I can't be the only kid who grew up wanting to be a member of the Swiss Family Robinson. Sleeping in your tree house? No homework? Come on! Best life ever! But a mysterious English-speaking kid who just walked out of a forest in Germany is making me think Disney may have romanticized the whole living off the grid thing a bit ... at least more than Disney usually does.
The teenage boy, who is known only as Ray, told police in Berlin that he'd been living in the woods with his dad for the past five years, ever since his mom, Doreen, died. He only emerged from the trees because his dad, Ryan, died, leaving him to fend for himself in the wild.
The good news is Ray seems to be fine -- physically at least. But he's now both an orphan and a stranger in a strange land with none of the skills he needs to fit into society. He's used to living in huts in the woods, not houses. He's spent five years wandering rather than staying in one place. He has no family to speak of. And he speaks very little of the German language, which has prompted not just an appeal around Germany for anyone who might have information about his past, but around the world.
Now police have dozens of questions about this mystery child, and I have some for parents who would think of running off into the woods with their kids. Instead of the "best life ever" of my kiddie fantasies, this sounds more like a good way to screw them up ... and how.
I don't mean to cast aspersions on Ryan. It sounds like the death of his wife did a number on him, and he very likely thought this was a way to protect his son. I can empathize. I remember sitting in my bedroom with my 1-month-old daughter in my arms as the London bombings of 2005 played out on the television. I wanted little more than to pack a diaper bag, drive to my husband's job to pick him up, and run ... far, far away, where the horrors of the world couldn't reach us. I wanted to protect her.
But fantasy never lives up to reality. Getting away sounds perfect. Actually doing it is a quagmire.
Even living off the grid requires a dependency on others when you're a kid. And it's irresponsible to think they won't one day tire of the tree house-hopping, no-homework lifestyle and want to join the real world -- or be forced to do so, as Ray was. Suddenly they need a whole new set of survival skills.
What do you make of this crazy story? Have you ever imagined running away with your kids to protect them?
Image via debabarata/Flickr
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
This Hot Dad Wants to Cook You Dinner
This Hot Dad Cooks AND Does the Dishes
Kanye West is Gay?! 
Comments 74
poor kid... makes you wonder how they ended up in Germany
Wow. That's so odd. Makes me think of "The Village". At least this kid had the presence of mind to leave the woods and find help. I hope they can find someone from his family's past who knows who he is and where he comes from.
It sort of sounds bizzare , but its not like he doesnt know anything about houses LOL he used to live in one, and IN society up until 5 years ago, it'll probably just take him a while to get used to the comforts of home living, and hey at least he has survival skills and I'm sure he is stronger now because of it( mentally, emotionally) Mother earth is a wonderous thing...
Just because this isn't the way most of us live doesn't make it wrong or abusive. You wouldn't call a parent of a child in a tribe in the wilds of south america abusive or wrong for raising their children off the land and off the grid. People who do hard life sustaining work everyday seem far more content than most of us planning a party on an i-pad over a latte. I admire this family's ability to live off the land in the depths of the forest and bear them no ill will for raising their child differently.
I agree with Jen! I often dream of a simple life, foraging for berries and living off the land.
There is abslutely nothing wrong and abusive with living off the grid or belonging to a "tribe in the wilds of South America." But the thing is a tribe is MANY people and off the grid communities are groups of people. Most people I know of that live off the grid still have houses of some sort, many live on working farms but most still have to venture into society for one reason or another. A man and his son alone in the woods of a country where they don't speak the language is not living off the grid. Running off like this is irresponsible to say the least. Obviously the father had no real plan. It seems he was just trying to escape his wifes death. Lets assume its because he was emotionally distraught and not because he had something to hide (its a possibility). What did he think his son was going to do if something happened to him? Was the plan always for the boy to just walk till he found someone else? And now because of the fathers irresponsibility the boy will inevitably be put in foster care and tossed around until he's 18. Or he'll become a social science experiment (unless the Jolie-Pitts want to adopt him). If someone wants to go off with their family and live off the land more power to them but there needs to be a plan for whats going to happen in a worst case scenario such as this. How sad is it thats this poor child is now completely alone in this world?
Why is it bad to flee? The writer is considering that ALL people who would like to live off the grid condemn their children to a life lacking social skills and language. You can live off the grid, but have a safety net in place should something happen to you.
Living off the land, or in the woods is NOT bad thing. This is a sad story, but it should not serve to make or break a person's decision to do something like this. It is obvious that the father did not really plan things, and was just seeking an escape...but there are some of us who truly feel that there may come a time when living off the land, and off the grid will be the better choice.
I didn't say living off the land and running away was a bad thing. I just said that plans need to be made for worst case scenarios and in this case it doesn't seem like that was done. I'd love to have a cabin in the woods by alake and be self sufficient (but I still want internet HA!) and there would be a plan for my children if something were to happen to me.