Taking obese child from mom is wrong

[Shadow]

San Diego (CNN) -- Is child obesity a form of child neglect?
Of course not. That's ridiculous. But, it seems, the ridiculous is now standard operating procedure in the upside down world of the Department of Children and Family Services of Cuyahoga County in Ohio. In a case making headlines around the country, the agency recently decided that a Cleveland third grader should be taken from his mother and placed in foster care.
Was this an instance of child abuse? Apparently not. Was it an urgent situation that required this local government entity to immediately intervene and take the drastic step of separating a family? It doesn't seem so.
In fact, county public defender Sam Amata told reporters that his office would challenge the removal because the boy was not in imminent danger.
Here's the alleged abuse: The 8-year-old boy weighed more than 200 pounds, and officials essentially claimed that his mother was to blame for not doing enough to help her son lose weight. So they went into the home and took the child away. Just like that.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/02/opinio...tml?hpt=hp_bn9

[Noir]

Its a tricky one imo, i mean, as a parent you are responsible for looking after your child, and when an 8 year old is one and a half times my weight, there's clearly something going wrong.

*If* the mother has kept a food dairy or something like that to show she isn't stuff fattys face then fair enough, but if she's not helping then i'd say she's neglecting.

[Noir]

and couldn't let a thread like this pass without Tim Minchens song, Fat Children....

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[krisy]

This burns me .Taking this kid out of a loving home and putting him into foster care is what will screw him up!!! A lot of foster homes are really bad places with bad people! The mother should be hooked up with a dietician to guide her and the boy in the right direction.

I cannot stand these holier than thou a holes from childrens services!!!

[Kathianne]

I agree that the removal of the child was the wrong course of action. However an 8 or 9 year old child, weighing over 200 lbs is morbidly obese and is in immediate need at that point of losing a significant amount of weight.

This has been discussed elsewhere for quite awhile now, the progressives seem to think that the state had every right to put the child in a 'safe environment.' Others, including myself wonder why the mother hadn't received more help from social services including a nutritionist and therapy for her and the son. Something is seriously out of whack. I've not seen any reports that the child suffers from some underlying cause of the weight, even genetic predisposition. The presumption of the state finding 'a safe environment' is laughable, (if not so sad), considering how many children are abused in the state services system.

If with qualified support and the mother continues to say that it's too difficult to have him eat correct, she might face legal problems regarding abuse. No doubt in an extreme case like this, the court might well order meals delivered for the child, with an order that the mother undermining the program will face consequences.

[Shadow]

This burns me .Taking this kid out of a loving home and putting him into foster care is what will screw him up!!! A lot of foster homes are really bad places with bad people! The mother should be hooked up with a dietician to guide her and the boy in the right direction.

I cannot stand these holier than thou a holes from childrens services!!!

I agree... it might not just be a case of the mother not feeding him healthy foods or making those choices available to him. Could actually be he has some sort of eating disorder that could be linked to other things going on in his life, like worrying about school,peer pressure or similar related depression. I doubt if he has some sort of emotional problem,taking him away from his family and throwing him into another stressful and emotionally charged situation will help much...could make it worse.

[cadet]

I agree... it might not just be a case of the mother not feeding him healthy foods or making those choices available to him. Could actually be he has some sort of eating disorder that could be linked to other things going on in his life, like worrying about school,peer pressure or similar related depression. I doubt if he has some sort of emotional problem,taking him away from his family and throwing him into another stressful and emotionally charged situation will help much...could make it worse.

I'm sorry, but I find it extremely hard to believe that a eating disorder could cause the kid to be 200 POUNDS!!!!

Now, it might sound kind of mean, but my morals say this kids mom is definitely screwing up, and this little kid needs some sort of good parenting. Now, should it have been the states decision, no. But it definitely should have been taken care of by family members.

And yes, i think this kid was in immediate danger of having a heart failure or something like that, he was surly being neglected.

If his mother truly cares about her son, she should have realized that most kids get made fun of for being overweight, and should have been doing everything in her power to keep him healthy.

Also, for the record, my little brother is quite big (mostly his height) for an 8 year old, and he's only about 60 pounds.

[Abbey Marie]

I'm surprised more of us aren't upset by this governmental intrusion; particularly our libertarian-leaning folks. What's next- removal for not giving your kids low-fat and low-sugar? For dressing them unfashionably?

[Shadow]

I'm sorry, but I find it extremely hard to believe that a eating disorder could cause the kid to be 200 POUNDS!!!!

Now, it might sound kind of mean, but my morals say this kids mom is definitely screwing up, and this little kid needs some sort of good parenting. Now, should it have been the states decision, no. But it definitely should have been taken care of by family members.

And yes, i think this kid was in immediate danger of having a heart failure or something like that, he was surly being neglected.

If his mother truly cares about her son, she should have realized that most kids get made fun of for being overweight, and should have been doing everything in her power to keep him healthy.

Also, for the record, my little brother is quite big (mostly his height) for an 8 year old, and he's only about 60 pounds.

I agree that there could be a lot of factors involved not just eating disorders, like working parents...not being around when the kids gets home from school to monitor after school snacking, and not being able to get outside and run it off for the same reason (no supervision). Some studies do say though that some children have a hard time dealing with stress and depression and use food as a tool for comfort (just like adults do)...as well as when they feel bored,anxious or even angry. Something that they later need to learn how to curb because it is an emotionally driven reaction. The mother even stated that the road to getting him healthy was a "life change". Her and her son probably need help...sure...but I doubt taking him away from the home will do the trick.

[cadet]

I agree that there could be a lot of factors involved not just eating disorders, like working parents...not being around when the kids gets home from school to monitor after school snacking, and not being able to get outside and run it off for the same reason (no supervision). Some studies do say though that some children have a hard time dealing with stress and depression and use food as a tool for comfort (just like adults do)...as well as when they feel bored,anxious or even angry. Something that they later need to learn how to curb because it is an emotionally driven reaction. The mother even stated that the road to getting him healthy was a "life change". Her and her son probably need help...sure...but I doubt taking him away from the home will do the trick.

The fact that she even let it get that bad is terrible. How in the world do you not start keeping an eye on your kid after 100 pounds? he's eight! put the food out of his reach!!!

She's obviously unfit as a parent, and some relative needs to take care of this kid.

[Kathianne]

I'm surprised more of us aren't upset by this governmental intrusion; particularly our libertarian-leaning folks. What's next- removal for not giving your kids low-fat and low-sugar? For dressing them unfashionably?

I agreed with the the wrongness of taking the boy out of the home. I also disagreed that at 200 lbs he wasn't in imminent danger to his health, he certainly is. That would be like a grown man of perhaps 450 lbs. The mother said, 'It's hard to keep him from eating.' Who buys the food? Who prepares the meals? Not an 8 year old.

I don't know how the state got involved, though I'd guess through Dr or teacher-mandated reporters. It does seem there was some type of earlier intervention, which is where the mom's whine came from. It's obvious that both her and the child need counseling and some sort of strict diet for the child. If she can't or won't care for this, then perhaps another family member can, certainly not the state. If nutrition education is the mom's problem, get someone to teach her. If money/food is the problem, get WIC or SNAP on it. If parenting is the problem get the county psychologist involved.

[Kathianne]

I agree that there could be a lot of factors involved not just eating disorders, like working parents...not being around when the kids gets home from school to monitor after school snacking, and not being able to get outside and run it off for the same reason (no supervision). Some studies do say though that some children have a hard time dealing with stress and depression and use food as a tool for comfort (just like adults do)...as well as when they feel bored,anxious or even angry. Something that they later need to learn how to curb because it is an emotionally driven reaction. The mother even stated that the road to getting him healthy was a "life change". Her and her son probably need help...sure...but I doubt taking him away from the home will do the trick.

I agree with all of your points. If he's home alone and eating because of parents working, he needs to get into some sort of after school program, preferably one with exercise involved-at this point, just walking.

I can't see him not depressed, he's nearly 3 times or more the average 8 year old's size.

The house has to be cleared of all junk food and if he spends his own money on it, he shouldn't have money. I normally believe people should have control over such issues, but in this case the state does have an interest in the child's well being. Mom should either comply voluntarily or social services should check periodically.

[Shadow]

Just by observing the kids on campus when I sometimes pick mine up after school...I have noticed that kids in general are a lot heavier then they were when I was in school. Probably eat a lot more fast food for one thing...inside activities instead of out etc. But one thing that also always has stuck out in my mind is how almost no one lets their kids walk to and from school anymore. Being driven back and forth everyday was totally unheard of when I was a kid. Walking could be a good source of needed excercise.

[cadet]

yeah, but then you'd have all the parents that overreact and worry too much. start claiming that the school should walk with them or something to keep an eye on them.

[Kathianne]

Just by observing the kids on campus when I sometimes pick mine up after school...I have noticed that kids in general are a lot heavier then they were when I was in school. Probably eat a lot more fast food for one thing...inside activities instead of out etc. But one thing that also always has stuck out in my mind is how almost no one lets their kids walk to and from school anymore. Being driven back and forth everyday was totally unheard of when I was a kid. Walking could be a good source of needed excercise.

I don't know if it's the area I live and teach in, but I've not observed all these 'heavy' kids the media goes on about. Most days I have anywhere from 28-125 kids in my rooms, see many more than that in hallways, cafe, etc. In a given group of 30 kids, 11-18 there would be 2 that were obese. Probably another 3 that could afford to lose 5-10 lbs. With that said, those 3 are usually very active in sports. I see many more kids that I worry about anorexia, than over eating, especially in first two years of high school.

Those numbers pretty much are the same as when I was in school, some 30+ years ago.

In my 13 years in preschool-8th grade I saw few kids in lower grades that were 'Big' as we used to call it. None that would come within 120 lbs of this kids weight.