Should the parents of an obese child be charged with child abuse?

Question

The law does not allow for IGNORANCE as an excuse. allowing the poor child to be obese just because the mother can't be bothered to buy proper food is first degree child abuse and should result in one of the parents going to prison for the same length of time as if they had burnt him with cigarettes or dipped him in vomit.

Answer 1

i dont think its abuse but i think she needs to be educated in food and what is good and bad ...send her on a course to learn how to feed her child a balanced diet

Answer 2

As a mother of 2 children I have unfortunately found myself in the middle of this debate.

My son is 9 -140cm high and weighs 5 stone, underweight according to BMI charts. Weight at birth 6lb.
My daughter is 8 -141 cm high and weighs 61/.2 stone overweight according to all the charts. Weight at birth 11lb.

Both eat the same foods at home and snacks are limited, They do activities and watch TV.

My point is that they are brought up practically identically but they are prediposed to their shape and size. However, I know that education helps. After the 5 a day lessons in school recently I could not buy enough fruit / veg to fill them.

I honestly think that what is needed here is help and support which would cost significantly less than the Foster care .

Would kids be taken away who are normal wieght but only eat chips/ crisps - there are plenty out there. ?
Why should this one family be demonised and scorned when there are plenty others it could apply to ?

I know of familes where a multipack of crisps and a night on the game console is what a child gets as a reward for doing something good. Is this not in itself a form of abuse, or is that ok in todays image conscious society.

Answer 3

I have to say I was a bit on the fence with this yesterday, but having seen and heard the mother on the news both last night and this morning I'm afraid I have to agree that it is child abuse. The child needs to be removed temporarily and she needs mandatory parenting classes at the very least. Social services are absolutely right to get involved in this case-the mother openly admits that he "Just won't eat anything but junk food and I have to feed him it because he won't eat otherwise."

Oh really!!

What part of he's EIGHT YEARS OLD does she not understand? When he buys the food he can eat what he likes, until then he'll eat what he's told or go without-he'd soon be tucking into meat and three veg at tea time.

The news this morning showed an interview with his Mum while he was sitting in front of the telly, balancing a plate on his lap asking for sauce while shovelling a chip in his mouth. If that isn't an indication that this child has never stood a chance I don't know what is!

Oh and while I'm mid rant, 'proper' food IS NOT expensive when compared with processed rubbish. Fruit and vegetables are as cheap as they've ever been-even in the supermarkets(which are far more expensive than a greengrocer) and if you bother to find a butcher you can buy good quality meats at two thirds of the price you pay in superstores.

Maybe if this Mum had bothered to parent a bit more and 'mother' a bit less she wouldn't be facing the possible loss of her son to social services.

Saying 'NO' and enforcing discipline may not be very p.c. and sometimes it takes gritted teeth and sheer bloody determination to win battle of the wills, (especially as children get older), but when the alternative leads to chronic obesity and an increased risk of heart failure isn't it worth the effort?

Answer 4

no they shouldn't. there are so many factors of why a child can be obese. the child may not eat any other food and only eat the food that is fattening. the parents might not be able to afford healthy food, after all the healthier the food is, the bigger the price tag that comes with it.
burning a child with cigarettes or dipping them into vomit is totally different to giving them maybe a lil more food than they need. obviously the food is something they probably will enjoy eating, whilst the varmint and cigarette thing, is something no one would enjoy.

Answer 5

There has never been an other reason for obesity whether in children or in grown ups than TOO MUCH FOOD. People just stuff themselves with food and then sit and watch TV. If you allow your children to do that, then you are abusing them and YES you should really go to prison.

There is no such thing as "NATURALLY PREDESPOSED TO FATNESS" If you go to a concentration camp you will not find fat people. That is because they are fed the same amount of food and they are forced to exercise.

In refugee camps you do not see many fat people either. That is because snacking is not possible.

Answer 6

The definition of a parent is to look after and nuture the child.Teaching them wrong from right and teaching the things that must be learnt in childhood to grow up into resposible adult.Letting a child grow up to be obese knowing that something could be done about it. The parents should help the child loose weight. In addition to the parents behaviour of ignorance upon the childs obesity they should be punished.In conclusion the parents should be put into Jail to establish that what they have done is wrong.

Answer 7

i believe it is a form of child abuse, however i do not think it is to the degree of a deliberate burn as that is done conciously and with intent, In saying this ignorance cannot also be used as surely the parents should see with their eyes what they are doing to this child by over feeding him. They need to be told and given a chance with guidance and if they still do not do the right thing by this child then yes he should be taken from them for a while atleast to learn and teach him the right and wrong foods to eat and help him loose weight. After that then it needs to be monitored if he goes back to his parents. We also need to understand that this child is 8 and knows no different to what he is taught, and also may suffer emotionally from the separation from the people he loves, This is a tricky situation as it is not just a case of obvious child abuse.

Answer 8

In a way yeah I suppose it is child abuse but surely the parents deserve the right to proper education on nutrition before jumping the gun and condemning them. With the correct level of help and support surely this can be resolved.

how do we know they can't be bothered to buy "proper" food, has anyone considered how expensive that can be for low income families. Yes, you can get cheaper brand food, but often you pay for what you get and this needs to be addressed on a larger scale than blaming one mother.

Answer 9

No. More often then not, obese children come from poor families. Checked the price of food lately? Macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles and sugared cereal are far cheaper than healthy food. You'd be getting dangerously close to criminalizing people for simply living below the poverty level. Also, the child may have serious medical issues that contribute toward obesity. It's not only caused by overeating, you know.

Answer 10

i think it is really sad and upsetting to see an obese child ,if any of my children got like that i would blame myself for allowing it to get that far and yes i think i should be punished in some way (not imprisonment,that is so harsh) for putting my childs health at risk... saying that, some children are very reluctant to eat healthy food and it is very hard to try and pursued them to..
my 11 1/2 year old son who has ADHD will hardly eat anything,it is the same old things (meatballs,fishfingers,chips,bread,dippers etc) mainly rubbish.. he has always been like this,he cant bring himself to even try different things and if we keep trying to push him he gets so angry & upset... i have tried a nutritional therapist and a dietition and have had no luck... but i do put my foot down with snacks and treats, if i say NO then its NO and i will not give in to him, if he cannot eat a healthy meal then he doesnt get any treats (choc bars,crisps etc). anyway his weight is fine as he gets plenty of exercise,if anything he is slightly underweight (4 pounds) but this is due to his ADHD medication.. i am trying my best with his bad eating habits and hopefully i will get there in the end but i know it doesnt happen over night, i also advise him to watch appropriate programmes (honey were killing the kids ) so he can see for himself instead of mum & dad having a go at him all the time,after watching the programme he does often say 'im going to try & eat healthy food' and the apples are gone before i know it but it doesnt last long...(i have 3 children, i dont have any eating problems with the other 2)

Answer 11

That is a bit extreme. Are you going to imprison the parents of anorexic kids too? Obesity is a problem that requires help not extremism.