Has anyone read this article? Obese 3rd grader removed from home (Alli, overweight)
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While I agree that there is a huge problem with the child's weight and health, I don't think removing him from his home is the answer.
My heart goes to the family. As a mom, I can't imagine what his mother is feeling and that kid must be scared to death and beside himself. There has to be a better way to help this family then to tear it apart.
That article is a summary of another article, which I didn't read. But the theme itself, I agree with. This summary states "medical neglect" as the reason they removed the kid. To me, medical neglect is "not doing" something pro-active to support the health of your child. But since an 8-year-old can't eat what the family doesn't feed him, I'd say that isn't neglect - since neglecting him would result in him starving to death not getting obese.
So what's left? What's left, is medical torture. They encouraged him to overeat. They encouraged him to eat things that would make him fat. When he started getting fat, to the point where they had to buy bigger clothes to fit him (thereby proving that they KNEW he was getting fat), they didn't make any attempt to stop feeding him so much/so many bad thing/whatever. Instead, they kept overfeeding him. And now, at the ripe old age of 8, he weighs 200 pounds.
What he will have to endure, medically, to get back to a safe body weight, is nothing short of torture for an 8 year old kid. Some kids have diseases that prevent them from eating like normal kids, and they have to live with that. In this situation, the family GAVE him this disease that now will prevent him from eating like normal kids. And they gave it to him on purpose. It's sickening. Is foster care the answer? I don't know. But leaving him in his family situation where his own family is slowly killing their child, and extended family is doing nothing to stop it, is not the answer either. Kudos for CPS taking him out of that toxic situation - and here's hoping someone steps up and does the right thing by that child. Lord know that ain't happening in his own family.
200 lbs at 8 years old? My God, what the hell is the world coming to? Absolutely disgusting. I am so sick and tired of seeing obese children everywhere. I just want to punch all of their parents in the throat.
Ok...so what's next for this family? Does the state keep the kid until he's 18? Does the state get the family into some sort of program? Do they bring charges against the parents and put them in jail or remove their rights?
I don't think this family has much hope if the state only plans on removing the kid and not educating the parents. But, then that begs the question of why should the govt educate you on healthy eating? Why should the govt have to come in and tell you your kids to too fat or too skinny?
I have not seen pictures of the parents but I am sure they are obese as well. Its just a tragedy that people cannot see the harm they are doing to their children when they allow them to become obese. IMO it is child abuse. They are saddling a child with a lifetime of problems just because they are too lazy to feed their child properly.
I do not know what will end up happening to this child now that he is 'in the system'. It had to have been an extreme case with the parents unable or unwilling to do the right thing in order for them to remove the child. This is a last resort option.
It looks as if other measures were tried before the child was removed.
Another article quoted the mom commenting that changing the child's diet required life style changes that were "hard".
Apparently the schools no longer have any instruction on health and nutrition, coupled with policies that have eliminated any form of physical activity during the school day and nutritionally poor school meals. This has turned out a generation of people who have no idea what a healthy meal looks like or how to prepare one. The restaurant industry, in addition, under the impression that it has to serve enormous quantities of food in order to compete, has contributed to the distortion of what constitutes a "portion" of food.
It is also no longer socially incorrect to be overweight ---disapproval is still there, but less overt.
Now we have reared a generation for whom large quantities of fast food is a "normal" diet. Sure, it will be difficult to overcome that mindset and change your total lifestyle. But most parents would do so if told that the life of their child depended on it.
Perhaps if the person responsible for feeding the child cannot make the necessary changes to improve the entire family's diet, then morbidly obese children should be removed to a nutritionally safer environment. Give the parents access to classes in nutrition and teach them how to shop for and prepare food at home. If the child is still gaining weight after that has been done, then an abusive situation exists.
I recently spoke with a physician who was caring for a malnourished six month old infant who was being fed hamburgers and French fries. The level of ignorance about basic nutrition is appalling.
We are not talking about chubbiness here. These are children with sleep apnea and diabetes who are truly destined for shortened life spans unless something is done.
Removing a child from a home should be the last resort, but it may be the best option if other measures fail.
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