should parents lose custody of super obese kids?

femmerides

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/should-parents-lose-custody-of-super-obese-kids-2510149

this article is insane. a 3 year old girl weighing 90lbs and then over 400lbs less than 10 years later? my 3 year old weighs 30lbs...90lb 3 year old?!?!?!

a 14 year old weighing 555lbs...this is 100% neglect. really parents? is it REALLY that hard to slap a pb&j together, add an apple and some carrots? come on people. ugh. this disgusts me.

bobbybdoe

I believe so. Or some counseling is in order. I remember watching something on TV a few days ago (Maury Show or Jerry Springer -- I forgot) starring kids under the age of 10 who were all obese. This one lady had a 1-3 year old child that weighed as much as an average 11 year old and she refused to stop feeding him junk food (until they put her in a fat suit to make her see what her child's life would be like). Stuff like this sickens me...

jmatthews75

NO. simply put. Educate them, but don't take the kids away from the parents. Why punish the kids, not to mention, who is going to pick up the tab for this? We can't afford anything in this country as it is, you want to add another crazy thing into the mix? Something else to eat up taxes. Something else to take money away from public schools. Yeah, that makes sense... The moron that came up with this one probably doesn't have kids and has never lived life outside of a book. Sure the parent needs a good kick in the *kitten* if the kid is that overweight, but don't put that burden on me to pay for it. I have enough problems on my own.

emilymiesel

Totally agree. That's rediculous when a child is overweight. Kids are supposed to be active not sedentary. Bad parenting to buy mcdonalds every meal and let your kids eat BS all day. Pure laziness..

Different story if the child has a medical disorder causing this.

My little sister hit 25lbs at 6yr old. She's tiny but no way should a 6yr old be 70-80-90 lbs. Let alone a 3year old! Ppl should be ashamed.

Definitely agree on the costs stated by previous poster. They should make up a "ticketing" system for that lol ticket for obese child

frugalmomsrock

Wow. That's sad...

My 13 year old daughter was getting a little on the "hefty" side, so I bought her a gym membership. She now goes to the gym with me 4-5 times a week. She hasn't lost a lot of weight (she's been going three months now), but she's toned up some. She could stand to lose a little bit of weight, but she isn't morbidly obese like the children in this story--she weighs less than I do and has about an inch on me.

I do think there reaches some point where the parents should be held responsible, but there is only so much they can do, too-especially if they are working. School lunches are NO HELP! My kids get to eat garbage at school, and our state has the "healthy lunch" initiative. What a joke...

bobbybdoe

Oh here are the videos (5 part series, but this is part 2):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLloF0FAL04

Watch all 5 parts to see what I mean.

CMH24

I think yes and no. If they're given ample warnings and they're young children, yes. I'm not certain how i feel about teenage kids that are overweight. I was really heavy in middle/high school but it wasn't my parents fault. They worked and I ate what I want when I wanted and snuck food all the time. Not ALWAYS the parents fault. I think there should be warnings first though.

Helice

i dont know.
i think it would depend on the circumstances.
just because a child is over-weight doesnt necersarilly mean it is the parents to blame...
and as someone said above me why punish the kids.
the child and perant just need to both learn more about food.
because at the end of the day the child will get healthier with the help of there parents more than without.

mindlemoo

I don't think they should loose custody. That will only make the child depressed and more likely to eat more but I think the parent and child should go to counseling and a nutritionist. Chances are the child isn't getting the good foods it needs if it's that big.

skinnyhopes

That's unfair. Just because your kids are fat doesn't mean that you should lose custody of them.
My mom never regulated what we ate as kids ( but still made sure we had lots of milk, fruit, veg), but we ate and still do eat alot of junk food. I mean ALOT. My sister and I never got fat as kids, and we ate like 300 lb men, and even now my highest weight was still considered healthy and my sister was considered like 5lbs overweight. My brother also never gained weight, and ate junk.
Anyway, my point is that sure junk food is unhealthy, but if your going to take away obese kids for it, what are you going to do with the skinny sticks that can eat whatever they want and not get fat.

barefootgardener

this whole article annoys me.

McKayMachina

Yep. Unless children have an observable disease or disorder, there is never ANY reason for them to be morbidly obese. This is severe child abuse/neglect.

Great thought-provoking question!

joehempel

I posted this exact same thing earlier LOL...funny.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/287956-should-parents-lose-custody-of-super-obese-kids

Athena413

NO. simply put. Educate them, but don't take the kids away from the parents. Why punish the kids, not to mention, who is going to pick up the tab for this? We can't afford anything in this country as it is, you want to add another crazy thing into the mix? Something else to eat up taxes. Something else to take money away from public schools. Yeah, that makes sense... The moron that came up with this one probably doesn't have kids and has never lived life outside of a book. Sure the parent needs a good kick in the *kitten* if the kid is that overweight, but don't put that burden on me to pay for it. I have enough problems on my own.

You're probably ALREADY paying for that kid. Unfortunately a lot of these obese children are welfare babies and mom and dad use their food stamp money to buy nothing but CRAP. I think the food stamp system should be like WIC - only certain foods are allowed and only for a certain amount of time. This would also help with the national healthcare issue - if you don't have as many people sick because they're not obese, diabetic, or whatever, we wouldn't have to worry about trying to figure out a way to pay for their medical bills, too. We have too many government assistance programs as it is - taking these children out of their homes would just add to that problem. Education is key. Children and parents alike need to be taught about sustaining a healthy lifestyle. If you're an adult and you can't take care of yourself, you shouldn't be having children. Unfortunately, a good portion of the US is too stupid to realize that.

tracivee

No way. That is gov't overreach and ridiculous. Unless a parent is shoving Twinkies down their kid's throat, we have no say as to what a parent makes available to their kids for food. When you live in a free society, you have to recognize that unfortunate things may happen, but that is a small price to pay. Gov't needs to stay out of people's lives.

soifua

parents need to be educated - period. School lunches are a joke and there are too many convenience foods out there, too many video games and not enough parks and playgrounds for kids to run around and play, technology rules this age and will help make us all fat.

Andythefitfamilyman

That's unfair. Just because your kids are fat doesn't mean that you should lose custody of them.
My mom never regulated what we ate as kids ( but still made sure we had lots of milk, fruit, veg), but we ate and still do eat alot of junk food. I mean ALOT. My sister and I never got fat as kids, and we ate like 300 lb men, and even now my highest weight was still considered healthy and my sister was considered like 5lbs overweight. My brother also never gained weight, and ate junk.
Anyway, my point is that sure junk food is unhealthy, but if your going to take away obese kids for it, what are you going to do with the skinny sticks that can eat whatever they want and not get fat.

Thank you! ^^^^^^

frugalmomsrock

NO. simply put. Educate them, but don't take the kids away from the parents. Why punish the kids, not to mention, who is going to pick up the tab for this? We can't afford anything in this country as it is, you want to add another crazy thing into the mix? Something else to eat up taxes. Something else to take money away from public schools. Yeah, that makes sense... The moron that came up with this one probably doesn't have kids and has never lived life outside of a book. Sure the parent needs a good kick in the *kitten* if the kid is that overweight, but don't put that burden on me to pay for it. I have enough problems on my own.

You're probably ALREADY paying for that kid. Unfortunately a lot of these obese children are welfare babies and mom and dad use their food stamp money to buy nothing but CRAP. I think the food stamp system should be like WIC - only certain foods are allowed and only for a certain amount of time. This would also help with the national healthcare issue - if you don't have as many people sick because they're not obese, diabetic, or whatever, we wouldn't have to worry about trying to figure out a way to pay for their medical bills, too. We have too many government assistance programs as it is - taking these children out of their homes would just add to that problem. Education is key. Children and parents alike need to be taught about sustaining a healthy lifestyle. If you're an adult and you can't take care of yourself, you shouldn't be having children. Unfortunately, a good portion of the US is too stupid to realize that.

You kinda took the words right outta my mouth, but I have been blasted so bad for saying this in the past. If it were more regulated to only allow certain items, I think it would help A LOT. But then people argued (on the debate board I'm on), that the government shouldn't be paying for high priced "health" foods. It's a double edged sword to get into it, really...

jmatthews75

Well, I did say above about the cost to the public. I stand by it, not that it has been challenged yet in this forum. I would rather pay my money to public education. Make good eating principles part of the educational system starting in Pre K. Let kids know what is good to eat. And the public is to blame as much as the parents. Look back in time a couple years, you used to be able to tell a friend that his or her kids were getting fat and to get them in gear, We have become so PC now that people are just scared to talk the truth. Well ladies and gentlemen, the truth is staring us in the face right now. if your neighbors kid is getting fat, tell the neighbor. If they don't listen, talk to the kid about it. Stop looking for someone else to solve all the problems, stand up and make a change. One person really can make a difference. If you don't like the choices at your childs school for lunches, send them with one. get other parents involved. Children are our future and there should be enough time in your day to make sure your kids have everything they need to succeed in life. Bottom line, get off your lazy *kitten* and go outside with your kids and stop making excuses. By the way, if I offended you in this message, maybe you're the lazy one that needs to go for walks with your kids.

jmatthews75

and another thing, blame the food companies as well. Being healthy is more expensive than being fat. its proven. Get them to lower the cost of more nutritious meals and maybe some of the food stamps would go a bit further than the box of twinkies. But lets not go there on the uselessness of food stamps and the welfare system because that debate would kill the server space on this site and I wouldn't want to see it crash.

tracivee

I don't think food companies are to blame at all. Nobody forces somebody to buy a frozen pizza rather than the makings of a healthy soup. People can afford to eat healthier, they just don't feel like cooking or would rather eat things that 'taste better.' Rolled oats are cheaper than Coco Puffs, salad is cheaper than Cheetos, a bag of potatoes costs about the same as a large fry from McDonalds, dry beans are super healthy and cost pennies per serving. Blaming food companies and being low income is a cop out.

Athena413

NO. simply put. Educate them, but don't take the kids away from the parents. Why punish the kids, not to mention, who is going to pick up the tab for this? We can't afford anything in this country as it is, you want to add another crazy thing into the mix? Something else to eat up taxes. Something else to take money away from public schools. Yeah, that makes sense... The moron that came up with this one probably doesn't have kids and has never lived life outside of a book. Sure the parent needs a good kick in the *kitten* if the kid is that overweight, but don't put that burden on me to pay for it. I have enough problems on my own.

You're probably ALREADY paying for that kid. Unfortunately a lot of these obese children are welfare babies and mom and dad use their food stamp money to buy nothing but CRAP. I think the food stamp system should be like WIC - only certain foods are allowed and only for a certain amount of time. This would also help with the national healthcare issue - if you don't have as many people sick because they're not obese, diabetic, or whatever, we wouldn't have to worry about trying to figure out a way to pay for their medical bills, too. We have too many government assistance programs as it is - taking these children out of their homes would just add to that problem. Education is key. Children and parents alike need to be taught about sustaining a healthy lifestyle. If you're an adult and you can't take care of yourself, you shouldn't be having children. Unfortunately, a good portion of the US is too stupid to realize that.

You kinda took the words right outta my mouth, but I have been blasted so bad for saying this in the past. If it were more regulated to only allow certain items, I think it would help A LOT. But then people argued (on the debate board I'm on), that the government shouldn't be paying for high priced "health" foods. It's a double edged sword to get into it, really...

I don't think the government should be paying for food at all. You don't work - you don't eat. I personally LOATHE the welfare system - I've seen it abused far too many times. Want to take care of national debt? Start eliminating government assistance programs and make people work for their food like they used to.

I understand that there are legitimate cases of people actually needing help, and I'm perfectly fine with those people receiving help - it's the ones that abuse the system that I can't stand. If you were able to weed out all the abusers, maybe then the people that actually NEED help could get it.

highdesertgirl

I say no. I work as a foster agency social worker and the foster system is already overwhelmed tremondously ( at least here in CA) with foster kids and not enough homes to place them in. I say educate the parents, let the county/court mandate that they attend parenting/nutritional classes. (Or court ordered to sign up with MFP!!)

quietlywinning

No. As harmful as obesity is for children, being removed from their homes and put into foster care would do far, for more damage to most. There is no reason to believe there will be a LONG TERM health advantage for the child - who will grow up and make his or her own food choices, one way or another - and there is a ton of evidence that being in foster care WILL do long term damage.

It is a problem, but punishment and psychological harm is not the answer.

tracivee

NO. simply put. Educate them, but don't take the kids away from the parents. Why punish the kids, not to mention, who is going to pick up the tab for this? We can't afford anything in this country as it is, you want to add another crazy thing into the mix? Something else to eat up taxes. Something else to take money away from public schools. Yeah, that makes sense... The moron that came up with this one probably doesn't have kids and has never lived life outside of a book. Sure the parent needs a good kick in the *kitten* if the kid is that overweight, but don't put that burden on me to pay for it. I have enough problems on my own.

You're probably ALREADY paying for that kid. Unfortunately a lot of these obese children are welfare babies and mom and dad use their food stamp money to buy nothing but CRAP. I think the food stamp system should be like WIC - only certain foods are allowed and only for a certain amount of time. This would also help with the national healthcare issue - if you don't have as many people sick because they're not obese, diabetic, or whatever, we wouldn't have to worry about trying to figure out a way to pay for their medical bills, too. We have too many government assistance programs as it is - taking these children out of their homes would just add to that problem. Education is key. Children and parents alike need to be taught about sustaining a healthy lifestyle. If you're an adult and you can't take care of yourself, you shouldn't be having children. Unfortunately, a good portion of the US is too stupid to realize that.

You kinda took the words right outta my mouth, but I have been blasted so bad for saying this in the past. If it were more regulated to only allow certain items, I think it would help A LOT. But then people argued (on the debate board I'm on), that the government shouldn't be paying for high priced "health" foods. It's a double edged sword to get into it, really...

I don't think the government should be paying for food at all. You don't work - you don't eat. I personally LOATHE the welfare system - I've seen it abused far too many times. Want to take care of national debt? Start eliminating government assistance programs and make people work for their food like they used to.

I understand that there are legitimate cases of people actually needing help, and I'm perfectly fine with those people receiving help - it's the ones that abuse the system that I can't stand. If you were able to weed out all the abusers, maybe then the people that actually NEED help could get it.

AMEN!!! If we want to really help people, we should do what they used to do-give poor people access to agricultural surpluses. Giving people 'debit cards' so they can go buy pop, gum, and candy does more harm than good. Agricultural surpluses would give the needy nutritous food.

Brandicaloriecountess

Take away a child from an otherwise loving home because the kid is obese? No, not in my opinion. Especially as the previous poster said she was fed lots of junk food and stayed thin. Should they have been removed from their home? No? Simply because her family seems to have a high metabolism and can eat stuff and stay thin.

McKayMachina

Take away a child from an otherwise loving home because the kid is obese? No, not in my opinion. Especially as the previous poster said she was fed lots of junk food and stayed thin. Should they have been removed from their home? No? Simply because her family seems to have a high metabolism and can eat stuff and stay thin.

We're talking about 90-lb. toddlers and 400-lb. preteens, here. How is this "loving"? That's child abuse, my friend.

This isn't about pudgy kids. This is about super morbidly obese kids.

gfergus1

Just to set the record straight, if everyone had actually read the article, the children they are referring to are not "fat", they are morbidly obese and their lives are in danger because they are so overweight. The article states that these children are at risk of dying by the age of 30! There is NO excuse for that! It has nothing to do with food companies or WIC! How expensive is a can of beans and a bag of rice? A jar of peanut butter and a loaf of wheat bread? An apple and a gallon of milk? The issue is LAZINESS. It's easier to go through the McDonald's drive-thru than prepare a balanced home cooked meal. These habits are passed down from parent to child and the children continue to eat that way once they are capable of making their own choices. And I don't believe it is right to automatically force the parents to give up custody, but I do believe that the government needs to interfere by forcing the parents as well as the children (depending on their age) to attend nutrition & wellness classes as well as working with a social worker so they can understand how to live a healthy life style. Yes, education is the answer but these families will not learn if no one makes them. Parents need to be aware of their childrens' individual needs; what is okay for one child may not be for another, and that is where the child abuse comes in. It is not right to expose children to environments that are unhealthy and unsafe, and if parents are allowing their children to eat themselves to death, that is abuse.

McKayMachina

Just to set the record straight, if everyone had actually read the article, the children they are referring to are not "fat", they are morbidly obese and their lives are in danger because they are so overweight. The article states that these children are at risk of dying by the age of 30! There is NO excuse for that! It has nothing to do with food companies or WIC! How expensive is a can of beans and a bag of rice? A jar of peanut butter and a loaf of wheat bread? An apple and a gallon of milk? The issue is LAZINESS. It's easier to go through the McDonald's drive-thru than prepare a balanced home cooked meal. These habits are passed down from parent to child and the children continue to eat that way once they are capable of making their own choices. And I don't believe it is right to automatically force the parents to give up custody, but I do believe that the government needs to interfere by forcing the parents as well as the children (depending on their age) to attend nutrition & wellness classes as well as working with a social worker so they can understand how to live a healthy life style. Yes, education is the answer but these families will not learn if no one makes them. Parents need to be aware of their childrens' individual needs; what is okay for one child may not be for another, and that is where the child abuse comes in. It is not right to expose children to environments that are unhealthy and unsafe, and if parents are allowing their children to eat themselves to death, that is abuse.

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

joehempel

Most people dont read the articles, just the topics.

Education is the most important thing in my opinion....set a time line, setup some counseling.

If after like 6 months the parents are still feeding them teh same thing...that's negligence, and it's child abuse. Take the child away, and control the environment...yes it sucks for a few years for the kid...but they'll thank them later I bet because they'll be ALIVE to thank them.

McKayMachina

Most people dont read the articles, just the topics.

Education is the most important thing in my opinion....set a time line, setup some counseling.

If after like 6 months the parents are still feeding them teh same thing...that's negligence, and it's child abuse. Take the child away, and control the environment...yes it sucks for a few years for the kid...but they'll thank them later I bet because they'll be ALIVE to thank them.

Good answer.

I read your original thread on this, too. Great prompt for discussion.