Taking obese children from their parents???

Justkeepswimmin

I have to say it may be that in certain areas of the country 'healthy' foods are more expensive, but I I live in Phoenix and it took me only 4 months or so after moving here to learn how to shop here. I had to relearn the coupon process for these grocery stores, and find the 'cheap' produce areas (standing farm market at superstision springs, pro-ranch's and food city and SPROUTS!!!!) The middle two are hispanic oriented stores, I don't understsand a WORD going on there but who cares, their produce is hella cheap. Every other week I drive the 25 miles to these places and stock up, since they're not close to me. Trust me the savings is more than worth the gas mileage...we're talking .20 orange peppers, .30 red peppers, .10 cucumbers, .50 strawberries....

Now that I know how to shop here, if I WANTED to buy junk, it would cost me more. I have been a couponer for almost 5 years now, and the things that will really kill your budget, once you know how to shop, are soda and junk food.

Again, that's just here. (and Ohio, and CT....other places I've lived)

As for SHOULD the government do this? I identify as liberatarian and generally believe the gov't. should but the hell out. From personal experience of the CPS NOT doing their job, leading to an actually physically abused child, I have little faith in their systems.

Is this the same as a mother not giving her skitzo child the meds s/he needs? At a certain point, maybe. I'm not a doctor, I think we'd need some doctors opinions on this, and to be sure they are from both the physical and psychological spectrum (loss of a mother is emotional distress that may outweigh removal from the home), and from the full spectrum of the political arena as well, to get a balanced view point. The fact of the matter is most states don't have the money to do this RIGHT, so I think they'll just screw it up overall.

P.S. Working two jobs to get out of the ghetto...so going to fast food??? Subway kids is pretty much the same as a Happy Meal, but from the sounds of this the kids eating more than 'a happy meal'.

P.P.S. If I were an insurance company seeing this idiocy I'd go to all the doctors and allow them to disseminate the information that for obese children they will offer some incentive for your child once they go down to overweight, and then again once they are normal...since this is just killing the ins companies (who now have to cover kids until they start getting gray hair practically) as well. I wouldn't have the government FORCE ins. companies to do this, the government FORCING people to do anything is the problem...but a smart ins. company may think of this. In fact, many companies are now offering financial incentives for their employees to lose weight to assist in their insurance costs, as many insurance costs for employers are based upon actual use of the services overall. (Especially HRA's)

SemperAnticus1643

dis•ease
  –noun
1.
a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment.
2.
any abnormal condition in a plant that interferes with its vital physiological processes, caused by pathogenic microorganisms, parasites, unfavorable environmental, genetic, or nutritional factors, etc.
3.
any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society: His fascination with executions is a disease.
EXPAND
4.
decomposition of a material under special circumstances: tin disease.

ad•dic•tion
 –noun
the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma

Those are the definitions of disease and addiction. Doesn't sound like the 2 are the same.

kelsully

The cost of feeding a 300 lb person junk will be more than feeding a 85 lb kid just about anything...my kids eats big...sometimes I get the leanest meat..sometimes not..but when they wipe out the meatloaf...it is gone....from then on they have healthy snacks like fruit...ie grapes...apples...not organic but still fruit....I bet my kids would eat more meatloaf if I made a 3 lb loaf instaed of a 2 lb loaf but who needs that much...no one....food bills are less expensive if you eat appropriate portions...blah blah blah...I have enough kids (4)..and a budget too and I can do decent at aldi with appropriate serving sides...they won't starve if they only eat what I eat each day......outside of medical issues causing obesity in a kid...then there are a million ..maybe a sport...xcuses but no good reason for a 300 lb kid...say no...get one happy meal instead of 3....water or milk instead of pop..an occassional walk

PeachyKeene

dis•ease
  –noun
1.
a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment.
2.
any abnormal condition in a plant that interferes with its vital physiological processes, caused by pathogenic microorganisms, parasites, unfavorable environmental, genetic, or nutritional factors, etc.
3.
any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society: His fascination with executions is a disease.
EXPAND
4.
decomposition of a material under special circumstances: tin disease.

ad•dic•tion
 –noun
the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma

Those are the definitions of disease and addiction. Doesn't sound like the 2 are the same.

Addiction is a disease. They don't have the same definition. Addiction is a neurological disease.

SemperAnticus1643

I don't know about other kids, but my kids, it kinda hard to gauge how much is too much. I say that because their appetites never really change but their bellies do. They start putting on a little bit of weight and then they shoot up 4 inches and start looking sickly.

Justkeepswimmin

STOP THE NANNY STATE!!!!!! Our country is taking away too many rights under the guise of 'protection' for our citizens and our children. Children need their families to raise them, not a state institution! Don't even get me started!!!!

Exactly.

Shannon023

STOP THE NANNY STATE!!!!!! Our country is taking away too many rights under the guise of 'protection' for our citizens and our children. Children need their families to raise them, not a state institution! Don't even get me started!!!!

But it's for the CHILDREN!!!!! :indifferent:

It will grow the government. That is the ONLY reason why the politicians would give a {bleep} about this issue. I do NOT want the government taking a loved child out of their home. :explode:

pyro13g

Follow the money! No kid got overly obese from a poor mother working two jobs that puts fast food in front of them. She can't afford the amount of fast food it would take. And what about the kid with obese parents? Kids imitate their parents so where's the foul? Government needs to fix itself before they will be any help to the people they govern.

Thriceshy

My only thought when I heard this this morning on the radio, was where do they intend to put these children? In the already clogged and overflowing foster care systems? Does physical health supersede mental health? As another poster mentioned, there are SO many layers to this …it’s not simply about whose responsibility it is to keep a child at a healthy weight.

Exactly! This is where my head always goes. Where do we put these kids? How do we put them somewhere they'll thrive and not waste away in an underfunded, understaffed social services system? And how on earth do we fund it? Foster care is expensive!

And yet, I do find myself very angry when I see obese children struggling and gasping to keep up with their peers. I get super upset when I'm in the store and I see a serioiusly overweight child hanging onto the side of a cart stuffed with crappy junk food. My heart breaks for those kids because I WAS one of those kids. And to break the stereotype, my mother was a registered nurse and my father an Army officer. It wasn't a lack of money OR a lack of education. It was just stupidity and laziness--convenience parenting, really.

So I'm torn on this one. Maybe we need to go back to the days when nutrition/home ec-type classes were taught in schools. Maybe we do need a "sin tax" on fast food and crappy, processed, pre-made meals. I don't know, I don't have the answers. All I know is that we need to find the answers fast, because obesity rates (and that's ME) are rising steadily and frighteningly, and it seems I see more and more overweight kids every day, including in my own family.

For what it's worth, when I saw my boy getting heavier, I made a change. More veggies, more fruits, smaller servings, more exercise. While he's still 130 lbs, he's gone from 4'10" to 5'2" at that weight, maintaining nicely and looking healthier every day. His doctor is thrilled, and all it took was parenting. If that sounds harsh, I apologize--I've just heard too many people say, "There's nothing I can do about it." Really? If you're the one who controls the grocery purchases, you most certainly can do something about it.

Edited to say that so many people don't know how to shop for healthy foods, they don't know how to do it on a budget, and they don't really recognize the difference between pre-packaged and homemade meals. There is an education gap here when it comes to buying foods, and it's not just the poor who are caught up in it. WIC often offers "food shopping" classes, but I think MOST Americans could benefit. We've wandered so far from the farm and from the production of our foods that, in general, we don't really get the difference between healthy and not. I know that's one of the reasons I'm here--I'm learning.

Kris

Shannon023

Was listening to a talk show on my way home about this very subject and it's not always the parents fault.

Caller 1: was sexually abused by a neighbor so she stuffed herself so she would be physically unattractive to the opposite sex. Remove her from her home??

Caller 2: Her mother was a health fanatic and had her eating healthy and working out all the time. She resented it and over ate to spite her mom. Remove her from her home??

Personal experience, my brother was a CHUNK as a pre-teen even though my mom made healthy meals. Once he started to grown, he was a rail. Remove him from our home??

It's a slipperly slope and not one I would trust our government with.

fairbanksmommy

I am like a lot of people replying to this post. It can really go both ways. I am on state food assistance and do get quite a bit actually. For a family of 5, we receive about $650 a month. I buy as healthy as I can and it does just barely get us by the entire month. I try to plan meals ahead of time and stick to my list. I use coupons when I can as well. My kids are actually on average for their weight for the most part. My 3 year old had problems putting on weight and is still tiny for her age. 3 1/2 years old and 28 pounds.

I do have one problem though. My 8 year old daughter has always been really picky about food. Ever since baby food was given to her. She absolutely refuses to eat fruits and vegetables. Try as I might to sneak it into meals she just isn't having it. Which makes eating SUPER healthy an issue in our household. I have to make foods that everyone will eat. Any suggestions?? Has anyone else dealt with this situation?

chrisc31

I did a social research project when I was an undergrad student in social work. We had to got to grocery stores in different socioeconomic neighborhoods around town and compare prices and various types of foods. The stores that were in the lowest income areas lacked the most availability of high quality food and the stores in the highest socioeconomic areas had the highest availability of nutritious foods. It was pretty eye opening. The "poor" stores didn't have as much fresh produce.....and had way more processed and high fat/calorie foods. And as I now work in child welfare, taking kids away from their parents and putting them into an already overburdened system is not the answer. In my area, I come out of foster homes smelling like pork chops, bacon, fried chicken and all sorts of artery clogging foods. Our foster families would not necessarily be a much better example for healthy eating!

arewethereyet

Slippery slope indeed. I was an excellent mother. Took my vacation days and helped at school for picture day and every field trip. Had my kids all in sports all year. Karate, baseball, football, cheer, gymnastics....always moving. Cooked dinner every night. No soda. No junk really...never was a ho ho in the house.

Now I did make food as a reward for all good behaviour, that had to do with my hunger as a child but that is a different story.

2 of my childen and myself were all at a point of obesity. Borderline, but over that line of BMI line to mean obese.

Take them away? Put them where exactly?

All of my kids, and myself are now in a healthy weight range.

ladyhawk00

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Thriceshy

I did a social research project when I was an undergrad student in social work. We had to got to grocery stores in different socioeconomic neighborhoods around town and compare prices and various types of foods. The stores that were in the lowest income areas lacked the most availability of high quality food and the stores in the highest socioeconomic areas had the highest availability of nutritious foods. It was pretty eye opening. The "poor" stores didn't have as much fresh produce.....and had way more processed and high fat/calorie foods. And as I now work in child welfare, taking kids away from their parents and putting them into an already overburdened system is not the answer. In my area, I come out of foster homes smelling like pork chops, bacon, fried chicken and all sorts of artery clogging foods. Our foster families would not necessarily be a much better example for healthy eating!

This is so true--we covered this in more than one social work class back in college. Another, related problem? Prices are often higher in low-income areas! Studies have found that grocery stores know that poorer folks aren't as likely to have either the know-how or the resources to shop around and visit various places, so they stick them with higher prices. Richer folks, on the other hand, can and will comparison shop between stores and will go where the deals and the selection are best. So, counterintuitive though it seems, the poorer the neighborhood, the higher the prices are likely to be. Now this isn't 100% across the board, but it's the trend.

Sad, huh?

Kris

arewethereyet

I am 50, and when I was 11 our school had the girls class in Home Economics. We learned how to type, make fried doughnuts (WOW that has REALLY helped me as an adult :laugh:) and to sew.

The typing has come in handy, as has knowing how to go for a job interview, write a resume' and what NOT to say to a new employer.

Also, we learned how to shop. In 1972 I must have had a progressive teacher because she taught us to shop the perimeter (sp) At that time all the healthy stuff was in the front. She took us to Pantry Pride and as you entered it was produce. Then the meat counter. Then the deli (which had about 7 options:noway: because they cooked the turkey breast, roast beef, pork roast right there. Salami, bologna, olive loaf and head cheese were the other 3. She taught us about the fresh ones being better than the premade.

We made a menu, shopping list and discussed nutrition.

It amazes me that NOW more than ever before we need this and gym class and instead we spend all day trying to pass a test.

:flowerforyou: