My personal opinion on this might shock some people – so I’ll delay and join in the conversation in the comments section. HatTip Chip Bennett:
Rachel Canning is an 18-year-old High School senior now suing her parents for kicking her out of the house. She is seeking financial “child support”, payment for final year tuition of private High School, and payment for all college tuition expenses she will incur.
While the case might seem extreme, it highlights a very specific consequence of helicopter parenting, spoiling children, choosing to be more of a “friend” than a parent, and a complete lack of teaching fundamental responsibilities in the age of post millenials.
To quote her father, Sean Canning:
“I’m a liberal, liberal parent,” he said. “I wish I could have grown up in my house. I was tougher on my cops at work than I’ve ever been at my home, that’s for sure.” (link)
Today a New Jersey Judge denied the initial request however another hearing is scheduled for next month where Rachel could win the lawsuit against her parents. Essentially her argument is “they created my ideology and dependency – ergo they are now responsible to fulfill their obligations to me which arrive as a consequence of my upbringing”.
Believe it or not, it’s quite possible young Ms. Rachel Canning will win this lawsuit. While it sounds incredulous on its face – her argument is fundamentally solid from the progressive point of view. Her parents created her extreme dependency – just because they no longer wish to accept the consequences of their earlier decisions, does not mean they can just cast her aside. They created this monster.
Legal affirmations within a court ordered independent investigation show, with specific certainty, that Rachel’s parents Elizabeth and Sean Canning acted in such a manner as to create a dependency child. The investigators found her father was “inappropriately affectionate” blurring the lines between parenting and close adult friendship. One such example was Mr. Canning forcing his daughter to binge drink with him.
NEW JERSEY – New Jersey teen Rachel Canning, who accused her parents of a pattern of abuse – including accusations of “inappropriate affection” from her father – that eventually led to the girl being kicked out of their Lincoln Park home last year won’t be getting a free ride just yet.
A judge Tuesday ruled against the rebellious teen’s bid to have her living expenses covered and her college tuition expenses footed by her father Sean and Elizabeth – a setback for the girl who has captured national attention with the unusual lawsuit.
Morristown Superior Court Judge Peter Bogaard appears to have agreed with an independent investigators’ assessment of the home atmosphere: that the high school cheerleader and lacrosse player is “spoiled.”
Do we want to establish a precedent where parents live in basic fear of establishing rules of the house?” Bogaard asked when denying an emergency order that would have entitled the teen to $650 a week in child support and would have required the parents to pay for the girl’s private school tuition.
The teen detailed a pattern of abuse that led her to develop bulimia and question whether father truly did know best.
Canning claimed that her “inappropriately affectionate” dad would push her to binge drink and wake her up in the middle of the night to play beer pong, according to court documents obtained by NBC New York.
On several occasions, the allegedly dangerously doting dad told the pretty teen that he viewed her not just as a daughter, but “more than that,” the station reported.
Her mother, meanwhile, tossed barbs at the girl such as “fat” and “porky” that caused her to shrink to a startling 92 pounds by her junior year, derailing her high school basketball career.
Her parents deny those claims vehemently and stated in court documents that they fostered a “stable, loving and nurturing enviromnent” for the girl, according to court documents.
A follow-up hearing is scheduled for April 22, when the judge will decide if parents Sean and Elizabeth Canning will be required to pay college tuition for their estranged daughter, a senior honor student at Morris Catholic High School.
But the decision likely will hinge on whether the legal adult daughter willingly left the home – or was tossed out by unloving and potentially abusive parents, as Rachel Canning alleges in court documents. (read more)
