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I spend a lot of time over on the DisBoards, which is a Disney/Florida message board. Yesterday someone posted a thread asking should severely obese kids be removed from their home for their own well being.
Most of the ppl said NO they didn't think the kids should be removed from the home for the bad parenting going on that made the kids obese.
I am on the fence about this one, because not ALL obese kids are obese because of bad parenting. Some kids may have medical conditions. How do you decide who gets taken away and who doesn't? How obese does the kid have to be before the state will step in and take charge of the situation?
Obviously MOST obese kids are obese because they over-eat. They are over fed by their parents and allowed to make very bad food choices. That is on the parent. That is the parents fault. The crappy food the kids get at school is not going to make a kid obese. That takes a lot of bad eating & junk food to make a kid obese.
Funny thing is... I know a family that would almost fit the bill for having an obese kid. But the parents are big too. The dad is severely over-weight and the kid is really big. They feed him junk and let him over eat and they cook really bad, fatty, greasy, cheesy foods for him. I have seen it. And since I do know someone who might fit the criteria if they were to introduce some new legislation like that, I have to say that NO I don't want to see kids taken away from their parents because they are obese.
How do you feel about it? Does the government have the right to step in if we are over-feeding our kids? They do step in if we are under-feeding our kids. So who should decide what is too fat?
Death to Play Dates!
4 hours ago
I have a child that is overweight. She never feels full. Not of food, love, attention. She can eat twice the amount of food as everyone else and still beg and cry for food. We redirect, set limits, go over proper serving sizes. We keep almost not food in the house that isn't whole, raw or ingredients to something but not generally palatable by itself. She hoardes food whenever she can, and eats whatever leftovers or discarded food she can. Our school offers free breakfast to all kids. If we feed her at home she will also eat at school, if there are extras she will beg for them. Her teachers report she will interrupt class to ask for snacks. If we send a lunch with her she will also get a hot lunch, which as a foster she always got, also for free. I have consulted dieticians, therapists, psychologists. It has come down to no food in the house, even ketchup and salad dressings. Maybe now that we have adopted her we may be able to do some sort of bio feedback but thus far our only option has been drugs which have their own risks. Of our seven children she is the only not in an ideal weight group. I know there is judgment placed on me when people see her, i feel it. If I could "fix" it, I would. Taking her from our home wouldn't fix it. Maybe she will out grow it, maybe she will struggle with it for ther entire life. I dont know, but having had dozens of foster kids in our home, removal from family should be reserved for the most dire situations.
ReplyDeleteGood question to ponder. There are those who think one should have a license to reproduce, too.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the same stupid, self-satisfied corrupt fucksticks who'd make the laws/issue licenses happen to be clueless assholes who make me wish birth control was retroactive.
Taking a child because of his or her weight? Fuck no. Fixing it so food manufacturers stop with the additives and chemicals that contribute in a huge way to America's obesity? Hell yes.
Chances of that happening? A big fat zero.
I don't believe that obese children should be taken from their homes. That could also be really emotionally damaging to the child and other family members. It's a bad idea.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of reasons why people are overweight. Work on the root of the problem instead of laying a bunch of blame and guilt.
If the government wants to step in (and I am not so sure they should) get the family into some nutritional counseling, therapy and/or an exercise program. Teach folks healthy cooking and urban gardening.
With the crappy food in the schools, vending machines in the middle and high schools, fast food on every corner, who knows what in the food we buy, it takes a concerted effort to eat healthy meals.
It would be great if healthy food was less expensive then crappy food. That plays into my grocery choices a lot.
This is an issue that needs a comprehensive solution.
Stupid government idea. So let's remove kids for being fat, thin, needing braces, having acne, bad haircuts, etc.
ReplyDelete