Obese Child? They'll be taken away!

Alcohol is legal. People buy it, they drink and drive, kill people, and the stores still sell it. Why has the gov not stepped in?

People smoke cigarettes (former smoker here). Second hand smoke kills and tobacco has been proven to be a killer. Why hasnt the gov stepped in?

I could go on and on all day....obesity is an issue, yes that is true. But you dont just steal kids away from their homes. Period.

You have to be 21 and 18 to buy those respectively. The government stepped in when they banned indoor smoking. They're working on banning smoking outdoors, e.g., NY. Steps are being taken.




I'm pretty sure drinking and driving is also against the law. Step in how? Give people the death penalty for a DUI? And you are basically implying that if one of these children dies, the parents should be punished via the legal system, which I'm guessing is not what you want to say.

in the UK its 18 what if your 15 year old looks 18 and can get cheap alcohol and binge drinks - should she be taken away??

The list of crazy scenarios could go on really.

Yes parents need to be educated and not feed their kids crap and prevention is definitely better than cure, but the blanket statement of obese kids should be taken is crazy.

What about a family who have multiple kids but one fat one? Do they hate the fat one and therefore it should be taken?

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

THANK YOU, to the poster that said this. This has been the hardest challenge as a parent! As a single person when I didn't have the expense of a family I was eating organic, lean meats, super healthy food. Now as a parent...we barely have groceries to scrape through between paychecks. And now that my daughter is eating what we eat and I am trying to cook meals healthily 100% of the time...it just isn't happening. I know what my child needs to eat and we can't afford to provide those meals every single day so the unhealthy cheaper choices that I know I should not be feeding my child are served some times.

That being said, when I say we can't afford groceries that means we can not afford McDonalds and my child had never had McDonalds and I hope she never does.

Education and making healthy food available to families is the answer here not ripping families apart.

For us it was, man we are flat a** broke, we can get a head of broccoli for 1.50 or get a double cheeseburger for a 1.00.....which is more fillling? That is why a lot of the obese children come from Lower class families because you get fuller for cheaper at fast food restaraunts than you can eating healthy

That is exactly my point. It costs a lot less to buy the processed or more fattening foods than the healthy choices. I try to balance it out the best I can.

This whole argument is just ignorant. Counseling and educating and making healthy choices more easily available to families such a better and (cheaper in the long run) alternative to taking a child away.

I'm not going to read past the first page, but perhaps the money that would be given to the foster parents (most are only foster parents for the money) would be much better spent at putting the child through a program with a personal dietitian and/or trainer.

uhhh no no no. obese children should not be taken away from their parents. breaking up a family is one of the worst things you can do to a child. i work with kids in the foster care system so i see this every day - they are depressed, anxious, oppositional, defiant...just to name a few. also who says that their new home would be any better? spend money on education regarding nutritional foods, not putting kids in the foster care system.

the foster care system is overwhelmed already. why not try fixing the system rather than overloading it more? these kids need help, not to be ripped from their families. and until you have actually SEEN a child being taken away from their family and seeing the emotions behind it, seeing the families cry and beg them not to take their child...yeah. it's pretty heart wrenching.

also, they'll take away obese kids but not kids whose parents are drug addicts or abusive? that's effed up.

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?

Not quite I get whats being said here... Kids who are too skinny but are being fed a poor diet should be taken away??? YES and absolutely!!! am I not understanding the hypothetical situation here? Kids only eat poor foods as a result of their parents, kids only play inside as a result of their parents. The point of being a parent is to teach your kid how to be an adult, that includes proper nutrtion. And we should not BLAME McDonalds, thats a weak persons excuse. McDonalds exsists because you gave them money. there is no one to blame but yourself.

Though I don't like the idea weigh me this, Is it better to experence trama young or die younger with health problems?

kids don't just eat poor diets because of their parents. schools don't give out the healthiest lunches. sure you could pack your child a lunch, but do you have food at home to pack lunch? what about lunch for your 4 children? also, the kids i work with spend their money on crap food. they get a dollar, they're buying chips and candy. they're anywhere from 10 to 14 years old, plenty old enough to make food decisions.

also, have you ever experienced trauma at a young age? it can follow you through life. feel free to ask the 20+ children i counsel on a daily basis. having the crap beaten out of you at the age of 3 or so severely neglected at age 5 can, in fact, screw you up for life.

While my kids aren't obese, I'd love to see what happens to you if you come to take them away from me. You won't like it, I can tell you that much.

I didn't read all the posts, but some have already mentioned education. Personally, I think people should have to earn a license to have children. I mean, you have to have a license to drive a car, but for one of the most important things there is - raising children - absolutely nothing is required other than a functioning reproductive system. People should have to take courses in nutrition, basic parenting skills/philosophies, and even CPR. Once they pass those courses, they get a license. Then, as so many have suggested, if there are issues in the home that are observable to others, such as obesity, there should be services to provide a plan to help the parents, and if that doesn't work, then the children should be removed from the home. There is something wrong when you see an obese five year old whose parent has just bought them a 16oz bottle of soda.

And I agree with the posts about food access and cost. Real food shouldn't cost so much. However, I disagree that a burger is more filling than a healthful alternative. When a person eats a mostly whole foods based diet, generally they are extracting nutrients more efficiently. They are getting more nutrition from the food and if it is a regular part of their diet, their body is used to it and becomes full. A fast food burger is only temporarily filling and gives the body minimal nutrients. But the body has to be retrained to digest real food and feel full.

I also think it's time for the government to push the idea of "VIctory Gardens" again, but I'm sure that won't happen because industry lobbyists wouldn't want the government to make it a goal to get more people to grow their own food.

Taking an obese child out of their home is not a solution. Like some others here have said, what about other children in the household who get to stay because they are thin? This would further isolate the obese child. My husband works for CPS, and there are plenty of worse things that can happen to a child than becoming obese. Besides, in *most* cases, nobody will love and care for your child the way you would.

It’s interesting to hear the stories here from people who were obese as children. Some became obese as a product of their environment, while others admit to overeating junk food outside the home. I can understand a parent’s frustration, because you can’t MAKE a child eat healthy food, all you can do is offer it to them (and remove all junk food from the house so it isn’t available).

Thanks to all who shared your stories, you are a brave and inspirational bunch. :flowerforyou:

While my kids aren't obese, I'd love to see what happens to you if you come to take them away from me. You won't like it, I can tell you that much.

Favorite post of the whole thread ^^^

Nothing wrong with snacking if it is healthy. I function way better if I'm eating five or six times a day. I don't think taking snacks away is too helpful. I didn't always allow my kids to have what they wanted when they wanted it, but the fruit bowl was available every day anytime of day. And the vegies in the fridge as well.

I am writing my next book on this topic and I observe children's eating habits. I see families with one overweight kid and a normal weight kid. The overweight kid at a party was just hovering around the snack table. I saw her take handfuls of snacks over and over again. Her mother told her a few times she had enough but she would keep going back for more. Her sister on the other hand had one plate of food and that was it. 2 kids, same family, but totally different eating habits. Is this the parents fault? Maybe some of it, but some kids including myself are just more predisposed to have weight and eating issues. Foster care will NOT fix this.
Kids don't think "if I eat too many cookies I will be fat and have a life long weight issue" they just think and live in the moment.

One of things I'm promoting for children is the elimination of snacks or allow one snack a day of a vegetable or a fruit. Kids snack too much, and most snack foods are garbage and then when parents try and feed them a nutritious meal they aren't hungry.
Some say no snacks or one snack isn't enough food but I see it this way.
It's ok to be hungry, and if a kid is hungry he is more likely to eat what you give him ie; veggies. If he won't eat the veggies he's not starving.