Should Parents of Obese Kids Lose Custody
Posted in Uncategorized on October 19th by Dan.
I stumbled across this article in Time Magazine. I’m sure it’s going to create a lot of controversy. We all KNOW childhood obesity is an out of control epidemic and it’s only going to get worse until we figure out how to EDUCATE, MOTIVATE and EMPOWER Americas youth. I’m working with a partner to create a program called "Ten Thousand Pounds." It’s our attempt at tackling the adolescent obesity epidemic.
That being said, I’m not so sure taking kids away from parents is the right solution. Regardless it’s happening more and more. I think parents are indeed responsible for their child’s well-being, and letting a child become morbidly obese can be critically dangerous for the child’s health. But how much are the parents to be blamed? We have a food industry that spends over 30 billion dollars a year on only marketing that entices us to eat. Are we, are parents, are kids, really at fault for succumbing to their desires?
I think the 33 percent of the population who doesn’t have a weight issue — will say the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the parents. But what about the other 66 percent of Americans, the majority of the population, who are overweight? How can they expect their children to do something they themselves cannot? They can’t. That’s EXACTLY why we have an adolescent obesity epidemic. The trickle down effect from parents to kids is immeasurable.
Here’s part of the article from Time Magazine:
Should morbidly obese children be taken from their parents? That’s the question an increasing number of countries are grappling with amid the Western world’s obesity epidemic.
The latest case to make headlines concerns a Scottish couple who lost custody of two of their six children on the basis of what was, their lawyer claims, a failure to reduce the kids’ weight following warnings from Scottish social services. The couple lost their Oct. 14 appeal in a case that is far from clear-cut — representatives of Dundee City say they would never remove children "just because of a weight issue." But obesity appears to be the primary reason South Carolina mom Jerri Gray lost custody of her 14-year-old, 555-lb. son in May. She was arrested after missing a court date to examine whether she should retain custody after doctors had expressed concern about her son’s weight to social services. The boy is currently living with his aunt, and his mother is facing criminal child-neglect charges. Full Article here.
If it was up to you what would you do? Would you take a morbidly obese kid away from their parents? Take into consideration childhood protection laws have changed, and if you (social worker) don’t report the parent, you could get in trouble. Again, what would you do?
Be well,
Dan Clark
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It’s a very good question. I don’t think that taking the children away is a good idea for a few reasons. First, if the child is obese, it does not mean that the parent is not a “good parent”. They may have some significant faults, but all parents do. That’s like saying that a child should have been taken away from their parents for not doing well in school. It takes more than one thing or quality to make a good parent.
Second, it doesn’t really fix the underlying problem. Yes, that child might be whisked away to a place where they can better monitor the child’s food and exercise but it’s not addressing the real problem: a lack of education. Certainly not every obese person is that way through a lack of education of proper diet, but it doesn’t help. There are a lot of people out there that don’t really know how to prepare nutritious food so they take the easy way out. I’m sure everyone falls victim to such things once in a while (lack of time or energy at the end of the day to make a proper supper).
To take the child away and not try to fix the problem at hand creates another problem. If the parents don’t realize what they have done and how to fix it, they might have more kids and perpetuate the problem. Furthermore, these obese children won’t have any way of knowing the right way to feed themselves if nobody teaches them what is right.
I believe that the parents need to be educated and possibly checked on periodically to make sure they’re doing the right hing, but separation doesn’t sound like it works at all.
I agree with you Brian that we must fix the underlying problem. We can do that through education, motivating and empowering Americas youth. But I also believe it’s a much tougher questing and can’t be compared to “not doing well in school.” A morbidly obese child is a child that is in serious danger from diabetes and other health maladies. And if parents are endangering their kids — isn’t it correct to take them away?
I agree the school analogy was a little weak (but it sounded alright at the moment). I also agree that a child that is obese has plenty of health risks in front of them if they do not try to fix it early enough. Part of my concern on this is knowing where to draw the line once the government gets involved. How obese should the child be before they are removed? How many times do the parents need to be visited before they lose their children? If it can save some kids from reaching the fate of that poor 555 lb. kid, then it might be something worth considering. Someone that heavy is at risk for more than just diabetes. The possibility of asthma and hypertension also seems to increase for someone as they pack on more weight.
I think I’m not too comfortable with the idea, but with proper safeguards to make sure it’s done right, it might be a viable option.
A lot of times parents cannot afford the better and more nutrious food. When money is tight (especially with medical bills like they are) many parents have to rely on Top Ramen and macaroni and cheese. Kids do need to get more active. Parents should try to keep kids away from the computers when they could be outside.
Agree – stepping on a potential landmine when taking kids from their parents and I’m cautious about too much govt intervention in our daily lives – but I’m also deeply concerned a out morbidly obese kids and the epidemic that is cripling our nation.
Agree with Jan – and believe we must find heathy affordable meals for familes. I’ve found if you give people an answer to a problem – that costs the same – they will do the right thing.
That’s also a good point, Dan, but it’s not always the easiest to do. As Jan said, people sometimes have to get by on cheap items like Top Ramen and don’t always have the resources to get the food that’s better for them. But I agree that if it is just as expensive to do the right thing, then people usually will fall back on that.
On a very similar topic, do you support placing a tax on items like soda that don’t give any nutritional value? Something like that would help to shrink the divide between cheap sodas and better for you drinks (a small step, but maybe a worthwhile one).
Interesting discussion. I have kids and have to say it’s a difficult decision when it’s so easy to feed them junkfood to instead feed them nutritious meals. It’s harder and more expensive, but certainly worth it. I think if the child is in jeopardy and could be facing serious medical consequences from being obese, the child should indeed be taken away.