Childhood Obesity= CHILD ABUSE

mommyrunning

I would like to see more done to help children not have to grow up at unhealthy weights. However, it is not a simple issue. Many parents are not lazy but simply don't understand proper nutrition themselves so they need to be taught. Also for many people food is a cultural issue. Growing up we always had big Sunday dinners. I was fortunate enough to be a very active child. Foster care is often not a good place for children and while I believe in protecting children putting them in a situation that is potentially physically or emotionally abusive is worse (in my opinion) than leaving them with parents who love them but aren't good at managing their weight.

I now have 2 children of my own and at my 5 year old's recent doctor's appointment they told me my daughter was overweight based off her BMI. However, if you look at her she is thin and muscular. She has quite a toned stomach and is very active. So the statistic of "one in three American children were profiled as overweight or obese" may be a bit misleading.

amwbox

And time. And energy.

Yep. Very minimal. Less than a single TV show. People just have to spend a little time on the health of their family.

Such a stunning and unusual sacrifice, I know.

jaecobb86

I somewhat disagree with your post. I was an obese child growing up, and had two parents that worked hard. My mom was so concerned with my weight that she even took me to see a RD and I just couldn't lose weight to save my life. They eventually credited my inability to lose weight to being on predisone, and by that time other medicines had came out to deal with asthma that didn't have as adverse side effects. The downfally to all of this is that i will always carry a certain amount of weight on me because that drug is that powerful. I guess I was fortunate to have parents who cared, but like many other posts i have read today, I also used food as a comfort.

Now, on the other side of that, I work with you and in my line of work, most of my clients are on SNAP and TANF and have funds for foods. The problem comes in when mom has to work 3 jobs to make ends meet and it is much easier to throw a microwave dinner in to feed the kids versus plan meals and cook. Perhaps the problem isn't in access to foods, but within the society we live in. Until there is equality in wages and access to education and jobs, we are going to continually face this problem.

Iron_Feline

It cracks me up that people are saying but my kids only a little overweight

I doubt anyone would cry abuse for slightly overweight. But when a kid is verging on morbidly obese when do you say enough is enough?

My example was a five year old girl who weight 140lbs. That is abuse.

CrabCatcher

I disagree with you on this, but that's just me. I don't think someone should have their kid taken away and put into foster care just because they're fat.

I agree, it is not child abuse when the cheap foods are engineered to make people desire larger quantities. Food manufacturers should be held accountable for the engineering of foods that have little nutritional value, but high desire for taste and reactions in our brain that we have little to no control over. We could feed our kids healthy at home and then they eat crap at school or with their friends. This 'child abuse' direction concerns me because people are trying to drag the government into an area that should be about personal responsibility. Also being fat should not be something that is ostracized and certainly should not be something parents can be punished/jailed for.

perseverance14

It is probably good to have their dog to protect them, well, if it is the kind of dog that can.

likitisplit

Children have mind's of their own. Raising them is not nearly as easy as non-parents sometimes think it is. Especially when they are about 21 and lack life experience.

If they're 21 and still eating your food...better to think of them as annoying roommates than someone to be "raised". That ship has already sailed.

Definitely a non-parent.

I'm a parent, I agree with him. My job right now is to teach my kids the things I want them to remember when they are grown ups. Personal responsibility, hard work, kindness, integrity, passion. At 21, I was already who I was going to be, based on what my parents had already taught me. You can't reshape a human being that you've spent the past 21 years shaping. They will change, but it will be on their own time, in their own way. That's part of growing up.

You aren't going to re-shape them (why would you want to), but you can scaffold some of the hard facts you learn at that age.

jaecobb86

I would like to see more done to help children not have to grow up at unhealthy weights. However, it is not a simple issue. Many parents are not lazy but simply don't understand proper nutrition themselves so they need to be taught. Also for many people food is a cultural issue. Growing up we always had big Sunday dinners. I was fortunate enough to be a very active child. Foster care is often not a good place for children and while I believe in protecting children putting them in a situation that is potentially physically or emotionally abusive is worse (in my opinion) than leaving them with parents who love them but aren't good at managing their weight.

I now have 2 children of my own and at my 5 year old's recent doctor's appointment they told me my daughter was overweight based off her BMI. However, if you look at her she is thin and muscular. She has quite a toned stomach and is very active. So the statistic of "one in three American children were profiled as overweight or obese" may be a bit misleading.

Dead on! BMI can drive us insane. Just because someone is a specific weight doesn't mean they are overweight. You must look at body composition as well!

Iron_Feline

I disagree with you on this, but that's just me. I don't think someone should have their kid taken away and put into foster care just because they're fat.

I agree, it is not child abuse when the cheap foods are engineered to make people desire larger quantities. Food manufacturers should be held accountable for the engineering of foods that have little nutritional value, but high desire for taste and reactions in our brain that we have little to no control over. We could feed our kids healthy at home and then they eat crap at school or with their friends. This 'child abuse' direction concerns me because people are trying to drag the government into an area that should be about personal responsibility. Also being fat should not be something that is ostracized and certainly should not be something parents can be punished/jailed for.

Loving the irony. :laugh:

_HeartsOnFire_

I am trying to figure out why the OP likes to start these sh**storm threads that will certainly create drama.

Isn't this against the TOS to create drama threads?

likitisplit

It is probably good to have their dog to protect them, well, if it is the kind of dog that can.

Any dog can alert you to the presence of strangers, which is going to cut down on the number of times you get beaten in the middle of the night.

DeguelloTex

How many kids do you have exactly?

Irrelevant. And a fallacious non-argument.

Right. Because experience is irrelevant.

"Have you ever done this job before?" "Irrelevant. And a fallacious non-argument."

Try that at your next job interview.

likitisplit

I am trying to figure out why the OP likes to start these sh**storm threads that will certainly create drama.

Isn't this against the TOS to create drama threads?

Yes and you can report it if you want.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

Children have mind's of their own. Raising them is not nearly as easy as non-parents sometimes think it is. Especially when they are about 21 and lack life experience.

If they're 21 and still eating your food...better to think of them as annoying roommates than someone to be "raised". That ship has already sailed.

She meant that the non-parent in this case is 21 and lacks life experience

She meant that the non-parent in this case is 21 and lacks life experience

Ahh, my bad.

You don't need a lot of life experience to read a simple book on nutrition and how to cook wholesome and inexpensive food, however. Its an extremely basic skill to learn, not something to be ignorant of because of whatever age. Read a book.

God we need to stop making excuses for not being bothered to learn how to FEED OURSELVES properly! Its not like it requires a massive school curriculum, or even a class. Just google and some common sense and a basic desire to take better care of oneself and family.

Your post assumes that all people have equal access to "wholesome" foods, a kitchen, and a computer. Not to mention things like time/money.

Check yourself.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

I lied. I can't bite my tongue.

Does anyone have any idea what real abuse looks like? What social services actually has to see....what they have to witness every. single. day.

Children that are being raped and beaten. Neglected. Being told that they are worthless, ugly, stupid. The kids that are being exposed to drugs first hand, prostitution, domestic violence. Little ones that see things that most of us CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE.

Do I agree that all parents should do their best to teach their children about fitness and nutrition? Absolutely. But as another individual pointed out, often the parents that aren't doing this is NOT because they are being "abusive". Education, environment, culture...all play a part. And to insinuate that those parents deserve the same treatment as a parent that is raping or beating or insert any of the other things I mentioned above to their kid/s is just ignorance at it's finest.

likitisplit

And time. And energy.

Yep. Very minimal. Less than a single TV show. People just have to spend a little time on the health of their family.

Such a stunning and unusual sacrifice, I know.

Let me just quote the comment below yours:

Now, on the other side of that, I work with you and in my line of work, most of my clients are on SNAP and TANF and have funds for foods. The problem comes in when mom has to work 3 jobs to make ends meet and it is much easier to throw a microwave dinner in to feed the kids versus plan meals and cook. Perhaps the problem isn't in access to foods, but within the society we live in. Until there is equality in wages and access to education and jobs, we are going to continually face this problem.

ETA - I don't watch TV. I don't have the time.

sunnyskys2013

Ok so i have to ask what about children that are underweight how do you feel about them? I had 2 of my children that were underweight ( failure to thrive.) I had them in for weekly weight checks, dr didn't know what was wrong with them ran lots of tests couldn't figure out what was wrong with them. I had lots of people say hateful things about my children how i need to feed them more and that they were small. As it turns out my children have food allergies. My now 3 year old is 40# whereas she weighed 16 # at a year. She gained 2# the first month she was gluten free. Was my children lack of weight gain child abuse NO. Things are not always as it seems.

I agree good eat starts at home, but taking kids from people that love them and giving them to strangers is not go to help.

amwbox

How many kids do you have exactly?

Irrelevant. And a fallacious non-argument.

Right. Because experience is irrelevant.

"Have you ever done this job before?" "Irrelevant. And a fallacious non-argument."


Try that at your next job interview.

Also a fallacious non argument.

This is not a topic where you need to be a parent to have a valid opinion, just as you don't need to be a boat owner to know that putting a hole in the bottom of a boat will cause it to sink.

This really is a common sense issue. That simple.

_HeartsOnFire_

I lied. I can't bite my tongue.

Does anyone have any idea what real abuse looks like? What social services actually has to see....what they have to witness every. single. day.

Children that are being raped and beaten. Neglected. Being told that they are worthless, ugly, stupid. The kids that are being exposed to drugs first hand, prostitution, domestic violence. Little ones that see things that most of us CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE.

Do I agree that all parents should do their best to teach their children about fitness and nutrition? Absolutely. But as another individual pointed out, often the parents that aren't doing this is NOT because they are being "abusive". Education, environment, culture...all play a part. And to insinuate that those parents deserve the same treatment as a parent that is raping or beating or insert any of the other things I mentioned above to their kid/s is just ignorance at it's finest.

k_nicole87

Awww yay for the fat kitties!

And fat kiddies.