Bunkbeds and Cages

I read an article today about 11 children, who were allegedly made to sleep in cages, due to the advice of a psychiatrist. Isn't a psychiatrist suppose to promote health and well-being? Is it really good for a child's ego to sleep like the animals he/she visits in a zoo? I already have problems with seeing animals caged up for people to gawk at, much less children.
The article did say that the children were well behaved, seemed well nourished, and didn't seem neglected. But heck, aren't the animals at any zoo well-fed, well nourished and rather tame. There isn't much to express when all you see are bars around you.
I really liked one of the comments of a neighbor who said that she often saw the children walking down the street without shoes. But she then said, that she was a country girl and for her that was normal. What was normal, the fact that children walked around barefoot or the way the children were treated?