But not implementing any rules or boundaries gives them a false sense of reality. One day, they will be forced to venture out into the real world where there are real consequences.

I was raised similar to this, and I grew up with a great amount of self-confidence. The problem began when I entered adulthood and the real world, and didn't know how to clean house, be organized, or hold my tongue. This actually caused me alot of real difficulties as an adult and left me opposite of self-confident , but insecure. You must teach your children right from wrong. They're going to look at you one day and ask you why you didn't... and they will not raise their kids the same way that will be the telltale sign if you were right to raise them this way.

Imagine a society full of individuals who have never been told no. will be supporting a whole lot more of individuals who neither want to work or are incarcerated.

There's a difference between homeschooling and just ignoring your children's social and academic development. They are limiting their children's choices. More education means more choices. There are thousands of opportunities and careers they will never be able to aim for, but wow they can eat what they want. My heart aches for the son who wants school.

I hate how hypocritical Gemma and Lewis are.They are fine if the choices their children make are fun and unconventional but if their child wants some actual structure in their life they try to change that child's mind.

The parents seem to be mostly afraid of school itself. I think Finley would absolutely thrive in school, but is being held back by his parents' fears. I hope he cycles around to schooling again. (as someone who loved school myself)

In homeschooling in America this is called Unschooling. It is a method that does work well with some kids. Most parents though, make a point of incorporating basics like reading, writing and counting into the day. It does give you freedom to really delve into a topic that they want to learn about. For my son, who is dyslexic, it gave me a way to sneak in cognitive therapies for his reading while making it a game. I did a mix of unschooling and schooling. Unschooling understands that many kids can learn more if they are out and about with the parent. I took him everywhere. As a result, he knew how to hold conversations with adults, knew how to read a map, could plan camping trips by age ten, does mathematics way better than I do, and is very secure in himself and his abilities. I did it for three years as the district was not helping him with reading and his dyslexia.

It made me angry how grand dad paid for a tutor and the second the teenager starts showing improvement, mom plans for them to go traveling. That's messed up. That's 100% depriving her son the progress he could get.

People who were never taught to respect other people's boundaries are a nightmare to deal with. They're unable to maintain relationships and can even become controlling and abusive. This level of neglect is scary.

Loving your kids and enjoying being with them is fine. The inability to be apart from them in order for them to attend school is not. This is child abuse. Children need boundaries and guidance to develop a genuinely healthy sense of self, to learn self-control and to learn how to successfully interact with society. They need an appropriate education (either traditional school or real homeschooling) in order to be able to function in the world and to be prepared for employment. These parents are setting their kids up for failure.

Skye's case breaks my heart. She wants to go to school but she's uncertain, and she's getting bad guidance instead of the encouragement she needs. She's being raised to be emotionally and mentally crippled.

I’ve known several families that raised children this way. Now the kids are 25+, still living at home and have severe depression. Ironic, since happiness was the goal

Man. Do a second documentary on this family when there're all adults. Everyone need some type of structure, especially children.

My mother had severe mental illness and raised me basically hands off. As long as I didn’t bother her I could do whatever I wanted. I was placed in foster care around 10. I loved the group homes and children’s facilities. They had rules and regulations. You knew when it was time eat, what to wear and how to act. There were consequences if you didn’t follow the rules. I hated it when I was returned to my mother. I’d much rather be in a place with structure.

I agree with lenient parenting and not over managing everything. But an extreme of any end is still bad. You should lead but not force, and let them learn from their own mistakes. But not letting them have any learning or structure is insane

Woman: “A child being kept safe is important” Her baby: “Knife time”

As a parent this is the most disturbing documentary about parenting I have ever watched. This is definitely not home schooling, this is outright negligence in the name of freedom

"i don't care if she learns to read or write" this is outrageous

I grew up without school, not so much no rules but I’d cry my way out of things and I never got punished and I can say now, not going to school and not having structure rlly screwed me over. Feel horrible for these kids.

Watching that 13 year old kid trying to read probably year 1 level…. That’s just disgraceful. It’s a form of abuse for these kids - holding them back from basic reading and writing and a right to an education.

This isn't love; it's neglect.

Thank you to the grandfather, who is paying for a tutor. Way to go Grandpa! You are giving that boy a few options in life.

I was relieved to hear that he was trying to write 'club'. 🤣 Finlay is a smart boy. He knows that if he likes the 'nerd life' of school structure he will be an outcast in his own family and his mother has made it abundantly clear how 'disappointed' she is. He is too young yet to be able to endure that. 'The no rules life' are great as long as you don't break the rules. I don't think the parents see the irony. They are just as, if not more controlling and selfish than any other parent, but have also denied their children a chance of fitting easily into society or making a future for themselves.

At MINIMUM, Kids need to know how to READ AND WRITE AND Know how to Count and Do Basic Math

this is called “i had too many kids so i don’t care anymore”. structure is essential in everyone’s life. they won’t survive in the real word.

It is a clear NO to me. I have seen the awful results of the free parenting. To me, this kind of "parents" just don't fee like take any responsibility in raising their children. No guidance, no boundaries, no sense of responsibility. Very scary and even scarier when they will go out into the real world.

I’m a homeschooling mother of two. We have a very slack approach to school. However we put education and knowledge high on priority along with developing into the best, capable person we can be. We educate ourselves through experiences and books. We don’t follow a set curriculum. We learn at our own pace and my kids have room to grow and develop while pursuing their interests but all the while the building blocks of reading, writing, math … those basic knowledge skills are being taught and learned. My children have freedom but there are responsibilities that we are all required to do. I want them to be able to function in their adult lives without the mental health issues that public schools seem to provide. So while my kids have freedom to be children they are also not running around uneducated. We have values and we have rules. All set in place to make sure that we are all healthy and set up for our best future. So the idea of letting your child make all the decisions and having no guidance is absolutely ridiculous.

The kids you don't want to be in the same flight for 8 hours.

I am an early childhood teacher and I can 10000% tell you that Children thrive in a structured environment. They crave stability, security and predictability... it's the school system and anxious parents that has failed children. All children learn differently. But these parents have taken no rules to the extreme.

And we are the ones that have to deal with them.... Thanks so much.

My question is, how do they expect their children to live once their gone? Meaning how will they pay for some place to live, their future children, food and so on. The last person said she wanted her kids to travel and get out of this town. How will they do that with no education or money? Having your kids be rule free is one thing but not setting them up for success to live for the rest of their life is another. This is extremely selfish of the parents. They don't stay little forever.

I feel like sometimes people do this because they had authoritarian parents growing up and are trying to overcorrect

I agree with Archie's Grandpa. The kid is 13 and needs to be able to read, write, know basic math and have friends. The mother seems like she wants to be his friend more than a mother. How are these kids going to keep jobs if they don't even have the basic skills.

I grew up hating school so much, I would cry and throw tantrums every morning. I am glad my mom did not decide that I would happier without school. I have a degree today and I get to work for one of the biggest investment firms in my country. This is not love its pure neglect! I feel so bad for these kids.

I love how the one dude believe in no rules but then told his kid they couldn’t slam the door on the shed thing. 😂

For a kid whos given "freedom" and no rules, Findlay is really exceptional for WANTING to be clean and tidy, WANTING to go to school and do school work. Wishing him all the best

This is the saddest thing Ive ever seen. “We just want them to be happy and do whatever they want” kid wants to wake up early and go to school to feel accomplished...mom proceeds to shame him for wanting that. So sad

Im so happy I live in Germany. You cant take ur children out of school here, so everyone gets the same education. I think thats especially important because I feel like homeschooled children often just accept the beliefs and opinions of their parents as theirs, which in some cases, is def problematic.

I cant imagine being a neighbor to those seven kids especially in this time of working from home😢

They’re taking this to an extreme here. Yes, children need to have a degree of autonomy. They want to eat ice cream for dinner… okay, whatever. But kids also need structure and boundaries to prepare them for the real world. Education is very important and shouldn’t be neglected in the name of “happiness”

"Dont care if she can't read or write as long as she's happy." She'll never be happy....almost guaranteed.

Imagine how irritating it must be to live in a house where you have lots of younger brothers who do whatever they want whenever they want and parents who never punish them. You don't go to school and your parents who say they are in favor of freedom make fun of you for wanting to have a life different from them. Poor kids

I want a follow up video in 25 years. I’m proud of Finley to stand up and choose to go to school, such a young man to know right from wrong. (excuse me if I spelled his name wrong). He is going to make it in life and do very well.

I had a friend who was raised like this with no rules. She said she was scared and felt not safe all the time. She never knew if what she was doing was something that could get her hurt. Kids deserve boundaries. It makes them feel safe.

All Children need structure, boundaries, and rules. I’m not saying be overbearing, controlling, and stern like my mother was; I’m just saying, raising them freely like this is not preparing them at all for the real world.

I hated going to school and doing chores when I was a kid. Today I realize how important it was. It forced me to socialize and learn to get along with people from all backgrounds. It helped me to learn structure which is important as you get older. School taught me more than I'd like to admit it did 😆

I am in therapy three days a week undoing all of the harm from growing up in a completely chaotic and unstructured home.

“No rules” means “anti-social.” All societies have rules. If you don’t guide your children on how to function in a family, they won’t have any idea how to function in society.

I tell you guys, Finlay is gonna be huge. He sound so matured. He has plans for his future and he's aiming for an organized lifestyle. He also understands the importance of rules more than his parents. His mindset for a 12 year old is surprising, I can see a bright future ahead of him. Finlay is like that one protagonist in a movie who is born in a wrong family hahahah I just love how different he is from his family.

It’s a no rules/carefree household until the kids wanna do something out of the parents beliefs 🤦🏻‍♀️

Finley is VERY smart for his age, everything he said is very reasonable, I would have been happy if he decided to continue going to school, his reasoning is definitely understandable but I feel like his parents should have encouraged him rather than doing the opposite.

That kid who shaved their head, asked for permission in a household with no rules....the child wanted a boundary which is why permission was requested.

"As an adult you get to choose...so why can't they" well sir that's because they're kids and they don't know what's best for themselves. The frontal lobe of your brain which is in charge of reasoning and long term planning (among other important things) doesn't fully develop until 25... allowing a child barely even 10 to make their own decisions is just terrifying.

Taking kids out of school for no solid reason is practically negligence. My parents also believed in us learning on our own but balance is key

Finley is so sweet! I remember when I got into high school life happened you know, and I skipped all the time and thankfully graduated. Now I’m older, I truly wish I enjoyed my time at school. I wish I was present and that way I would’ve made more friends and learned more! Glad he is realizing it before it’s too late:) smart kid as he is!

As a nanny, I would never, ever, ever be okay working with a family like this. These poor kids.

I grew up with friends that had parents like this. I use to think "Oh they are so lucky! As an adult now. I am so thankful my parents were open minded, let me express myself BUT did have boundaries and rules. The family I knew had 11 kids. 3 were killed in a car wreck when they took the parents car out one night, 5 of them have been in and out of jail, 1 is in prison for 25yrs to life and 2 turned out decent and have their own kids, and those kids have rules & boundaries!!

My brother did this, his son is 36 and still living at home. He's got no skills, no prospects, no relationship.

There is a lot of negativity in these comments and wanted to add a personal positive perspective. I was brought up this way my entire schooling life apart from the one term I decided I wanted to try school and quickly came to the same conclusion as Finley did. I have dyslexia and ADHD and found early years learning extremely difficult until I figured out my own strengths and ways of learning. Now at 29 years old I have completed 2 diplomas, one bachelors degree, started 2 businesses (both of which I sold) and now work full time running events for local governments. I am extremely grateful that my parents went against everything they had been told and sacrificed everything to raise me and my brothers the way they did. I firmly believe school would have beaten me down and shattered my confidence. This lifestyle is absolutely not for everyone but for those like me, I would not have had it any other way.

Freedom doesn’t mean no discipline, no boundaries, no structure, no awareness, consequences, or sense of their surroundings. These kids will grow into a dysfunctional menace, and they’ll struggle immensely in our intolerant world.

Tell me you’re a lazy parent without telling me you’re a lazy parent

What an interesting concept! I would be interested in the long term impact out of curiosity

I told my 7 yo son what I was watching. He said even he cannot understand why there would be no rules. And he laughed as I told him what the kids were doing in this vid, because simply can’t imagine living without rules. If a 7 yo is saying this….🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

The perfect depiction of the devouring mother and father. Raise them in a way that depend on you solely, rob them of any social maturity, but they'll never leave you, they'll never leave home. This is truly sad.

I'm not judgmental but dang I want to see these kids in 20 years.

I love how their parents say they encourage their children to make their own choices, but then when the children say they'd like to choose to go to school, the parents get all nervous and impose "3 day trials" 🤔

What an incredible disservice to these children. We are supposed to guide and have rules for children so they feel secure and able to handle growing into adulthood .

Archie's reading is a serious concern. He probably has a learning disability that needs to be addressed not ignored. He won't be able to function as an adult with that level of literacy. This could easily be done by his mom if she bought a reading curriculum and spent and hour or two a day with him instead of insisting he just spends all his time 'playing'.

The young boy that likes structure and wants to go to school has more sense than the parents. The fact that the parents aren't open to that and want a trial is odd, especially since they say they want the kids to make their own decisions. Sounds like they are actually forcing their own ideals on the kids. In fact the parents are making rules for the kids to follow even though they are saying there are no rules

Kids that grow up without rules turn into adults that don't understand what rules are. What an incredibly stupid idea to keep the children without rules. I hope l never have to meet those kinds of parents.

I feel sorry for this kids. Their life will be so difficult 😢

Can we just call this what it really is? It's called neglect. It's not a new style of parenting. Parents have been doing this for forever.

the mom was literally crying because her son was going to school. they make the kids think they're making their own decisions but Finley was indirectly peer pressured to not to go to school. so he can make his parents happy about his decision.

This is like the movie Home Alone but with parents present. This is heartbreaking thanks for the documentary.

Finley is a gem