I'll be glad to answer these questions because i experienced some of these things myself.
Are communications between parents and children monitored in any fashion?
I never really knew for sure when they were listening in but I know for a fact that they do in fact listen in to certain conversations with the parents. In some cases when there were "new" kids there they would always listen in or have the speaker phone on to see whats being said to prevent new kids from trying to "manipulate" their parents in Cheryl's words.
Are letters intercepted and read aloud in the group setting? Or used to humiliate and ridicule the child?
If you are caught writing a letter to your parents about how you don't like it there or how much you want to be home, Cheryl has in several occassions read letters and emails out loud in group in order to humiliate whoever wrote it and to turn the rest of the group against that kid.
Is there any pressure with regards to religion? I know they state that there is not a religious preference, but is that really true?
I think there is a lot of religious pressure. We had to walk to Morman church every Sunday and attend Sunday school as well. If you choose not to go, which you just don't and usually can't do, you have to write essays all day instead. I never tried to get out of going to church only because like you're all saying, you want to be on Cheryl's good side, that even means pretending to understand the church, etc. It beyond me why they do this but several kids decide to convert to Morman in my opinion just to become one of Cheryl's favorites.
Are the kids allowed any 'personal time'. Time alone with their own thoughts?
You are allowed personal along time but it's rare. The only time I was allowed alone time was when I was told to go to my room after doing something wrong, which was usually total bullshit.
Are kids kept up late? I don't mean just a little late, but does it cross the line of sleep deprivation?
Not getting enough sleep is what probably pisses me off the most about the Whitmore. As it's been said here, group sometimes went on as late as 3 in the morning a few times. In those cases we maybe got to sleep until 7:30-8 depending on how group went. Group almost always ended around midnight unless there was a major issue. In that case we still had to wake up t 4:30. The whole point to this sleep deprivation shit is the gets a stronghold on the kids when they dont have sleep. I know that there were plenty of times where I knew I was right when she was yelling in my face, but couldn't really say anything because I was so out of it. Cheryl never needed to sleep because she was like a friggin vampire down in her basement all night. I don't know how much she slept but I know for a fact she was always an emotional wreck because she didnt get any sleep,and she usually took it out on US.
Is communication with their parents withheld as punishment?
There are certain circumstances that kids aren't allowed to talk to their parents at all. There was a point in time during my stay there in the beginning that I wasn't allowed to talk to my parents for a few weeks because they were afraid I would tell my parents what was going on and try to manipulate them to take me home. I usually didn't even want to speak to my parents because even when I could talk to them I couldn't really say how I was doing because I would have been punished.
I hope this helps you, let me know if you have anymore questions.
