Do you agree that parents' allowing their children to become obese is a form of child abuse?

Question

Kids are going to eat all the junk food you allow anywhere near them. Ultimately, parents are responsible for their childrens' eating habits. So considering all the health risks of obesity, are parents, in theory, abusing their children by allowing them to become obese?

Answer 1

absolutely you are responsible as a parent for your childs health and safety. Being obese is a risk to the childs physical and mental health by way of depression , Diabetes, hypertension and I'm not talking 30 years down the line I'm talking in childhood. many parents are under the impression that it's their child and they'll do as they please. WRONG. If the child were emmaciated it would obviously be abuse , but when a 300 pound highschooler hangs themselves because they're depressed it is as much mom and dads fault.
People shouldn't be having kids until they understand what the job REALLY entails , hard friggin work. Do I want to get up 3 times a night to feed my baby , break my back leaning over a bathtub to make sure he's clean do an extra load of laundry a day so he has clean towels and sheets, forego movies new clothes and a social life so I can make sure I have enough money to feed and house him, miss my favorite programs so I can lay on the floor and exercise him eat a cold dinner every night and shower everyother day because he needs me and a million other things ...Well I signed up for the job and noone said it would be easy and i'm sure i wont be getting a medal for my efforts but thats what being a parent is all about . So these people need to stop being lazy and cook dinner not pick up mcdonalds and make sure their kids grow up as healthy as possible.
Sorry this was more of a rant than a answer.

Answer 2

It's neglect but should be considered abuse, like no discipline. I would feel guilt if I had an obese child, I know how they get picked on through life. The low self esteem it brings and the lack of breathe. A whole bunch of ailments to follow, I'd say they're not living a healthy life style. It's like loving your dog to death with table scraps, the vet says your a bad pet owner, that's bad parenting. They know themselves, most of them, that their problem is food. It's like me passing a lit cigarette to my 3 year old. Why would you want your precious children to have your bad habits.

Answer 3

It is neglect, not abuse. And yes, sometimes children need to be saved from neglect. But please don't put the two things into the same category. Threat of imminent harm is way different than poor eating habits.

Have you seen what the schools are feeding children lately and calling nutritious? If the child isn't getting good nutrition at home, where are they going to get it if not in school?

Answer 4

Yes, I do think that it is a form of child abuse. Lots of parents, especially African Americans, think that an obese child is cute, and for some reason they think it shows that they are healthy.

Answer 5

I think perhaps neglect would be a more appropriate word than abuse.

I must admit however, that while I would indeed punish parents for such things if it were up to me, other things would take precedence.

In my opinion forcing one's children to attend church services against their will should be looked upon as a form of mental abuse and should be viewed as little different than brainwashing.

In my opinion certain grandparents should be held accountable for their actions with regards to their methods of parenting.
In my opinion parents should not make it a practice to order their children about and offer little reason for their actions other than "Just because", "Because I said so.", etc...
This offers the child little reason to give their own children this particular rule later in life as they can find no reason for it to be a rule other than "Just because".
Even if this particular rule serves an actual purpose and is for the good of the child there should be a reason for it.
The child should be aware of the reason for it.
Without a reason for it they have little reason to do it without fear of punishment from their parents.
When that threat of punishment disappears what reason do they have to follow this rule?
What reason do they have for telling their children to follow this rule? Their own parents never gave them one and they resented having to follow it themselves. They then have little reason to give their own children this rule and as a result their children sometimes act like complete shits.

The children suffer the consequences for their actions, their parent's are looked upon as poor role-models yet somehow the grand parents escape accountability.

These are only two examples of what I believe should be a higher priority than parents who neglect the eating patterns of their children.

Not that it isn't an issue, not that I don't believe it's a form of neglect, possibly abuse, but a lesser concern in my opinion.
Immediate health concerns are more important as is behavior.

Answer 6

Yes! It is. Some of you guy's are a trip. Why is it so hard to call it like it is? If your hurting your kids ... your abusing them ... period! The very definition of the word "Abuse" deals with "excess to the point of detriment." How can this NOT be considered child abuse?

Answer 7

should we also blame the schools, have you looked at the food they feed the kids. yes we need to teach kids to eat healthy and exercise. but look at it. at schools they tell the kids to eat healthy and need to exercise and yet they serve unhealthy foods and they cut out p.e. for lower income families, buying fresh veggies and fruits cuts into the food budget a lot. i would love to buy healthier things for my family to eat but i also like being able to feed my family and not have them hungry. there is a big difference in the food bill when you try to add fresh food. it will add 30 dollars easy to the bill and you don't get that much. so are you going to blame the parents that can't buy the healthier food and claim its child abuse. are you going to blame the schools for not having the healthier food too. are you going to blame the big companies for making the unhealthy food cheaper for families to buy. its really sad when you have to choose box meal instead of making something completely homemade because you can make one meal for about 10 bucks tops or the other for 25. that makes a big difference

Answer 8

I don't think I would call it child abuse. I think it is teaching the child bad habits and setting them up for problems in the future.

Answer 9

Well that is true,But you cant take everything away from the kids just make sure that parents dont over feed thier childern junk food

Answer 10

Yes, I think it is emotionally abusive to deny someone the tools they need to cope with their life. When parents give their kid a cookie to stop crying they have failed to teach them the ability to deal with a problem.