When one of our readers' Ambot parents decided to become lifers in Amway, she was unfortunate enough to end up as an Amkid. Parents who join cults should have their children removed from their care so that the youngster has a chance at a normal childhood. Instead, these children are raised by eccentric parents who are devoted followers of the Great Amway God. Their parents are perpetually broke and have little spare time to spend with their children. They'll be able to recognise an Amway pitch when they hear one when they're older because these Amkids are clever. And keep in mind the horrors of growing up with Ambot parents in mind.
Her account of growing up as an Amkid is presented here.
Recently, some very close friends of mine decided to “get into the business,” which has compelled me to reevaluate my feelings regarding Amway and its influence on my youth.
Since our friends informed us that they were considering donating to a certain group, I've been plagued by feelings of tremendous melancholy (which was not Amway, of course, eye roll, it is WWDB). At that moment, I realised we were going to lose them as friends. Since high school, this man has been my husband's closest friend and confidant. For us, losing them would be tragic because they have been through so much together.
I gently reminded them that I was an Amway kid (an Amkid?) and asked if they were interested in hearing my perspective on growing up in the Amway organisation. I told them once, and I pledged to continue to assist them after that. My instincts told me that if they didn't get the message that we were willing to assist them, I would end our relationship right then and then. Wow, that's a lot of baggage.
My parents have been together their entire lives. They've been there since I was eight years old. It was 28 years ago today. They had two strong teams that made some revenue until they went bankrupt, which happened about 15-20 years ago.
My childhood was more bizarre than I thought at the time.
-Disgruntled neighbours. The crew came to pick up their merchandise on a weekly Tuesday night product pickup, which packed the street with people from the team. Every Sunday night, all of my father's friends would gather at our house to call random people they had met at the grocery store and yell "Loser" or "Sap" (whatever that word meant in the first place) every time they were turned down. That group of guys was making a racket down in the basement as my siblings and I were upstairs working on homework and getting ready for the upcoming school week.
- Instruments. Tapes and books that are dumb, dumb, dumb. After reading about AmCult, I had no idea how pricey they were until I started researching the company. Seriously, I was under the impression that upline was giving those material to my father. I hope my children do not find NPR to be as irritating as I did when I listened to those cassette tapes.
- Wives who are negative. We'd heard a lot about these negative women, and my mother had a difficult time since she was aware that she was being perceived as one. She is a very introverted person who does not have enough enthusiasm in her step. Despite this, Mom worked tirelessly on the weekly product order and product pick-up, and she dealt with my father's absence with grace. I swear to you, I would be the most negative of all the negative wives in the history of the world.
- Functions are discussed. I'm starting to wonder why we never went on any family trips. Because my parents were required to attend four functions every year. They only took us once, as far as I can recall, because some upper management allowed kids coming on a beach excursion. As previously stated, we sat in the hotel room with a 13-year-old babysitter, watching R-rated movies, which was exactly what we were looking for. The other times, my parents left us with babysitters that we didn't know well or with whom we didn't feel completely comfortable. I am grateful that I did not experience any physical or emotional abuse other than neglect in any of these instances, and I hope that my siblings were likewise protected.
- Friendships that have been lost. While I'm sure my parents could have allowed us to remain at friends' houses for all of those activities instead of hiring strange babysitters, they had alienated all of their/our friends shortly after becoming members of the Amway organisation. New pals were always business colleagues, and they came and went as the seasons changed.
- Oh my goodness, please stop talking to everyone. My father would engage in conversation with anybody and everyone. He is an extravert, so it is likely that he would have done it anyhow, but I detested the thought that his friendliness was ultimately not real, or at the very least that I did not feel it could be. I'd shuffle away and try to blend into the background. It was always the same discourse, with the same lead-ins and lead-outs every time.
- Belief in God. My parents withdrew from church involvement once they founded Amway, and they allowed Amway to take the place of church for them. That is something I have not seen much mention of in blogs, and it may be special to LTD, Britt, or simply the southern United States in general. The opposite was true in Amway, where being a Christian was fashionable, and all of the festivities had church services where large crowds of people would adopt Christ as though they had just finished listening to Billy Graham. This made my father extremely happy, and I understand why, but the borders between business and religion were blurred, and it was all about control rather than following the most humble man who ever walked the face of the earth. As children, we lost touch with the families from church with whom we had grown up, notably with my own family. My parents were unable to devote any more time to Bible studies or volunteer projects, so we were unable to attend as well.
- The state of one's health. My father's health took a serious hit as a result of this. He was a tall, slender man who enjoyed doing chores around the house before joining Amway. Afterwards, he developed into a man who regularly attended IHOP meetings at all hours of the night, slept on average approximately 5 hours per night, and gained weight. Nutri-lite supplements have helped him maintain his weight despite the fact that he has never shed the entire amount of weight he desired. That could have worked when he was in his 40s, but he is now in his mid-60s, and I am really concerned for his well-being.
-Time. I'm sure my father would have spent more time with us if he had been able to come home after work in the evenings. In the end, I don't believe he was as horrible as other people may have thought he was since I have never questioned his love and dedication to me. In general, I was a very cooperative child, and as a teenager, when I tasted a little independence and normalcy, I began to rebel and to try to create as much emotional space as I could between myself and my parents. I'm not sure what it was that I was missing, but I was a fairly compliant child generally. It was not until I became a mother that I realised how much I missed being in their company again.
My parents are still trying to grow their business while also working their dreaded 9-to-5 jobs, which they despise (as an engineer and teacher). The only thing that bothers me about visiting is scheduling visits around events. The fact that you do this irritates me greatly. I don't understand why they are unable to recognise that their company has collapsed.
All of our mutual acquaintances have been informed about the 'plan' by our pals who have been lured into the Amway swindle. One couple went through the majority of the process and attended a number of different sessions (in another city, mind you, because we do not have an open meeting here). “Now is the best time for you to start building your business,” an upline advised my pregnant acquaintance, referring to the time when her children were still babies. They won't even recall that you were even gone!” When I heard that, I had a strong need to vomit. Fortunately, this couple made the decision to flee in the opposite direction.
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