To think this is discrimination and its damn right wrong.

[EvalionAngel]

A Salford woman is 'too fat' to look after children, says council

dailym.ai/2c2xwoB

If this was race it would be wrong if this was a disability it would be wrong if this was gender it would be wrong. So why is fat discrimination allowed. Time for overweight people to be protected under discrimination and hate speech laws. Overweight people have to face daily abuse and thin privilege. The same way black and POC face white privileges and women face make privilege.

I'm so sick of this.

Sorry for the rant.

[EvalionAngel]

dailym.ai/2c2xwoB

[QuintessentialShadow]

I have a feeling they may say that being fat is a choice, but your race or your colour, or gender, or sexuality is not.

[Saucery]

It's a health and mobility issue.

[SoupDragon]

Being fat is no way the same as ethnicity, sexuality or religion FFS
.

[Ginmakesitallok]

It's not discrimination - they don't think she's fit enough to look after kids.

[HaPPy8]

You cant be serious OP....

[Bumpmadethemjump]

.

[EvalionAngel]

It's a health and mobility issue.

Some completely disabled parents manage to do okay. Her husband is not too big so he could do the playing with the kids.

Yes you can't control race or gender but many cant control weight.

[WindInThePussyWillows]

[MummyJobo]

I think that children who need fostering have already had an incredibly difficult start in life and need the best possible chance. As a fat person desperately trying to lose weight I would say the needs of the child outweigh the feelings of the would be fosterer however harsh that seems.

[MolesBreathless]

I have a feeling they may say that being fat is a choice, but your race or your colour, or gender, or sexuality is not.

^this

...and its highly offensive to protected groups to suggest that obesity is in some way comparable.

[SunnyBanker]

What if she was 30 stone instead of 21 op? What if she was 40 stone? Or 50 stone?

Would she still be suitable then? Would you be happy leaving your two year old sprinter of a toddler in her care?

There has to be a cut off point somewhere as the agencies have a responsibility to ensure the dc are looked after well and the health of the carer is a big part of that - and 21 stone is very, very obese.

[EvalionAngel]

The lady in question is trying to lose weight. She is recovering from surgery surely a loving family that is fat is better then a care home.

[Outtaker]

YABU Surely it's the obesity is so severe that means she struggles to provide adequate care for her children?

[acasualobserver]

Presumably, once she has lost weight, she can apply again.

[redcaryellowcar]

I agree with pp who say it's not comparable with gender, ethnicity etc, it's something which can change. I also understand that the last thing any agency wants to do is remove children from their birth family unless in extreme circumstances. I imagine this is not a decision that was made quickly or taken lightly.

[SunnyBanker]

If she's still actively 'recovering' from surgery, it's probably not the best time for her to apply anyway tbh, regardless of her weight.

I think YABU though.

[Saucery]

Yes, many parents with disabilities do more than ok. There's no correlation between the two.
She can change her weight and become more healthy and indeed the news report mentions that she has made progress with this. Excellent. In a year or so she will be able to apply again and be in a much better position to satisfy the (quite understandable) health requirements of fostering.

[AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered]

What Jobo said - there kids will already have had a crap start in life without adding the burden of a morbidly obese carer to the mix.

[HermioneWeasley]

I'm so sick of people saying "this is discrimination" as though it's some sort of moral outrage. Yes it is, discrimination. The word just means you're making a choice. Certain characteristics are protected against unlawful discrimination - the rest of it? You can do what the fuck you want.

We all discriminate all the time - when I'm hiring I discriminate between candidates based on experience, personality, skills etc. All perfectly fine.

The council have concerns about her mobility. There's also plenty of evidence that overweight parents have over weight children, which is bad for their health. Perfectly reasonable things for the council to be concerned about and discriminate on.

[Hamiltoes]

"Time for overweight people to be protected under discrimination"

Or........ They could lose some weight ?

[NataliaOsipova]

Hmmm. I genuinely think this is a tough one. One the one hand - social services wouldn't remove a biological child on the basis that its mother was fat and there are many children in care who would vastly benefit from being out of care and in a loving home. On the other hand, there has to be a higher bar for placing children from care into families (for obvious reasons as you have to put the child's needs and safety first). If you are so significantly above a healthy weight then there is an argument that you can't look after yourself properly - so can you look after a child properly? Will you allow a child in your care to become morbidly obese? Will you feed him/her a healthy diet? Etc etc. I must admit, I would tend to err on the side of thinking a loving home is better than care and that no set up is perfect....but I don't think it's just a case of blind prejudice here.

[RunningLulu]

Someone who is so fat they can't move or make healthy food choices is in no way fit to be a parent, no matter how much they love their children. This wasn't a fat person who still manages to raise her kids like the vast majority of fat people, she was 21 stones & there were clearly care issues involved.

[Saucery]

' a loving family that is fat'

I'm pretty sure someone who was maybe 12 or 13 stone would not be rejected from the process. They have to draw the line somewhere.

[Omgkitties]

surely a loving family that is fat is better then a care home.

You're right! And I don't think YABU.