Mervin Smucker - The "restricted" world of Amish children.

Amish children grow up in a restricted world, both geographically and intellectually, which is not conducive to personal achievement or the exploration of ideas. They are taught to be cooperative rather than competitive, peaceful rather than aggressive. Amish children are expected to work hard, and begin to help their parents with daily chores at a very young age. Above all, they must respect the authority of their parents. The following quotation from Lembright & Yamamoto (1965) summarizes the world in which Amish children live:

"The Amish community provides a highly homogeneous and sharply delineated world for children to live and grow in. Everything has its place and everybody knows precisely what he or she is expected to be. The world is more closed than open and there is not much to be confused about . . .  Development into the adult world is continuous and no isolated, artificial fantasy world called childhood is there" (p. 62).

Mervin Smucker (2012).