should parents lose custody of super obese kids?

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femmerides
femmerides Posts: 843 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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.
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Replies

  • bobbybdoe
    bobbybdoe Posts: 472 Member
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    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
    jmatthews75 Posts: 525 Member
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    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
    emilymiesel Posts: 216 Member
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    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
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
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    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
    bobbybdoe Posts: 472 Member
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    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
    CMH24 Posts: 101 Member
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    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
    Helice Posts: 1,075 Member
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    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
    mindlemoo Posts: 17
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    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
    skinnyhopes Posts: 402 Member
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    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
    barefootgardener Posts: 24
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    this whole article annoys me.
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
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    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
    joehempel Posts: 1,761 Member
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    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
    Athena413 Posts: 1,709 Member
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    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
    tracivee Posts: 56 Member
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    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
    soifua Posts: 82
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    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
    Andythefitfamilyman Posts: 420
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    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
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
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    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
    jmatthews75 Posts: 525 Member
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    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
    jmatthews75 Posts: 525 Member
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    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
    tracivee Posts: 56 Member
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    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.

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