Should the 15stone 8year old be put into Care?

Question

Wouldn't it be a good idea if Dr.Chris of This Morning could get involved with the family - like he is with that man (forgot his name) who weighed about 48stone.
That boys mother needs help - and I wonder how the situation wold be if her
mom stepped back? She would have to
get out of bed then. Depression or no
depression - she still has to think of her
son!!

Answer 1

NO. Social services are incompetent.
The mother should be treated for thinking it is normal to feed your 8-year old the kind or amount of food that makes him into a 15-stone blob. No offence to the kid.
They could make it into a reality series. And show it on prime time childrens television.
The boy needs to be with his mother. Great good will it do him to punish him for being fat by sending him somewhere away from his mother.
I was in care. No one deserves to be in care for being fat!

Answer 2

I don't think he should be put into care. I do however think that his size is abuse although not intentional. His mother said he was hungry but most kids ask for food when they are bored (mine do), that doesn't mean they are hungry I think mum needs support to help her to say no. The mother also needs support with her depression I couldn't believe that her mother came in the mornings to get the son up and dressed. I do think that the social services should have a care order on the child giving them a say in the child's life. People may think this boy is not suffering abuse but consider all the health problems this child will suffer. And how can he enjoy his young life when he has to carry such alot of weight around all the time. This family needs re educating and plenty of guidance.

Answer 3

I am just so so glad i am not in their position - it is so easy for us to say that this should happen or that should happen but it must be tearing everyone of them apart bit by bit but i do think that until the mother gets some serious help with her depression and both her and the grandmother stop giving in to him for an easy life the lad should live with foster parents but his family should be able to visit whenever they want - i have not doubt that they love the lad to bits but they have to be cruel to be kind

Ok it may seem heartless but at the end of the day what would they prefer - to have a some time apart from the lad to help him (and the rest of him) or to not have him around anymore because of heart disease etc - it will hurt every day he isnt there there with them but they will know that he is still there and getting healthy but how much would it hurt if he wasnt there and never would be again

Answer 4

Yes. In order for his health to improve he needs to be out of the situation he's in currently.

His mother is quite clearly clueless and has absolutely no idea what discipline is, never mind how to enforce it.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this child's health and education could be turned around in comparatively very little time with the right regime.

To continue to feed your already clinically obese eight year old fried, processed foods and excuse yourself on the basis that "he won't eat anything otherwise" is absolutely disgusting, regardless of your own mental health.

Would it be OK for a parent to sexually abuse their child and then claim mental incapacity?

No, would it hell. And neither should it be.

It's about time that as a society we stood up for these children (and if that means a temporary care order/foster home then so be it)-this may be an extreme case but it is by no means isolated-you only have to watch 'honey I'm killing the kids', 'nanny 911' or 'house of tiny tearaways' to see that.

Answer 5

this is a hard question to answer. after watching the programme the mother i felt was blaming everybody else for her son weight problem ie the health visitor for not saying or doing some thing when her son was 2.5 years old, the daughter is horrified at the way her mum treats her brother. the mother should take a good look at her self she isn't exactly a good role model and as for letting him stay off school, don't get me started. she asked how do you stop a hungry child eating, my answer say NO. you give them the food they need and nothing else. teats should be treats ie if they have been good all week or they have achieved something at school. i feel this mother has been given plenty of opportunities to sort this problem out and now the she has to pay the consequences, and for the short term the child is placed into care until the weight issue has been addressed

Answer 6

Seems to me that the mother is the problem. The grandmother's house was immaculate - did you see the state of the house the child was living in though! Get some housework done, cook some decent meals and get the child interested in something other than sitting in front of the TV stuffing his face - and more importantly - GET HIM TO SCHOOL! He admitted he ate sometimes because he's bored. Do something with the child, woman, instead of lying in bed most of the morning.

Answer 7

Apparently his mum missed every appointment she was given to have help. She obviously knows nothing about nutrition,but if my 8year old granddaughter was taken away from her mum she would fall apart. Pity the poor child I don't know what the answer is but I do feel sometimes that some people should not be allowed to have children.( A bit OTT I know)The poor kid. his future is not bright, and letting him get like that is child abuse. Overall probably yes to care with lots of supervised visits.

Answer 8

i dont think putting him in care is the option as this could lead to much worse psychological problems later on in life. If the mother is not attending apoointments then the appointments should be taken to her. The Drs, nutrionalists, social work etc have a responsibility to follow this up and enforce it in a greater way. taking a part of the problem away isnt necessarily resolving it.

Answer 9

That is a very difficult question to answer hmmm. My answer to this is only as a last resort if the parents have faied to do nothing and have taken no stpeps to provide the neccessary help. First of all the boy is classed as unhealthy and that is certain in my eyes.

First of all the parents of this child must try to take steps to help their son lose weight and try to get him back to his normal weight to do this they must follow a diet plan a balanced diet eleiminating all the dangerous foods in his diet.

They must follow a programme that has been set by the nutrionalist or GP and they must follow that if they make progress and try to get their sons weight down and this must be down within a period of 5mths that is how long it took me to lose weight for this to happen he must have regualr exercise and very healthy diet.

If the parents failed to do this and by all accounts it looks they have then yes the answer he should be taken into care as this has been caused by mistreatment of the child and proves lack of care for their son as he already suffering and wont have long to live so to avoid the child been taken into care they must act now.

Yes I think he should because I think there is nothing the parents can do it will take along time before the boy can get back to hsi normal weight the weight gain has obviously happended over a period of time.

His condition might be heriditary as well as most people who are obese iherit it as well as gain it so may be that might be another factor to take in to consideration. But to prevent the extreme action of care the parents must act now but they must act now and quickly it mormally can take 5mths to a year and this must be ongoing as well.

Answer 10

his mother is to blame for the child's weight, but i think putting him into care is not a good thing for him mentally because i think he will miss his family too much and its like punishing him for something thats not his fault, but i do think his mother should be given supervision in the way that she gives him food, she should be made to go to a class in nutrition and have regular checks on the way that she feeds him, rather than put the poor child through the trauma of being taken away from his family and his home.