Is it child abuse to let your kids eat unhealthy food?

xshortiex

A branch off of a thread in the "General.." forum: is letting your kids eat unhealthy / junk food a form of child abuse?

Edit: I mean, letting them eat unhealthy food so much that they become overweight or obese.

Ready, and, Discuss!

corn63

If your child is morbidly obese, yes. If you're letting your child have a treat and teaching them moderation, no.

ElizabethRoad

No, that is stupid and trivializes actual child abuse.

rml_16

What Corn and Elizabeth said.

wolfpack77

I wouldnt say abuse.. but if your child has special dietary needs maybe it would fit into the neglect category better.

LonLB

No, that is stupid and trivializes actual child abuse.

Tell that to the adolescents who are morbidly obese because of the eating habits their parents have taught them and are being bullied or contemplating suicide.

And that doesn't even address physical health.

LonLB

A branch off of a thread in the "General.." forum: is letting your kids eat unhealthy / junk food a form of child abuse?

Ready, and, Discuss!

So to answer your question no letting them eat that is not abuse, letting them become grossly over weight because of how/how much you feed them IS.

jcjsjones

I'll agree that it giving them unhealthy food makes it harder for them to make good nutrition choices later on, but child abuse? That's a little far-fetched.

monicalosesweight

It depends on whether you've set your child up to become obese and have endangered their lives. I've seen news articles about kids who were taken from their parents who were charged with abuse. They allowed their kids to get so heavy that it was dangerous and they were placed in new homes to help them loose weight. It depends on how much weight a kid has gained. If your child is weighing 200 pounds at age 8 then yes - it's abuse. Parents who do that are not being parents and are causing potential permanent problems which can kill a child. It doesn't take away from other forms of abuse. Abuse is neglect of a child's welfare: emotional, physical, and even involves the home. A house full of urine from pets is horrifying and can cause medical issues. Well, feeding your child a loaf of bread every day and a gallon of milk and more to get him to that sort of size - it's abuse.

Being slightly overweight, that's not abuse, that's just not having good foods in the house. There is a difference.

iLoveMyPitbull1225

Bad parenting vs abuse is a very, very fine line.

cmriverside

This topic always goes really well. Good luck.

DontStopB_Leakin

I agree with previous posters.

I let my child eat McNuggets. Yes, they're *kitten* but he likes them and he can have them once in a while. However, my child is ridiculously active and his usual diet is chock full of good, nutritious food.

Letting your child become morbidly obese because you are too damn lazy to prepare a decent meal is certainly neglect.

Letting them be a damn kid and get a happy meal once in a while is not.

pastryari

This topic always goes really well. Good luck.

QFT.

oregonzoo

Bad parenting vs abuse is a very, very fine line.

This

magj0y

When it comes to obesity, yes.

When it comes to inflicting emotional pain and physical well being, yes, it's abuse.

I always preferred the belt over a tongue lashing as a kid. But hey! There was always milk and fresh fruit around even though
she was the worst cook I have ever known. Hard to get fat when you can't stand the food