Allowing young children to become obese is child abuse. Agree or disagree?

Question

It's pretty simple. My own opinion is that allowing your own kids to get fat is a form of child abuse, just like feeding your dogs until they are obese is animal abuse. Do you agree, or not? And why?

Thank you.

I see deliberately creating a situation of poor health in your own children as abusive. Much the same as allowing them to be passive smokers or not wearing their seat belts, creating overweight children damages their health.

Answer 1

I completely disagree with you, especially about the animal part. I think kids who are fed and are happy is what matters. Its better than keeping them on a diet when they are only 3 or 4 years old. Telling them no honey you can't have ice cream after your baseball game because you are on a diet. Or no sweetie, no cake at your b-day party because you are on a diet. I think as long as you are sensible about it, there should be no problem. If you keep food away from your child and make their weight out to be a big ordeal when they are young, the more likely they will have an eating disorder when they are older, that would be abuse. and a well fed kid is still healthier than an underfed one. Far more health problems for a super skinny person than there is an obese one. And with the pet thing, I think its crap. I love that my cats are FAT and Sassy, they are happy and content and its how they should be, beats being underfed and hungry.

Answer 2

I feel that not setting certain limits and creating a healthy lifestyle for your child is indeed abuse. If the obesity is genetic in nature, not getting the child the proper medical care may also deem the situation as abusive. There have been cases of abuse even in the dental care of the child.
If the parent is willful in their neglect, that equals abuse.
If the parent is ignorant to the harm obesity can cause, then the parent and the child have been abused by their community. If that child is of shool age, the school and community can take steps to address obesity and other health issues if the parent has not.
So all in all, obesity in a child is neglecting the physical and emotional needs of that child not only by the parent, but by society as a whole.

Answer 3

I think that would depend on the reasoning behind it. If the child is overweight because the parent just doesn't feel like dealing with their child, then yes, it is abuse ( neglect to be more specific ). However, many overweight children come from overweight parents ( be it both or just one ) who have dealt their whole life eating "comfort" foods and then instill that way of life in their children with out even realizing it. In situations such as this, I would not call it abuse or negligence but an honest and rectifiable mistake made by the parent. At this point, a family or friend ( who does not share in the joys of comfort food themselves currently, a recovering "comfort" food lover would actually be best, I think ) should confront the parents about how they are perceiving the situation. Just as an added thought, the same could be said of children who are thin because of obsessed calorie counting parents who drill it into their children's heads thin is in. I'm not talking about parents who are feeding their children healthy meals and prefer their children to drink water throughout the day rather than soda, but the overachieving parents who unintentionally have their children so overwhelmed at the possibility of having any body fat on them that they eventually grow up to be bulemic or anorexic. The weight factor in raising children is a rather difficult thing to decide as being abusive because it can go either way. Edit: Before I get a thumbs down for not addressing genetic factors, she already stated that she understood that could be a factor.

Answer 4

No, I think of it as negligence, but not child abuse. Child abuse is more serious.

Not making sure your children have a healthy lifestyle is irresponsible parenting and can be a form of negligence. Sometimes it's hard to prevent kids from getting obese though, because it's not just about what/how much they eat. There are so many other contributing factors (genes, medical conditions, exercise etc.).

Child abuse is more serious and involves violence, sexual activities and/or breaking the child down mentally. That leaves kids mentally scarred and cause them mental issues (often serious) and sometimes there is permanent physical harm too. That is MUCH more serious than letting your kid get fat. At least they can lose weight later on, while the consequences of abuse follow them throughout their life.

Answer 5

What I don't like about statements like this is that it is all boiling down to one problem - parents and you are claiming child abuse.
Obesity in North America is a problem and can be blamed on many things and not just the parents of the children and where they get their food from.
The kinds of foods that some parents can buy is a factor - if you are on a minimum pay hey you have to buy what you can afford and that doesn't always mean the lean mean and healthy food but something that fills the tummys and can be spread from pay check to pay check (lets admit it - that doesn't always come from the fruit and veggie isles of the stores). The pull back of physical education in our schools has an impact on all the children and the inventions of all the high tech indoor gear (computers, games, etc) have also had a huge impact.
We as parents do and should influence and set controls but there are also many other outside influences that also effect our kids today.
We all as a society need to become more active - eat more healthy - and lessen the advertising of all the junk on TV that draws the kids into a lot of the junk they do eat if they are choosing to eat it. At least parents can be educating them about that part of it.

Answer 6

I think it is a form of abuse. I have a 7 year old nephew in 1st grade and last year when he was in kindergarten, his weight was about 120 lbs. He eats because he sees his mother (who was depressed) eat alot. But even now, while she is on medicine and no longer eats all the time, he still eats all the time and sits in front of the tv or computer and the only exercise he gets is from soccer, t-ball and basketball 3 times a week. My MIL feeds whenever he wants food so I take it upon myself to tell him no snacks whenever I watch him. And I say no snacks for my step-son as well who is 6 and weighs in at a nice 45 pounds. But he actually refuses to eat half the time....so different story there. Anywho...there's my answer.

Answer 7

I completely disagree. Parents can't see everything their children eat and once they reach the age to open the fridge on their own, the only way to stop them is put a lock on it. Then there is school when they are older and unless the mother follows them all day she will not know what is going into her childs stomache. My mother tried everything in her power to keep me from eating to much and I still found way around it, but then again I have never wanted to be thin. I mean come on, are you seriously saying that when a child is hungry you would tell them no, because you don't want them to get fat. That would be child abuse to me.

Answer 8

I'm quite shocked that so many of you people disagree with this... I think that letting your child get obese is like feeding them into an early grave.
Todays society is based on the fast way of living and that includes food and i think that that is really sad. See hardly anyone is spending the time that they should making fresh meals from scratch.Letting your child join in on the cooking will help them understand food better than what the comercials on television are telling them.

I also take it into consideration that genetics are also a factor in this but not a major one.

Answer 9

Respectfully that kind of thinking creates more problems than it solves. While I admit that a parent's care is an important factor in keeping a child's weight under control people forget that kids are human beings too and should be accountable for their actions and their lifestyle. Kids know when they are eating unhealthy and aren't getting enough exercise and all it takes is change from their quarter as well. The government has no role in telling people how to live. A society of excess breeds an environment where obesity is common, maybe we should change that.

Answer 10

I agree with Oh So. Giving children a good start and teaching them to become independent and make good choices isn't buying all the wrong foods and letting them eat themselves into adult sized clothes by age 8 and not promoting exercise and healthy living! No parent is doing their kid a favour by letting them become obese.