Amish Rumspringa
As Amish enter into puberty and go from being a child to an adult, they also go through something the Amish call Rumspringa. This is where the Amish allow their offspring to bend the Amish rules a little to see what else is out there. Although the elders and the parents do not like it, they turn the other way, ignoring or pretending not to know what their teenager is doing. It could be anything from wearing different clothes and using modern technology, to drinking and dating outside the Amish community.
What is expected to come from Amish Rumspringa differs from community to community, but the bottom line is two goals: The youth will find out that the Amish way of life is better, and thus get baptized and live the Amish lifestyle for the rest of his or her life; and that the youth will find love within the Amish community during this time, and thus find their future spouse.
Some studies indicate that almost 90 percent of the youth do in fact choose the Amish way of life, instead of the modern world the rest of us live in.
PS. Rumspringa is also sometimes spelled Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa.
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