Should parents that feed their kids nothing but junk food be charged with neglect or abuse?

Question

All too often you see overweight kids, and childhood obesity is running rampant in our communities. You see these kids with donuts and chips and cookies and ice cream and soda. But you never see them with apples, yogurt or cheese...when you see the parents, they are almost always just as big. When you run into them shopping, the cart is full of sugar and instant gratification meals, mac and cheese and canned crap. These things are fine once in while, but you know these folks and you know that this is all they eat, never tossed salad or grilled lemon chicken with steamed asparagus and rice pilaf. These children are headed for lives of ridicule and an obscene amount of health problems....now, this question is for the junk food eaters....NOT health problems that cause weight gain..I am an average sized adult with 3 boys, all of my boys are average sized...my 4 yr old weighs 45lbs, my 10 yr old-60lbs& my 11 yr old-70. I know an 11 year old child that weighs over 120lbs...healthy?

Again, I must add that this question is about the parents that don't offer their children healthy foods but ONLY junk food...and NOT underlying health problems. I am NOT ridiculing ANYONE here..forgive me please if I worded my question in an offensive way...The 120 lb 11 yr old I mentioned is my little sister. I have many family members that are obese and overweight..my mother is one of them...I asked the questions based soley on the fact that I have seen this in my own life, my aunt has 2 daughters and the 3 of them are overweight as my aunt never offered healthy meals to my cousins. I babysat them and the only chicken that was there was processed, the only beef was salisbury steak frozen meals...mac and cheese was a frequent flier as was instant brownies and canned soup...I am not asking because I think they should, but I also don't think they shouldn't...I am asking just to see what everyone else thinks...Thank you for answering..:D

Answer 1

ln my opinion, if the diet is exclusively junk food, then yes, it's neglect. lt's up to parents to cater appropriately for their child's physical needs, and feeding them junk food is not good enough! Also, as well as the obese children, l think a lot of people are overlooking the malnourished kids, the ones who are soooo skinny, because their diet contains no proper nutrients. lt drives me wild!!! My kids eat what we eat, without complaint, because they know that is all they will get!

Answer 2

The children you are thinking of were an extreme case and there was more going on than just the food they ate. I don't like junk food and I don't like seeing fat kids. BUT if a child is being loved and cared for and is living with parents or a parent that he or she loves and needs then no I think it would be unthinkably cruel to put them into care just because the parents don't know how to buy and cook well. Parenting courses, a medically enforced change in diet (this happens in the UK) and better nutritional education of the parents and the child is much more beneficial. I am working with an obese 4 year old (here in the UK) who is having his diet changed and his parents are fully on board and willing to learn. If he was taken from his family he would fall apart and the damage would affect more than just his health.

Answer 3

This is a touchy subject. I agree that there are some parents who have too much junk food in the house but sometimes its a cheap alternative. I know as a kid if I didn't eat the junk I wouldn't have had anything to eat at lunch because the junk was cheap. Also you have to contend with parents who don't want Big Brother telling them how to raise their kids. A person may judge a person with an overweight child when they simply could be on medications (like steroids) or have medical conditions that cause them to gain weight. We can't just remove all overweight kids from homes. This could also be terrible when it comes to custody battles. I know I am frustrated to hear the statistics on obese kids from the government when they just cut a schools budget not allowing the extra curricular activities like sports teams. I may not have answered your question but it would take more than this forum to answer it.

Answer 4

Frustrating, isn't it? Just last night at the market, i saw a hugely obese woman with three hugely obese children, with a cart FULL of chips, cookies and soda. If was horrifying, she had my families snacks for a year in that cart. But once you invite the government into your home (and inviting them into your neighbors home is the same as inviting them into your own), there's no telling where they would stop.

Perhaps the schools could implement a policy similar to the vision screening policy. If they send home that note saying your kid needs glasses, you are required by the school to take them to the eye doctor. Maybe if they sent that note saying your kid exceeds the BMI, you would be required to see a nutritionist. You are required by schools to have vaccines, as well, so it would seem that they have the power to enforce such a policy. I agree that something should be done, but pressing charges could open a door that would lead to other doors no one wants opened.

Answer 5

I know a 14 year old that eats very healthy meals and was on her track team and still weighs over 200 pounds. She is diabetic and has other medical problems that make it hard for her to loose the weight she needs to loose. And I have a heart condition that as a child the medication caused me to gain weight to the point of obeseity. I was not allowed to do most types physical activity until after I had my operation when I was 13 and am still trying to loose the weight now that I am 27.
You should not jump to conclusions about ALL over weight children! It is unfair and makes them feel like what they and their parents are doing to make the situation better is worthless. I am healthy though still a little over weight. All my tests have been good and I eat a well balanced diet as does my 14 year old neighbor. Your ridicule helps no one! It only makes the ones that are trying and having little or no success feel worse about thier situation.

Answer 6

No they shouldn't be charged, how would you know that junk food is ALL they eat?? What happened to the right to privacy in this country??? Is big broither watching all the time now?
I think minding your own business is the best policy, if you and your kids are healthy then good for you.

Answer 7

I'm certainly not defending people who feed their children junk, but if you believe that this is abuse then what about parents who smoke around their children or let their children smoke, parents who don't make their children brush their teeth, parents who let their kids watch too much TV, parents who push their children too hard athletically or academically, parents who don't get their children immunized, and the list can go on and on.

Answer 8

My 190 pound 16-year-old could whip your kids' asses.

Answer 9

That's a scary question.......Being policed as parents....... what will come next........ One thing leads to another...