200# 8 yr old = ABUSE

christy_frank

I am sorry if some of you disagree, but I personally feel that if your 8 yr old is over 200 lbs, it is a form of abuse and I do not think that you have done enough to get their eating and fitness under control. I would lock up the food except fresh fruit & veggies and water. I would have someone drop him and me off a couple of miles from home & force us to walk home...I would do whatever it took to help my child. But then again....I would never allow my child to get that obese!!!

VinVenture

I don't have children, so I can't say for sure what I'd do. But I'm fairly sure I'd work to keep my children active. But if the mother didn't know any better, although still abuse at a certain level, it wasn't intentional. Sometimes people let love get the better of them, when their children cry or need cheering up, and they want certain foods, or they don't want to exercise. I'm just wary of this long before I get children, so hiking and sports will be a natural part of their life.

chicky89

I heard about this on the radio, can't remember where it was though. I know in the states.... But really, unreal!!!!!!!!!

Chilrens aid took the boy, as he was at risk of diabetes and such, and the mothers response was... "he doesnt have it yet, so he is fine" or something along the lines...


Unrealllll! poor boy!!!

Katbaran

This story was near Cleveland, Ohio. I am following it with interest. I agree that a 200 pound 8 y/o is unreal. There is more to this story though. I have read that the mother was advised and given classes to help, doctor's appts. to keep track of what he is eating and nutrition counseling. She was unable to make it to all of the appts. due to working and lack of transportation. When the county seized the child and placed him in foster care, the foster mother was also unable to keep all all of his appts, so they arranged for transportation, additional counseling for the boy and extra financial help to feed this boy better, more nutritionally sound food.

My question is: Why didn't the county help the MOTHER do this? There is a real problem here and I'm not saying the mother even tried her best. She may just be uneducated about what to do. Do I think this is right to remove the child from the parent? No. Do I think he needed an intervention? YES. Like chicky89 said, the mother seemed unconcerned that this child is in great danger. I cannot understand how folks can let something like this go on and on. The county was trying to help her and she didn't do much to help her own son. Shameful.

cwesse

I would agree that it is a form of abuse, whether it be intentional or not.
I can't fathom being 200 lbs now, much less so when I was in the third grade.
However, I also find it a shame that it is actaully cheaper to eat unhealthy then it is to food that is good for you. Buying fresh vegtables and fruit is way more expensive then buying the bag of chips that are always on sale.
Pretty sure when I was growing up it was actually cheaper to eat healthy then the other way around.

melkithall

I agree that the blame of this lies on the parents. I have an 8 yr old, who has been skinny since he was born. Always healthy, but just so thin. At times I think of ways I can fatten him up. The thing is he does eat healthy. Sure I let him have treats here and there, he's a kid, it's part of childhood. Denying him sweets would only make him want them more. We've all learned that with our own journey to lose weight. But, he knows when it's snack time what is available to eat. More importantly, he knows how important it is to balance what he eats. If he wants a candy, he'll eat some fruit or veggie first. He always reaches for the carrots, they're his favorite. Anyways, I'm off track here. What I meant to say is that kids have a naturally high metabolism that I envy. Unless sabatoged by too much tv watching or game playing, kids will run around and burn off their food on their own. To be that big at such a young age( that's how much I weigh now!), there has to be some extreme circumstances. More likely it's because they are not taught the right things to eat, indulged too much, and not encouraged to get out and get some healthy exercise. Healthy food really doesn't have to be that expensive. I use Bountiful Baskets to get my produce and that's really affordable. Also, if parents cook more at home instead of getting fast food all the time, it really does save money. I've been saving at least $100 each month since starting to eat healthier. Eating cheap junk is just a cheap excuse. I hope this child gets help quick and has a second chance to get things right. And hopefully the mom wakes up, realizes her mistake and learns how to do it right too!

Katbaran

I totally agree with you, cwesse! I grew up in the late 50's to early 70's--most of it in the 60's. Home made, simple food was cheaper. Going to a restaurant or grabbing a burger was a VERY rare treat, not the norm. I'm talking once or twice a year, not a week. We were pretty poor but we had good home cooked food every night. I remember there not being a lot of meat, but plenty of cheap veggies and lots of starches. Not really balanced but still not really fatty. Desserts were home baked goods. It was a real treat to have store-bought cookies or any kind of baked goods.

We also always had a garden. We lived in the suburbs, but every summer we had fresh tomatoes, cukes, peppers, cabbage, green beans and kohlrabi. We also had two apple trees that we really enjoyed. Gardening is not possible for everyone but I do watch the specials on fresh veg and they are affordable. We also have a store here called Marc's, which has really cheap produce. I can fill a smallish cart with fruit and veg and get out of the store for under $40. There are other stores, like Sav-a-lot and Aldi's that are the same. One need not eat fast food a few times or more a week. It still can be cheaper to eat at home, you just have to watch your pennies. Eating well doesn't take a lot of time. I don't spend hours going to different stores for the deals. I read the ads and go where they have the best deals that week. It ain't rocket science---as most of us on MFP have discovered! :bigsmile:

MrsGreen1985

I know its not the same thing but I started gaining weight when I was 6 years ild - not sure how much I weighed.
Over the years it got worse.MY mother did nothing to help.She continued buying treats,She did nothing to help or encourage me. she even went as far as telling me how fat I looked when I hit puberty.
She was always a skinny women so surely she must of known the right things to eat and what exercise would be beneficial. so why didnt she do anything? at 26 years old I'm still fighting to get rid of the weight but its proving rather difficult.

leezanicole

I've talked to one of my friends about this issue before. Her response is that, when you are a parent you want to make your child happy and sometimes parents go about this the wrong way. I guess some parents can't say no and don't realize the potential outcome.

Hoppymom

I believe this child did need to be removed from the home. If it's the one I read about there were other children in the home and they were not removed. The county, doctors and nutritionists worked with the family over a year and the child continued to gain weight. The mother seemed very careless in her assessment of the situation. I am an Early Childhood Special Education teacher and believe that child would definately have motor delays as a result of his weight. I have a hard time moving around and being active when I weight 235 at 5'4". Imagine being a third grader and trying to do the things that third graders do in gym and on the playground at 4' foot tall. There is no way he can meet the benchmarks for his age group. It would likely impair his social interactions too. If you can't keep up with your friends its hard to have friends. Third-graders are busy active people as a whole. They aren't likely to slow down much for a peer who can't compete at their pace. That might lead to lower self-esteem, depression and other mental health issues as well. Think how you feel about yourself if you are overweight. Hopefull they can get this child's eating behaviors turned around and get the parents properly educated and retun him to his family.

radfordgal05

I agree it's abuse. Especially under the circumstances.

jenniet04

I don't get where people say that it's cheaper to eat fast food than healthy food at home. My family of 5 (actually 6 but the baby doesn't get anything) went to McDonald's last night and it cost us $35!!!! I can make a meal at home with fresh or frozen vegetables for less than half of that - which is why we don't eat out but a couple times a month, it's ridiculously expensive.

And yes, I would consider the weight of this child abusive, but I have had a hard lesson in believing everything that is reported in the news. You hear one side of the story and they report it the way they want to in order to get ratings. They don't care if they report the actual truth of the situation.

Slove009

There are ways to eat healthy on the cheap, for instancem low sodium canned veggies, or frozen fruit and vegetables. You'd be surprised how much cheaper it is to get frozen chicken and fish fillets than fresh. We also go to the Asian & Hispanic Markets. A whole lot cheaper than farmer's markets or chain stores.

As for 200lb 8yr old child. Me and sister did not weight that much combined at that age. That does not happen on accident. I worked for OH medicaid and I'll tell you right now, some people raise their children to be 3rd/4th/5th+ generation Medicaid. You'd be shocked and horrified to know what some people do to themselves and, yes, even their own children to keep them on Medicaid. Ohio is actually one of the worst states in the country for the abuse of Medicaid. The biggest indication that the mother didn't care is when she was offered assistance and still did not use those extra resources to help her child. I agree that CPS should have removed the child from that situation.

On the flipside, there are disorders to where some children cannot physically control their eating and feel like the must constantly eat. (was featured on 60 minutes several years ago). In one extreme case, the child had to be home schooled with a locked gate around the house and a large chain with a lock to keep the refridgerator locked!

The biggest issue here is that letting your child eat their way to be 200lbs is abuse, regardlesss of whether or not the child has a disorder that affects their eating habits.

anulle2009

200# 8 years old is truly horrible!!!! I do also believe it is a form of child abuse. How is an 8 year old suppose to know if the child is not taught how to eat healthy. What I want to know is where were his doctors?! didn't he go for yearly checkup's? I can not believe this child even got to be this large! Sad Sad Sad!

christy_frank

I've talked to one of my friends about this issue before. Her response is that, when you are a parent you want to make your child happy and sometimes parents go about this the wrong way. I guess some parents can't say no and don't realize the potential outcome.

I want my kids happy AND HEALTHY.... I have 4 children. At one time one of them was chunkier.... 75th% weight and we worked on it & cut out carbs @ dinner to help. She is now at a much better weight.

christy_frank

I don't get where people say that it's cheaper to eat fast food than healthy food at home. My family of 5 (actually 6 but the baby doesn't get anything) went to McDonald's last night and it cost us $35!!!! I can make a meal at home with fresh or frozen vegetables for less than half of that - which is why we don't eat out but a couple times a month, it's ridiculously expensive.

And yes, I would consider the weight of this child abusive, but I have had a hard lesson in believing everything that is reported in the news. You hear one side of the story and they report it the way they want to in order to get ratings. They don't care if they report the actual truth of the situation.

I agree....eating out is expensaive. I have 4 children & we might as well go to a sit down for the cost of fast food nowadays. We rarely eat McDonald's or out at all actually.

Iamfit4life

It is abuse. I mean holy crap I'd be taking my kids to doctors and trying everything. So soo very sad.

stcar

I've talked to one of my friends about this issue before. Her response is that, when you are a parent you want to make your child happy and sometimes parents go about this the wrong way. I guess some parents can't say no and don't realize the potential outcome.

I want my kids happy AND HEALTHY.... I have 4 children. At one time one of them was chunkier.... 75th% weight and we worked on it & cut out carbs @ dinner to help. She is now at a much better weight.

My son has been in the 98th percentile since birth and at 11 is a healthy (but yes, a tad chubby and tall) 140 lbs, 5'3" football playing sweetheart. We eat out extremely rarely and if we do its subway and I don't have junk or pop in the house. Some people are naturally padded, he would never ever take food without asking and I would never put a child on a diet/cut out carbs. He eats healthily and is active, I am sure once puberty hits the weight will fall off as it did with me at that age. Putting a slightly chunkier child on a diet will give them body/food issues I'm sure. I can't/wouldn't cut out carbs myself, therefore can't imagine doing that to my son.

wendyw8

I think that it is normal for children to have a little "baby fat" but to let your child get to 200 pds is wrong!! My kids eat all the time, most of the time it is healthy, but I do let them have treats to and none of them are obese or even overweight (they were all lucky enough to get their dads body type!!)so I can not imagine what or how much food that that child would of had to eat to weigh that much.

stcar

I think that it is normal for children to have a little "baby fat" but to let your child get to 200 pds is wrong!! My kids eat all the time, most of the time it is healthy, but I do let them have treats to and none of them are obese or even overweight (they were all lucky enough to get their dads body type!!)so I can not imagine what or how much food that that child would of had to eat to weigh that much.

I agree with this, most of my sons friends are tiny and not chubby at all and eat way more then my son (little on the heavy side). some people just don't have genes on their sides!

jenniet04

I've talked to one of my friends about this issue before. Her response is that, when you are a parent you want to make your child happy and sometimes parents go about this the wrong way. I guess some parents can't say no and don't realize the potential outcome.

I want my kids happy AND HEALTHY.... I have 4 children. At one time one of them was chunkier.... 75th% weight and we worked on it & cut out carbs @ dinner to help. She is now at a much better weight.

My son has been in the 98th percentile since birth and at 11 is a healthy (but yes, a tad chubby and tall) 140 lbs, 5'3" football playing sweetheart. We eat out extremely rarely and if we do its subway and I don't have junk or pop in the house. Some people are naturally padded, he would never ever take food without asking and I would never put a child on a diet/cut out carbs. He eats healthily and is active, I am sure once puberty hits the weight will fall off as it did with me at that age. Putting a slightly chunkier child on a diet will give them body/food issues I'm sure. I can't/wouldn't cut out carbs myself, therefore can't imagine doing that to my son.

My 11 year old is exactly the same (5'4" and 145 lbs) - his doctor said that as long is his height/weight ratio was where it should be, he is fine. We also have him in every sport imaginable to keep him active and we limit his video games/tv time to an hour a day. We do have some unhealthy foods in the house, but my goal is to teach them to monitor and limit themselves so that when they are around that kind of food and we aren't they will be successful in eating right. But he has a cousin who is shorter than he is and much heavier and his parents just don't care. It's very sad.