I've pondered this question for many years. They are clearly neither stupid, nor uninformed, nor insane. The only remaining possibility is, that they are evil -- conciously, knowingly, willfully evil. To quote Rian Malan's description of the brutal trekboers, "They styled themselves bringers of light, but in truth their hearts were dark, and they knew it, and willed it so."
Why is it always "for the children" until it's something that can really help them?
Because it isn't really "for the children", it's for power.