Obese Child Taken From Mom

[MJS]

http://news.yahoo.com/obese-third-grader-taken-mom-placed-foster-care-201731761.html

A Cleveland third grader who weighed more than 200 pounds was taken from his mother after officials reportedly said she did not do enough to help the boy, who suffered from a weight-related health issue, to lose weight.“They are trying to make it seem like I am unfit, like I don’t love my child,” the boy’s mother, who was not identified, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “It’s a lifestyle change and they are trying to make it seem like I am not embracing that. It is very hard, but I am trying.”
Officials first became aware of the boy’s weight after his mother took him to the hospital last year while he was having breathing problems, the newspaper reported. The child was diagnosed with sleep apnea and began to be monitored by social workers while he was enrolled in a program called “Healthy Kids, Healthy Weight” at the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.

Thoughts?

 

[granfire]

Feeding a child too much is as bad as feeding it too little.

The poor kid will have shot joints and all the other good things that come with being fat, along with the mental anguish from being the fat kid when the world only loves skinny people.

Sleep apnea? It is believed to cause heart attacks.

 

[MJS]

While this incident may sound extreme, it probably was a good thing the child was taken away. Who the hell lets a child that age, or any age for that matter, gain that much weight? No, the mother may not've been physically abusing the kid, but allowing him to eat that much...come on.

OTOH, kids learn what they live, so if the parent(s) don't take care of themselves, it'll just spill over to the kids.

 

[MaxiMe]

While this incident may sound extreme, it probably was a good thing the child was taken away. Who the hell lets a child that age, or any age for that matter, gain that much weight? No, the mother may not've been physically abusing the kid, but allowing him to eat that much...come on.

OTOH, kids learn what they live, so if the parent(s) don't take care of themselves, it'll just spill over to the kids.

While I agree with parents taking care of their kids. I didn't see anything in the article that pointed directly on the parents feeding habits. So Could it be as in the related article a medical issue, not a too many twinky's issue? I think some more info is needed.

 

[MJS]

While I agree with parents taking care of their kids. I didn't see anything in the article that pointed directly on the parents feeding habits. So Could it be as in the related article a medical issue, not a too many twinky's issue? I think some more info is needed.

Ahh..good point. So, I stand corrected on that, if that in fact was not a factor. But, if it was a medical condition one would have to ask...why wasn't this kid getting help? I have to wonder how fast the child was gaining weight, but if in fact it is a medical issue, the next question would have to be....what was being done? I'd like to think that doctors would be looking into this, getting other opinions, etc. Of course, its possible the mom wasn't taking the kid to a doc.

 

[MaxiMe]

Ahh..good point. So, I stand corrected on that, if that in fact was not a factor. But, if it was a medical condition one would have to ask...why wasn't this kid getting help? I have to wonder how fast the child was gaining weight, but if in fact it is a medical issue, the next question would have to be....what was being done? I'd like to think that doctors would be looking into this, getting other opinions, etc. Of course, its possible the mom wasn't taking the kid to a doc.

True, it did state that she took the kid to the hospital. I'm guessing the hospital triaged the kid got him stable and sent them on his way (hospital doing its job). As far as what happened medically before that we don't know. So I tend to fall back on Mom was doing the best she could and either her or the family doc was missing something.
Thing I try to remember, most doc's are smart folks and they can guess pretty good at what's going on, but they are still "Practiceing medicine".

 

[granfire]

LOL, practicing medicine...


but when an 8 yo kid reaches 200 pounds, drastic measures have to be taken.

I mean, you don't have to take the kid to the doctor's office to see it's not well.

It reminds me of the people who surround those obese people that can't leave the house and they just shrug and say 'I can't do nothing about it'

many years back my husband asked what would happen if he got that big and I told him then: food is in the kitchen, you can't get there, tough luck.

kids don't shop by themselves they have little input on what is being served. So it all falls back on the parent.

 

[Dirty Dog]

There is nothing in that article (or others that I have seen) to suggest that there is any sort of medical problem causing his obesity. The "weight related health issue" is the sleep apnea. Bluntly, he's too fat to breath properly. That is the #1 cause of obstructive sleep apnea.
I understand why this happened, but this is certainly a slippery slope issue. Do we next start to take kids away from smokers? After all, children of smokers are about 6 times more likely to have chronic lung problems (asthma, etc) than children of non-smokers. And they are about 20 times more likely to be smokers.
Where do we draw the line?

 

[Tez3]

I'd hope everything was done to work with the mother before taking the child away, it would really have to be the last resort surely.