should obese children be removed by their parents?

Question

if they are super obese and are cant stop eating. should child services step in and remove them from their family until they can contorl their eating

here's a link, please read it.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-02-26-obese-boy_x.htm

Answer 1

I think that's a dangerous,slippery slope. What's next? Taking away a child because they watch too much TV? Play too many video games? Go out to eat too much?

I think it will do the boy more harm to take him away from his family. He'll be likely to slip into depression and destructive behavior, which won't help his obesity issue.

I think the best solution is education. Start with the mother. Educate her on how this is hurting her son and ways to deal with him in a supporting, healthy manner to help control his appetite. But she also needs to be taught effective forms of discipline if he is sneaking food and to get him to obey her when she says no more. Include in the education nutrition and exercise information.

Then educate the boy on many similar subjects, with the mother as a help instead of a hindrance due to her ignorance.

Also, the boy should be checked by doctors. My nephew got extremely overweight for a time and had to have a lot of help to get his weight down. But it was not easy for his mother. He would freak out and get violent until he was given something to eat. He would often have to be physically restrained from shoving food down his throat. Once, before his mother could get to him, he shoved four pieces of chicken down his throat and got the bones stuck in his throat and threw up because he couldn't take the time to chew. He is only just now 10 years old and this has been an ongoing battle since he was about 4 year old. His family has to treat food as one would an addictive substance. He is carefully monitored on how much he eats and put into all kinds of physical activites, yet he is still overweight and still has an eating problem.

You can't lay all of this at the mother's feet, she needs help with this. And that help is not to take him away. The boy and mother obviously love each other and just need help. Not to be seperated.

And where is the father in all this? He should be helping. Fathers are great at getting their kids to obey them and instilling discipline in them. He needs to be there for his son, too.

Answer 2

We just had that very situation here in Australia. I didn't catch the whole thing but they chose to leave the child with his family. I think parents should be held accountable as they are the ones who provide there children with food. Should they be taken away? I don't think so. I do think that the parents need to be educated in healthy eating and lifestyle habits and monitored. If there is no change in the life style then perhaps removing the child for there own safety is probably called for, and just mighty give the parents a wake up call.

Answer 3

I saw that story on TV a few days ago. I think it's horrible that a parent would allow their child to eat so much that the child would become obese. To top the story off, the mother, who said her son hates fruits and vegetables, gave him a plate of fried ham and french fries to eat, and, as he ate, she sat and smoked a cigarette! Geesh.
I am not sure if the child should be removed, but I do feel that social services should step in and take an active role in teaching the parents how to properly feed their child and to get the child active.
I feel that it is a form of child abuse.

On the flip side, in Louisville, Kentucky, a 19-year-old girl with cerebral palsy was removed from her mother's home because the mother was not feeding her. At 4'4" tall, the girl weighed 33, yes that's 33, pounds. Her mother said that her daughter refused to eat, so she didn't feed her. The girl was hospitalized, and the doctors said the girl didn't have a problem with eating and ate right away.

If this girl was removed because of starvation, perhaps a child who is being fed too much should be removed, too. Both abuses are inhumane.

Answer 4

I once saw where the parents had to put a lock on the refrigerator.It's not all the parents fault,it has to do with some kind of defect they were born with.As long as the parents are trying to work with a doctor,I don't think that they should remove the child from its parents.

Answer 5

When you think about the harm they are doing to their child it really is a form of abuse. That being said, I don't think removal of the child is the answer. Education and monitoring by a social service agency would benefit both the parent and the child. The goal should be a healthy intact family.

Answer 6

I think it is better if made it as an agreement between the child service and the family to help the child and this should be approved by the parents, not by any other institution.

Answer 7

the child is not(or should not)be the dinner decision maker so the blame falls in the lap of the parent.all in all,i dont think the child should be moved but the law could enforce the parents to do a weight loss/maintenance program in addition to excerise and healthy eating.

Answer 8

There was a story in the news last night about obese children and are their parents abusing them. It was a hot topic and many calls came in!

Answer 9

no its not fair on the family they should give the family help not tear it a part what good does that do .his got a eating problem an the doctors an the social services should have a talk with the family an see what they can do.

Answer 10

wow, i feel so bad for that kid, and all the other kids with weight problems such as that. i dont know what should be done about it but i think they should betaken because
1.)the parents arent keeping him healthy
2.)he could die of obesity

i disgree because
1.)a child should not have to be removed from his family
2.) this could result in an unhealthy mental state of being.