Sarah's Thoughts
This is Abuse
From across the pond:
Authorities are considering taking an 8-year-old boy who weighs 218 pounds into protective custody unless his mother improves his diet, officials said Monday.
An unidentified health official was quoted as telling The Sunday Times that taking custody of Connor would be a last resort, but said the family had repeatedly failed to attend appointments with nurses, nutritionists and social workers.
“Child abuse is not just about hitting your children or sexually abusing them, it is also about neglect,” the official was quoted as saying.
I agree. A parent who takes no steps to reverse her child’s life-threatening obesity is guilty of abuse. A kid does not know what foods are healthy and should not be allowed to make the decisions about what goes into his body. I get so sad when I see an obese kid taking in a Happy Meal at McDonalds with parents who are also usually overweight. Aren’t we supposed to live as an example to our kids? Aren’t we given the responsibility of teaching our children the behaviors that will allow them to live the best life possible?
Setting your children up for a life of diabetes, heart disease and ridicule is absolutely abusive. Parental rights should not trump a child’s long-term health.
February 27th, 2007 at 11:42 am
There are so many things I disagree with here that I don’t know where to begin.
Weight prejudice has led to a lot of misinformation about the actual dangers of overweight, for one.
But more importantly, society is not tasked with the job of raising children. Suppose someone in society decided that having conservative values was a bad thing, and that your child needed to be taken away from you so that she wouldn’t grow up to be mocked by liberals? Sound good now? I didn’t think so.
Should we have advocated society raising the children of biracial couples? Many of those kids were prone to genetic conditions like high blood pressure and also subject to mockery. In fact, the whole “kids subject to mockery” was a justification for miscegenation laws throughout the United States.
I’m sorry, but as the overweight kid of two overweight parents, posts like this one make my blood boil. I grew up very well, thank you.
February 27th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
[...] Sarah Moore says: A parent who takes no steps to reverse her child’s life-threatening obesity is guilty of abuse. A kid does not know what foods are healthy and should not be allowed to make the decisions about what goes into his body. I get so sad when I see an obese kid taking in a Happy Meal at McDonalds with parents who are also usually overweight. Aren’t we supposed to live as an example to our kids? [...]
February 27th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Conservatives used to be in favor of less-intrusive government, but that ship sailed long, long ago.
February 27th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Nowhere in my post do I state my agreement with the government taking the child away, so I will hold to my conservative beliefs on this one. But, I do think a doctor should absolutely call this out as abusive and hold the parent accountable for making some changes. I don’t think parents should be able to raise children in any way they see fit. Cages aren’t acceptable as methods of restraint, denying your child medical attention is dangerous and feeding him a diet of fast food and sweets is abusive.
Being raised by conservatives is not a threat to my child’s health, so that’s a silly comparison. I do understand that some people can be overweight and healthy, but you will not convince me that an eight-year-old who weighs 218 pounds is in good shape. As the article states, this boy is in serious danger of dying before he turns thirty if his habits aren’t changed. We are living in a country in which 80% of the population is overweight, and the consequences over the next fifty years are going to be staggering.
I am not advocating that society take over the care for this boy. But, I am very frustrated with these parents who don’t seem to mind the long-term consequences of the decisions they are making for their son. I also mention “parental rights” because I don’t believe this mom is entitled to a free pass from criticism just because this is how she chooses to raise her boy.
We are creating a generation of processed fast-food eating, video game playing kids who have had recess and gym cut from their school day. I stand by my belief that parents who don’t work to reverse this societal trend in their own home are being negligent and, in some cases, passively abusive.
February 27th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
“but you will not convince me that an eight-year-old who weighs 218 pounds is in good shape.”
Can I convince you that it’s not your business?
February 27th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
“I grew up very well, thank you.”
I dunno, Kat. After all, you were obviously raised with some dangerous ideas. If kids were raised by the government, they’d be less likely to question if their kids should be raised by the government.
Back to the original post, I do agree that there is a line at some point, but I don’t think a kid being obese, even this much, crosses the line. There’s gotta be an immediate danger, and the abuse has to be more aggressive.