February 28, 2007
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Obesity and Child Neglect
A story that has been in the news is concerning a boy who weighed 218 pounds at 8 years old.
Social workers were threatening to take the child away saying it was because he was being neglected. They were concerned about his eating habits. His mother claimed he always ate a high volume of food and he just naturally grew. There are those who feel that the child was being singled out because of some of the stigma associated with obesity. Here is the link: Link
In the article I was reading related to this story was the question “Is it neglect to let a child become obese?”
Is it neglect to let a child become obese?
Comments (130)
not neccesarily
it’s probably more like laziness.
Ha! You think this is what people in poorer nations crack up thinking about when they think of America?
When a child is 8 and that fat it is the folks fault. It isn’t neglect, its not being able to lay down the law.
If there is no medical condition causing it, yes.
I think it’s probably just laziness.. instead of preparing a real meal, she probably just brought home pizza and fast food or let him eat whatever he wanted.
It could be. It could not be. Can’t make a general overarching statement.
Some kids just have genetic or glandular problems. And others have parents who don’t put limits on their food consumption, causing them health problems and whatnot. I don’t know if it’s neglect, probably not enough to take a child away over, but it’s certainly not good either.
(Does the CPA send shivers up anyone else’s spines?)
But in any case, there can’t be a black-and-white rule in this sort of thing, you have to take it case by case.
No, but the parents should be a little more responsible.
well.. if we’re talking about a younger kid that has no idea what he/she is eating, then yes.
id say.. but if we’re talking about someone like.. 10ish or higher than its pretty much the kids
choice, and if the parents know.. they cant really control it.. (you know what i mean)
I wouldn’t necessarily call it “neglect” but rather “irresponibility” or “poor parenting.” “Neglect” to me is like “not paying attention.” This child obviously is not cooking or buying his own food, so I think he has not been neglected in the slightest. Neglect would almost be BETTER for him, so long as the neglect went only as far as neglecting to feed him crap.
yes and no. But more yes.
not entirely the parents fault…
Yes, it’s absolutely neglect.
It is a problem of discipline. If the child is not taught how to eat properly and discipline themself from earting as much and whatever they want to it wil never change. Clearly it is the parents who need to step up to the plate lol ( sorry ) and take charge
No really, it is really hard to do something about child obesity.
The kid is sneaking food. It sounds like she’s doing her damnedest to discipline her child. I think Children’s Services has other things to focus on and they need to stop telling people how to raise their kids.
No. It could be a lot of things, maybe even irresponsibility, but if we took kids away from every irresponsible parent, we’d have to build more orphanages.
Hi Dan’s Wife!!
Depends on the reason the kid’s obese…..I think some people are genetically predesposed to be heavy…..just as some are genetically thin.
Candy
i don’t think the parents are completely to blame, but he should be taught healthy eating and stuff.
*HUGS*
laziness is a form of neglect. as is letting your kid stuff his face to the point where, by age eight, he weighs twice what i do at twenty.
Oh my gosh! That boy is twice as big as me and he’s only flippin’ 8! I think that it is definitely neglect. You’d think once he started growing at such a quick rate she would have taken him to the doctor to see if something was wrong instead of letting him balloon up to that size.
Just wait till he hits his growth spurt. It’ll all even out then.
In a country where most of the population is overweight, I doubt that it is entirely the parents neglect that causes kids to become obese.
Probably.
25TH!!!
Yes. Children can’t decide what they eat for dinner or cook for themselves. It’s a parent’s responsibility to make healthy decisions for their children until they are old enough to choose for themselves.
I wouldn’t necessarily call it “neglect” but rather “irresponibility” or “poor parenting.” “Neglect” to me is like “not paying attention.” This child obviously is not cooking or buying his own food, so I think he has not been neglected in the slightest. Neglect would almost be BETTER for him, so long as the neglect went only as far as neglecting to feed him crap.
Posted 2/28/2007 8:20 AM by Ancient_Scribe
My thoughts exactly.
I believe it is neglect. Children depend on you for nourishment, if you weren’t feeding your child enough it would be child neglect, because it can cause severe health problems- even death. The same applies to obesity, it can cause severe health problems- even death.
A combination of a parent’s apathy and a child being lazy. The parent needs to make sure the kid is eating somewhat healthy and developing decent eating habits. The kid needs to stay active in this sit and home and play games day and age.
I wouldn’t call it neglect, but poor care. There was just a show on TLC about this same issue earlier this week (i think it was called “Tubby Toddlers”…basically the parents of the children didn’t know how to set the boundaries for their children’s eating, didn’t know how much a child should consume in a day, or in some cases even didn’t know how to read a basic nutrition label…part of it is on the parents for not educating themselves, but part of it can be on the kids too–i believe that earlier than the children on the show and the child in this article, children can be taught that being active is important. It’s also about children’s choices too–8 years old or 80 years old, there’s choices. I grew up always being larger–and for most of my life i have known better and just made poor choices.
You can’t control your kids every moment of every day, but you can try to teach them to eat right and buy food that is good for them to have around the house. Maybe the parent’s don’t know about nutrition and should be persuaded to take a class or see a counselor regarding. Maybe there are other issues going on with the kid and this is how he expresses (or doesn’t express) his emotions. I think it is wrong to just point a finger at the parents and holler ‘neglect’.
There are many forms of neglect — or lack of discipline — it’s just in a more obvious way. When kids aren’t taught how to say “no” to themselves, then they overspend, overeat, never read a book, never excercise, etc. The kids is obviously in need of a change in lifestyle, but I doubt he’s alone . . .
Damn, why is this such a big issue all the time?
You get fat by not treating yourself properly. In this case, it is the child’s guardian’s responsibility to ensure that he is leading a healthy lifestyle.
…and we wonder why America is the world’s biggest joke.
Maybe not neglect, but poor parenting.
When I was 2 years old I only weighed 18 pounds. My parent’s were not neglecting me, I was threw up every time I ate.
oh, wait. He’s British.
That’s strange. Now I’m all thinking about the Dursleys.
Well, if you read the whole story, you’ll learn that the Family Services over there has been trying to work with the family to help them, and the family has intentionally missed all kinds of appointments with doctors, nurses, and family services to help get this child on the right track. He is eating all the wrong things, and his family gives into him, rather than steers him toward healthy things. They are neglecting his health, yes.
Probably is…
That kid is going to die before he’s 30, according to an article I read.
So yes.
If we think starving a kid is neglect, then why wouldn’t over feeding the kid be neglect?
except in cases like high thyroid, or other genetic disorders,
yes. it very well may be.
if there is no medical reason, yes. as a parent, you should be aware of what your child eats. give him nutrititious food and teach him not to overconsume.
Yes
but is it worse than the quality of care he would get from the state? No
It could be neglect, it could be something else, such as ignorance or don’t-care-ishness, if you know what I mean. Even if someone doesn’t care about their looks, at least care about his/her health.
there’s simply no way an eight-year old should weigh 215, sorry. an eight-year-old can’t be expected to make healthy eating decisions; it’s the parents’ role, and they’re not doing their jobs.
That sounds pretty negligent. But you can’t take some kid away from his family because you’re not a fan of the way he or she is being raised. Obviously there are safety issues (e.g. abusive parent), but stretching those to include everything is ridiculous.
YES!
Not only do parents neglect their kids in this way, they also neglect themselves. It’s rare to see thin parents with fat kids, but it’s typical to see fat parents with fat kids.
it’s horrible.
neglect I think is the wrong word. The parents are probably there, feeding the kids, watching them, blah blah blah, but it’s probably not neglect, as that word means paying little or no attention to. It’s probably something more along the lines of wanting to keep the kid happy and giving the kid too much candy/junk food/whatever and less vegies. I’m not explaining myself very well…
Bleh… again, I think neglect is the wrong word.
I don’t think the word “neglect” really explains it very well. Lots of people are saying it’s failure to lay down the law, and I don’t think it’s exactly that either. If a Mom has let a child get that heavy (and there’s no medical condition), she has probably been actively over-feeding him, where as neglect is a passive kind of thing. It might just be the result of ignorance (not knowing what is an apporopriate amount of food to give a child of any particular age); the parent may not intend ill for the child. There could also very well be an over-indulgence issue. That’s my assessment of the situation. The solution? Educate the parent and child about healthy eating habits (and excercise). There’s a lot they could do without taking him away from his family. It’s just a question of if they have the time and resources to do it.
What ever happened to fat camp?
Hey Dan, You’d better get over to the Lady’s site, http://www.xanga.com/LadyofAvalonLand and see what is going on
Bad parenting
Yes. And I’m sick of this “stigma about obesity” whatever, you know, it’s actually a problem, like that could cause you harm. Not like racism where it’s for no reason. Unless the kid is on medication that is making it gain quickly it’s the mum’s fault and he’s not just chubby.. that’s different.
Unless there are medical problems causing extreme growth, I would place responsibility for the obesity on the parent. This may be a fast growing boy, but it looks like he is growing “out” as much as “up”.
Even if the parents can’t control everything the child eats, they can still control how the fridge and cupboards are stocked, and they can control what they give him for dinner. If every meal they give him consists of “french fries, meat and buttered bread”, then of course he’s going to have problems.
Well that depends. If she’s giving him whatever he wants and sitting him in front of the computer or tv so that he’s out of her hair, then yes. And then there’s the part of just giving him decent food. An apple would probably be a good start. As for his “eating a large volume of food”, if he doesn’t learn portion control he’s going to continue to “eat a large volume of food” and be like the 900lb woman that had to be hoisted out of her house so that she could go to a treatment facility to help her lose weight. Obesity is a slippery slope…
I think there is a difference in neglect and not understand good eating habits. Who knows, she may have sat him in front of the TV with a package of oreos so she didn’t have to be a parent—but we really don’t any more of the story than the kid is 8 and weighs 218 lbs.
Frankly, I would expect a kid who was suffering from neglect to be underweight.
yes…unless it’s a condition then no
I don’t think it’s for us to say. I mean, who knows why the child is obese? There are actual, medical reasons why some children are heavier than others, and I did see this story and I didn’t catch why he’s so big. I think it was her family that turned her in and that is so, so out of line, unless of course there’s a lot more going on that hasn’t been reported.
Ok, so I just went back and actually read the story, and I sort of wonder why you would continue to feed an extremely overweight child meals of french fries and buttered bread. Where are the veggies? I mean, my child won’t eat veggies, but at least I pump him full of fruit. Hmm, perhaps I typed too soon.
There is a 10 year old living next door to me who is about the same size as this kid. I wonder if I should make a report to DCFS.
Who is deciding how much is too much? Is the government stepping in again to determine how we should live? A better solution is to take an honest look at whether kids are being taught to be good parents and to raise kids to understand that there are good choices to be made early on in life. I can go off on a tangent with this, but I won’t. Just some thoughts.
As far as I know they took “Home Ec” out of the school and went to “Life Classes” teaching with books. They could bring that back in and seriously teach boys and girls what good choices are, instead of the “How to Decorate Your Food”.
Yes, I agree that some parents indulge their children WAY passed what is normal. The generations coming up now have the mentality of “give the child what he wants when he wants it”. It is also a generation that has been brought up with very loose parenting, not what would be considered strict. Other factors: no chores, no outside jobs, latch-key kids, computers, video games, you name it, it has all changed. I can say this because I raised my first three very strict, but circumstances changed and my last two are being raised differently. You really have to put all the factors in and not just look at one issue. Yes, the child is obese, but what are all the factors?
I remember when our big thing for the week was to go roller-skating Friday and Saturday nights. Now, it is sitting in your own room, with a computer, a cell phone, and downloading music to your iPod.
Bet he gets made fun of in school… poor fella.
When are people going to learn that the more we ask of the government, the more it is going to bear its own will down upon us?
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It makes more sense to see if the child has something biological that is causing the weight gain. If that has been ruled out, its a better idea to educate the parent on proper meals and proportions. Its not abusive as much as it is a lack of education and exercise.
it seems like more than a black and white issue…
Fight Mental Illness Stigma
It probably has to do with the parent not being able to say no,I bet that there are not many boundaries in that home and some good counseling could help.I would rather see the gov help a mom like that to do better than take the child away.
This story is from England , I think most people are assuming it is here in the states.
It is NOT hard to do something against child obesity.
Take your kids to the playground. Make them run around. Have them come home with dirty clothes and scraped knees. An active (and fun) lifestyle can mean the difference between an obese kid and a non obese kid.
Parents, YOU are responsible if your child is obese. Do something about it.
Parents are obligated to care for and foster healthy lifestyles in thier offspring. Hence, to neglect in that given duty leads to a variety of issues. Yes, neglect and abuse are often thought of starving, but feeding a child to the point of 218 pounds at 8 years of age sets him up for a lifetime of diabetes, respiration problems, bone/joint problems, cardiac problems. These are life threatening, just as starving a child is life threatening. It is neglect; neglect of parental duties to care for the child and keep them safe mentally, physically, socially, and otherwise.
Big Brother doesn’t want his children to be fat. He wants them to be healthy, and happy.
if the parent is trying to help him be healthy then its not neglect, its a disorder. However, if the parents is letting the child eat only junk food then I woul say they should geta warning and if they still refuse to give the child healthy food and encourage excercise then I would say maybe they should take the child. Of course, the first then an obese person normally does when they are sad and depressed, such as being taken from their family, would be to eat.
- Daniel (doubledb)
This is the first time I have seen this kids picture, if I were his mother, I would have him tested for Prader-Willi. I think it is neglect if the child does not have a genetic condition for his weight problem. It is neglectful, but it does not warrant the child being taken away. Children are left in homes with worse abuse going on and that’s just scary. I think the British government is using this poor woman as an example.
Bad parenting but not neglect, if the child were starving to death and underweight that would be neglect.
Its not neglectful for parents to allow their children to become over weight. As we all know, you have to walk a fine line with your kids teaching them what’s good to eat, what’s bad and ensuring they get proper exercise.
THEN, if you’re over zealous, you’re to blame for causing an eating disorder or something… Its a fine line.
not neglect, try idiocy of the mother D:
it depends. you cant force a kid to excercise but you can provide them with helathy foods and keep junk food out of your house.why does everything have to be blamed on everyone else?
why cant people be considered responsible for theirselves?
we have an excuse for everything..seriously.
i mean..i dont care how old the kid is..if theyre being told that theyre not healthy..and they act like they dont give a shit…well…its their fault…
you’d have to investigate the cause, but in most cases it is a lack of discipline and a lack of caring for the child’s well being.
I would consider it mild neglect, but it is in NO WAY bad enough for CPS to threaten to take him away from his family. My family has taking care of foster children for the State for a long time, and believe me, there are so many legitimately bad cases out there that these social workers should be ashamed of themselves for wasting time and resources on this case. Leave those people alone.
I’d have to go with a resounding yes in most situations.
Neglect is not the word for it. Neglect would be if they never fed him and they obviously are feeding him. The parents need to be responsible and make him eat less and exercise.
This is a British case which has proved controversial – the mother has been accused of exploiting her son’s condition to get on TV. It seems there is a family history of inability to control their children. The boy’s grandmother used to give in to his mother when she was a child, according to one tabloid anyway. If the mother was hoping that she would gain sympathy by going public it hasn’t really worked and she was lucky that he was allowed to stay at home. Now it won’t just be the authorities watching to see if she lays down the law.
On some levels it comes down to discipline issues. Does an 8 year old really tear the house apart when he can’t get his own way? If I’d tried that on at his age I’d have got a thick ear and be put in my room!
Obesity levels in the UK, and Europe, are rapidly approaching those in the US – particularly amongst the young.
There are a number of things that could contribute to a situation such as this. A likely one is that parents are so afraid of losing their children for neglecting them that they always give them what they want. Another thing is that society has been getting more and more sedentary for years and many of these obese children have parents who are overweight and rarely do any physical activity. These two can combine to get kids who have no desire to be active because their parents are not active and eat more than a kid who is active because his parents are scared to say no. The government has nearly eliminated the ability of parents to say no or to punish their children with the threat of taking your children away if you do.
The boy’s mom says that her son is always hungry and was born hungry. She needs to be able to say no and to lock the fridge to keep her son out of the fridge. Also, the more you eat the more you can eat and need to eat to satisfy your hunger. If you eat less then with time you cannot eat as much even if you wanted to.
Neglect, no. Bad parenting? Absolutely.
Somewhat, if physical complications arise.
It could be other things, such as a thyroid problem.
It’s just laziness. She probably just brings home Taco Bell instead of cooking. Or lets him eat whatever. If this kid was say 12 then it’s his fault.
it truly depends on the situation. to feed the habbit it is, but if the kid eats a normal, not american normal…normal norma, and he/she is still fat then no.
Derek
If he sat on me I’d die so I think he should get help before he kills someone..
Neglect isn’t the word. They’re obviously paying attention to him and making sure that he gets fed, lol…
And I don’t think it’s necessarily bad parenting either. The parents more than likely don’t know how to make healthy choices for the family when it comes to nutrition. And sometimes it’s hard to say no to your children when they want something. This is probably more the case of parents giving in, and the child should NOT be taken away. That’s stupid.
beside genetics, i would say it is the parents responsibility to get out and about with their youngsters.
I thought neglected children don’t have food to eat.
It obviously seems as if his parents love him so I don’t think it’s a case of neglect.
I just don’t think his parents care what he eats.
People say “negative stigma” about obesity like it’s a bad thing. Of COURSE there’s a negative stigma about obesity, it’s terribly unhealthy! Not all lifestyles are equal…
It’s not neglect…but it is not being able to tell her son NO.
It’s the schools neglecting. The crap they give us…with no healthy, low-fat options. It’s disgusting.
Lol, anyways, I think in his case more genetics should be checked out, but what he eats is also bad.
Not neglect…but yeah, it is the parents fault.
If it’s not an illness or something causing it, I guess? Eh…in some cases I think it’s neglect, but not all of them. You can’t always be around your child, so if they get obese off things they buy at school, you’ve got no control over it.
naaaaaaah
Yes. And they’re white trash too. I saw the story on “Today” this morning, she was smoking a drag in the living room, and look at her hair. Eww. Seriously. Wash it once in a while. And the kid is just gross.
YES. definitely. when parents take their 13-month-old child to mcdonalds and start feeding him chicken nuggets… that is SHITTY PARENTING. i am pretty skinny and i definitely owe my eating habits to my parents. they aren’t like crazy but they didn’t let me suck down sugary juice and cocoa puffs during my childhood! they actually cared enough to let me be healthy!!! i feel so bad for children whose willpower is not yet developed, and their parents are feeding them coke and poptarts like there’s no tomorrow.
Neglect, as defined by the Child Protective Services Department of the State of California: A child is neglected by a parent or caretaker who fails to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care or supervision. Through this definition it can be seen that the department does not discriminate between children who have been starved or those who have been overfed, rather the matter at had is the failure to provide for the child’s health and supervision.
According to the article the woman let her son have access to the refridgerator when ever he wanted, and let him eat junk food without fail. Considering all the negative health information we have today regarding the poor nutritional values and detriments they prove to be to adult and child health statuses, this woman fed her son, in full knowledge of the damage that could be done, and provided it any way. That is neglect.
It’s hard to make that kind of statement about every kid who’s obese and their parents.
Then again, after reading the article….
Seems to me that the woman’s been exploiting it. She let news cameras into her house so they could see how “fat boy” lived, and they watched her give him all this unhealthy food… explain to me? Why? If you know your kid has a health issue, don’t sell it to the camera without making SOME kind of effort to change it.
I wouldn’t say all obese kids have neglectful parents, but this kid has something wrong with his mom. Sorry.
yes.
It may not be neglect, but this is not a healthy environment! Take that child out & teach the child & his mother (and sibling for that matter) how to eat healthy! It only takes 30 days to build a good habit, so do it!
I think so. Someone should’ve done something before now.
I wouldn’t call it neglect, but maybe she has some bad eating habits and didn’t know what she was doing.
The money spent on this story and court battle (should it come to that) could educate Iraqi children.
I am not kidding.
My cousin, D, is thirteen (officially by friday) and he is overweight also. I hate to say it but he really is and I blame him and his mother. His mother put him on a diet once but she herself was lazy and being irresponsible and never helped him out with keeping the diet on track. That did not work out.I blame him, my cousin D, also because he should at least be trying. Then, a few months ago, his father decided he and D should join a program at the Gym. They were to go three times a week but only kept it up for about two and a half. Whenever I ask him if he still goes, he says yes, and then his sister tells me that he hasn’t gone at all this month.
So, neglect you ask? If by neglecting you mean the parent doesn’t care, or doesn’t see a problem, then no. I think, maybe just in my case, that the only person to blame for a kid’s obesity is the kid them self or the parent.
Yes, but both parties are guilty.
If you are just letting your child eat crap all the time, then yes.
Um, no. Number one, some of it is probably in his genes. And number two, the mother already said that he eats a lot.
My god, leave people alone.
Also: even if there were something terribly wrong here, it would certainly not be neglect.
o.0
The kid carries the weight pretty well. I mean, the numbers are staggering, but he doesn’t look that obese in the picture. I bet he’s taller than most 8 year olds, too. All this is not to say that he’s healthy. I am just saying.
While this is a very obvious example of seemingly poor parenting, there are plenty of bad parents whose faults are not noticeable in photographs. Can you punish parents for not doing their job well? As long as they don’t abuse their children, I think it’s hard to justify taking away someone’s child.
My wife works as a vet assistant. The number of obese dogs and cats is astounding. This, however, isn’t neglect. It’s spoiling them, and for some reason, people love doing this. Yet obesity in animals, just as in humans, contributes to myriad health problems and increases the likelihood of early death. Should we take their animals away?
that really depends on a lot more information
whoa. That’s nasty. Just plain gross! He’s double my weight and I’m about double his age. Ick. I saw that in the newspaper. So, if he has been so obese for so long, why is it all coming up now? whatever.
considering healthy eating has been “trendy” for more then 8 years, she should be somewhat responsible. healthy diet and exercise have been “hot” topics for really about 15 years, so saying shes behind the times is probably out too.
no parent is perfect.
So being fat is a crime? Be careful not to go there, that could open a whole can of ugly worms.
What,exactly, are they planning to do? He isn’t going to lose any serious weight untill he hits his teens anyway. It’ll be egg on their faces when he loses all that weight come the hormones kicking in.
’nuff said…
> DHS and company have made their statements about whatever to cover themselves that they aren’t sitting down on the job…. I saw something awhile back about an eating disorder, wherein the nerve complex at the top of the stomach signals you’re full!…. However, some folks have a defective one and with no signal, no stoppie eatie…. If the child also has a lifetime of ‘eat when he feels’ and there is a hard habit to break without very harsh measures, by the boy’s standard….
Peace
Absolutely.
I agree with the comment a little further up the page; I think its more a case of irresponsibilty than neglect. Surely there must be some underlying medical condition if even at “2½ Connor was too heavy for his mother to pick him up”?
A combination of a parent’s apathy and a child being lazy. The parent needs to make sure the kid is eating somewhat healthy and developing decent eating habits. The kid needs to stay active in this sit and home and play games day and age.
Posted 2/28/2007 8:53 AM by cupovnoodles
I agree.
We watched a programme about them the other night. The boy’s mother is extremely irresponsible and obviously oblivious to the fact that she is killing her son. I feel that social services should continue to intervene and give her some teaching on how to properly raise a child.
yeah, definately…that’s probably one of the biggest health risks a kid can have
yes.
Yes, it is neglect. Absolutely.
yes…
Yes.
I think, if you read the article, it’s the mother’s laisser-faire attitude that’s the most disturbing, really. She lets him eat “because he likes to”. To have a chunky kid isn’t neglect… but to let it get to a point where he could potentially die… that is to me. Kids need rules, that’s why they’re not adults.
parents aren’t always to blame when they’re kids get fat, he just needs to be taught healthy eating habits, that’s not necessarily neglecting your child.