Obese Child? They'll be taken away!

dayzeerock

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20079072-10391704.html

I think this ABSOLUTELY needs to happen. Children are not "born" obese. Children become obese because their parents don't love them enough to nurture them and give them good health. Children aren't "born" craving McDonalds and other *kitten* foods. They crave those things because their parents are too lazy to make them a healthy, balanced meal. And who are they supposed to learn physical activity from if their parents won't get off the couch and MOVE around with them? Unhealthy habits stay with a child their entire life, just like the emotional scars of abuse. THIS is why children deserve better and SHOULD be placed in a home where they will get a better life!

Okay, I'll step off my soapbox now...thoughts?

MrsCon40

Agreed.

Letting a child do something that is unhealthy is illegal if it pertains to anything other than food - why?

500lbs2marathon

Interesting debate...

I was obese as a child though, I have to think back and see if i woulda been better off torn away from my parents just cause I was obese.

Ill just say it is definitely arguable on both sides.

emmaNEEDSskinny

woo topic is harsh!
but understand both views

elid

It's really difficult for any person to say a child *needs* to be taken away from their parent--this is extremely, extremely traumatic for the child. How do we know we're not going to create MORE problems taking a child away from his/her parents?

ilookthetype

Any of you ever been through the foster system or know people who have been? Before we start taking kids away from their parents and putting them in foster care they should fix the foster system.

How is taking a depressed kid away from their family helping?
Lots of medical conditions/food intolerances cause rapid weight gain, and doctors don't diagnose them correctly (I am an example of this) with my Celiac.

The government ruins enough things, it shouldn't take families apart. Why not blame McDonald's instead of the parents? Or the food industry in general?

Why not start with mandatory meetings/classes for these parents? Why start with ripping apart a family?

LJSpady

I disagree with this quite a bit. I've been obese since I was 7 years old, and my parents tried for years to try to help me make healthier choices. We cut fast food down to once a week when we moved back to the states (i was about 9, when we lived in Italy, the only food on the military base was American fast food, and that's all my mom could get me and my brother to eat). They tried to get me to go the gym with them, signed me up for sports that I wanted to play but ended up quitting. took me to a dietion. The only thing they didn't do was send me to fat camp, and I thank god for that.
I was just dead set against making healthier choices, no matter how hard they tried to help. From the outside looking in, you'd think my parents didn't care about my health, but that's not true. I didn't care.

vim_n_vigor

So, should we take kids away from parents who are skinny but not healthily fed? Should all kids that eat McD get taken away? How obese is too obese? Sure, some of these kids probably would benefit, but so would some skinny kids. There are homes with very obese kids and very skinny ones - all in the same family. Do you take only the obese child away?

miajay92

but why should a child that isn't being abused be taken away from a loving home and loving parents? i was a chubby kid and my parents tried everything to help me lose weight. maybe the child's metabolism is slower than usual? maybe the child uses their allowance to buy unhealthy food? maybe the parents are doing all they can to help their child get healthy?

this is a disgusting proposition. how would you feel if your over weight child was taken from you though you did nothing wrong?

chezmama

I think that once they find a place to put all the children whose parents are on meth, crack, alcoholic, etc., then they could look into things like that. I am not defending letting your kids eat as much of whatever they want. I have just worked closely with Social Services and I know that they don't have enough places to put kids whose lives are in immediate danger. Obesity is, to be sure, a life threatening thing...but not in the same way living in a meth house is.

myofibril

I think the starting position must be that families should be kept together if at all possible. In the ordinary course of events children are far better off with their parents rather than in the care of the State.

Perhaps parents of obese children should have to undertake courses in health and nutrition. Then if they fail to implement what they have learned practically to help their children then their would be the possibility of State intervention.

Unfortunately there is a lot of ignorance out there so it is hard to be too harsh on people who don't know better...

MaureenCreates

Definitely. The parents are screwing up their kid. I was watching this TV show yesterday where this 10 year old kid was over 200lbs and was already showing signs of deformation of his skeletal structure from all the weight.
But maybe they should be given a warning first? Like, have the chance to go through nutrition classes or something? (fat camp, anyone?) If nothing improves, the child would be taken away.

mericksmom

I guess it would depend on what level of obese they are, looking at the 2 year old that 200 lbs sure.....a 10 year old that is in the obese BMI no...each is different but obese by the standards. We have other issue with children that are not address properly now that I think we need to perfect what we have now before taking on more responsibility.

kbarry90

So what happens when you take the child away and they become depressed and the weight doesn't come off whose fault is it then and where do you ship them off to next? I don't think they should be taken from their parents.

summertime_girl

Taken away?? Do you have kids?

How about provide parenting classes, nutrition classes, stop charging $100s for school sports, etc. Keep parks safe, and available to the public. Set up the parents to succeed as parents, rather than destroy families, and create further burdens on an already taxed foster system.

deesjourney2fit

It is an interesting debate. I'm not sure that I agree that a child should be taken away but I do hope that some services can be provided to assist. The child in the story had two parents with disabilities. Maybe it should be considered on a case by case basis. I don't think it's always laziness that makes a parent purchase McDonald's. There are several single working parents out there that may not have much help at home. Just sayin'. There may be more reasons then are presented in the story and I will withhold judgement until I hear all facts.

Kelly_Wilson1990

There is no proof the the child would be better off. Ever seen the foster care program?

FearAnLoathing

yes lets take away children with weight problems from their parents,and put them in a system that is already overburdened,ship them off to countless foster homes,where they have an excellent chance of being abused,or at the very lest passed around to several familys.Or maybe they will get really lucky and end up in a group home.So much easier and better for them. yeah thats a brilliant idea

MaureenCreates

but why should a child that isn't being abused be taken away from a loving home and loving parents? i was a chubby kid and my parents tried everything to help me lose weight. maybe the child's metabolism is slower than usual? maybe the child uses their allowance to buy unhealthy food? maybe the parents are doing all they can to help their child get healthy?

this is a disgusting proposition. how would you feel if your over weight child was taken from you though you did nothing wrong?

I'm pretty sure there would be a difference between "chubby" and morbidly obese. 200lbs 10 year olds is ****ed up.

HollyMcCaw

I agree with a lot of what you are saying.. but I don't really know if kids are obese because their parents are "lazy" or "don't love them enough". I'm suprised to find the amount of people who really don't understand what healthy living means. They don't know the difference between "low calorie, healthy, or junk". A lot of the parents who have kids that are obesed now have learned from their own parents and perhaps it's not all their fault.

BUT I do agree that if parents are offered the tools and help that it would take to get their kids AND themselves on a healthy path and they still refuse to do so. Then maybe somebody should step in. Also speaking from someone who has worked in a "children's aid" type environment. The government barely has enough money to house/dress/feed the children who are being beaten by their parents or have drug addicts etc for parents.. so I have no idea where they are going to get the money to take care of every "obese" child as well.

dayzeerock

Any of you ever been through the foster system or know people who have been? Before we start taking kids away from their parents and putting them in foster care they should fix the foster system.

How is taking a depressed kid away from their family helping?
Lots of medical conditions/food intolerances cause rapid weight gain, and doctors don't diagnose them correctly (I am an example of this) with my Celiac.

The government ruins enough things, it shouldn't take families apart. Why not blame McDonald's instead of the parents? Or the food industry in general?

Why not start with mandatory meetings/classes for these parents? Why start with ripping apart a family?

Actually, both of my parents came from the foster home system. No, my parents did not have ideal lives growing up, but their original situations were worse. Growing up, my family housed foster kids as well...I always had "brothers and sisters" in our home, so I have definitely seen both sides of the system. I'm not saying foster care is ideal, but SOMETHING has to be done, because the USA is the ONLY nation in the WORLD right now whose children are dying before their parents because of unhealthy lifestyles TAUGHT to them by said parents. Maybe taking children away is extreme, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Kimbers70

Such BS. Seriously??? Take a child with a weight problem and stick them with strangers and see if that fixes the problem. Totally absurd! Perhaps get some ideas along the lines of teaching parents better ways to feed their children. So what do you say to a parent that has 2 kids that eat the same and one is overweight and one is not? Then who do we blame? The most ridiculous thing I have heard of in a long time.

lynnruiz81

I dont agree........taking a child away due to the parents not being educated isnt going to help them, it will scar them. They will be put into a foster home with people they dont know........I think the best thing to do is to educate these parents and children about nutrition. Alot of time the parents arent aware that they are causing harm, different culturers believe that food is a sign of love for their children. What about the kids who have medical issues and are gaining weight due to the medication and not due to the foods? or the kids who sneak food when the parents arent looking? You cant assume all obese kids are neglected or that the parents just dont care, sometimes its just a deeper issue than the parent or us as society can see.

springtrio

Yes, because have you lived in and out of foster care to know the difference? Trust me, being obese cannot EVER be compared to the beatings, and torture I went through on a daily basis. I'm not defending bad eating habits, but seriouslly, do you watch the news? Kids are being beaten, tortured, and not even treated as a human by the people who claim to love them. Sorry, I just can't agree. Take it from someone who wishes I would have been permanently adopted by someone, but I always slipped through the cracks and was always sent back to the abusive people.

chelekaz

I do not think it fair of you to say that any parent with an obese child should have that child taken away and that they do not love them. Maybe they never learned proper nutrition, maybe there child has an illness that doesn't allow foods to be processed the same way.

Make sure that you are the perfect parent lest someone in the future decide that something you are doing is cause to remove your child.

That all said... I do believe that it is important to teach PARENTS proper nutrition so that they can pass it on to their children. But, having worked for a family center and dealing w/ families in crisis.... I've seen children left in homes that were not considered safe because there wasn't enough resources for the child to go somewhere else.... but hey... lets overrun the system more because it is easier to see a kid is fat than abused... that'll help.

Twins2007

"THIS is why children deserve better and SHOULD be placed in a home where they will get a better life! "

I doubt it.

Have you ever taken the time to check out what happens to children who are taken away from their homes?

They are either placed in foster care or with foster parents.

In my 10 years+ of working with this field, I can tell you that the foods provided are NOT any better than the average American household.

Why?

Eating healthy costs a lot of money. Some parents, I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT PARENTS WHO DON'T GIVE A ****, cannot afford buying fresh produce and multi-grains and lean meats and such.

So they buy in bulk. Just like in the system where these children end up.

What needs to happen is to figure out why a two working parent home cannot afford eating healthy in this "rich" country.

Then educate, facilitate and create.

Putting aside genetics and metabolism, families need to re-learn how to eat...By a society which pushed fast foods for years...And is now acting like it never did.

shannieboo

you dont have children huh? No children are not born obese but have you ever thought about the kids who have a hormonal problem and still gain the weight. I dont eat mcdonalds and I am way overweight! My youngest child eats healthy and will not eat fries or mcdonalds, she is about 25 lbs overweight, so does that mean she should be put into foster care?

jennyocox

Parents should be educated in eating healthily so that they are capable of doing all you suggest. I'm pretty sure that most of the people on MFP learned a lot about eating healthily that they would have preferred to learn from their parents rather than in the way we've learned here, through a lot of pain, sweat and tears.

Children shouldn't be Obese, but sometimes on tiny budgets it's also cheaper to feed them that way if you don't know any better.

amymeenieminymo

Let me preface this with saying I cannot stand seeing an overweight (not just talking husky) or obese child. BUT, I wouldn't say this is necessarily the result of a parent who does not love their child enough. Often times it is due to ignorance and/or the parent feeling overwhelmed and not being able to control their child so they give them whatever they want. I agree that this is bad, but I don't think, for the most part, that it comes from not loving their children.

I don't think children should be taken away from their parents if they are obese, that in and of itself could cause even worse results....there are many stories of children being abused or mistreated by foster parents who are basically just taking on foster for the check. Even for a perfectly wonderful foster family, being taken away from your parents is still a very traumatic and unstable life.

I think a better alternative would be some kind of consequence, education for parents who don't understand how to feed their children healthy or some kind of intervention, but I think removal from the home is very extreme.

Lizary125

Obesity can be genetic so because the whole family is overweight they should get taken from there family..... We all work hard to lose weight sometimes it just doesn't come off! I think that this is horrible and I have healthy children at a normal weight.....

elid

because the USA is the ONLY nation in the WORLD right now whose children are dying before their parents because of unhealthy lifestyles TAUGHT to them by said parents.

No, the US isn't the only place in the world with obese children.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/stark-warning-on-childhood-obesity-problem-468833.html