To feel I have just witnessed child abuse?

[mrsrosieb]

Please note I have only used medical terms in this post and nothing I am writing is meant to be insulting towards obese people.

I have just witnessed a morbidly obese woman pushing a pram with 2 older children-one about 9 and one about 14. These children are dangerously obese from a medical point of view.

I felt so sorry for them. If mum wants to eat a diet that makes her obese that is her choice and I have no problem with that. What I have a real issue with is raising children that may go on to suffer heart disease and diabetes-plus getting a ragging from the school bullies.

I know the SS have removed children like this. Am I right in thinking this is child abuse?

I do think allowing children to become morbidly obese is abuse however in the OP's case she doesn't know these people or their circumstances so you can't really label them with abuse. It could be medical condition, who knows!

Didn't this happen to a family in Scotland once?
I vaguely remember some children being taken into care, because after years of intervention by SS, the parents were doing nothing about their children's obesity.
I'm not saying I agree BTW but it's not without precedent.

You have no idea why this family were overweight. Stupid horrible thread.

Debeez I am sensing issues about Special K breakfast bars, am I right? Would you feel happier if I commenced the low fat bun fight with something else?

FunnysInLaJardin Would you be so kind? I'm about to embark on a tummy flattening diet and exercise regime and after drawing up diet plans etc I am upset by special K products in general. Plus so expensive!

"You have no idea why this family were overweight"

Yes. It may well have been a problem with their glands.

Or maybe they were just big boned.

Mean spirited thread which will only serve to make people who already feel bad about themselves, feel even worse. Nice one OP.

Panda people are 99% of the time overweight through over-eating. As Oprah said, "Aint no fatties in a famine"

Though that sounds harsh, she said it because she acknowledged that she had lied to herself for years about why she was fat.

OK Debeez I quite understand.

Slings WW lemon slice across the thread (only 1 point)

'If they aren't then yes, I think that is at best neglectful and at worst abusive.'

I agree. Disagree with removal from the family, but agree that it is neglectful parenting.

"You have no idea why this family were overweight"

Yes. It may well have been a problem with their glands.

Or maybe they were just big boned.

Or maybe they're not taking advantage of the brilliant, all encompasing, mental services which are available in the UK. Or the premier quality dietry support systems available through their GP.

I think the OPs point is not that fat people should have their kids taken into care, but that people who let their kids become morbidly obese should get support from SS.

I am obese. My daughter is a healthy weight for her age. I have been on a low income her whole life. There is no reason why anyone cannot provide healthy food, healthy portions and exercise to their kids. It is a parents responsibility to ensure their kids are cared for. And this includes weight.

If a child was malnourished with no medical reason, there would be SS involvement. So why is this any different?

But if the baby was new then she might be big because she's just had a baby? And the older kids might not be hers.

Agree feeding your kids crap so they become obese is awful, but you can't really leap to judge about this case.

That's a good point wannabe

I was always very slim, my whole family is slim, DH is slim.

We eat healthy food and my country is often praised for having one of the best diets in the world (Mediterranean) yet a year ago I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and gestational diabetes and put on a fair bit of weight. (cue snorts from people up thread who think this is an excuse)

At 5 months DD is in 91st percentile for weight and 99th for height and hasn't even been weaned yet. Would you suggest SS come and remove my child?

How will younger kids cope with the new proposed 2 hours a day in PE if they are overfed to the point of obesity? How can they manage 'life'?

I always think of Georgia Davis ( think thats her surname) and how she had to be cut out if her home. Poor girl, winder how she is doing now.

Poor Georgia got loads of help but as soon as she returned home she put all the weight back on.
Her mum enabled her to do this.
I also wonder how she is doing.

But if the baby was new then she might be big because she's just had a baby? And the older kids might not be hers

She's not big according to the OP...she's morbidly obese.

Babies are different Poppy. This is due to the fact that until a child is two they self regulate their eating. Past this age it is up to the parents.

DD would eat McDonalds every day. She would stuff her face with buns and sweets. She would choose crap food over healthy nourishing food. If I let her.

No one is saying some people dont have medical reasons for their weight. But the majority of people are overweight because they over eat, eat the wrong foods or dont exercise (me included). It infuriates me when people blame medical reasons when there are none, because they are in denial and people like you arent taken seriously.

Surely the health visitor is there as a first point of advice regarding the children's diets as opposed to involving social services?

My weight issues are because I'm autistic. Doesn't stop people treating me like shit.

Families like this need help because what's happening to the children is a form of abuse. It can be complicated though. A friend of mine was very obese. She'd had a very chaotic childhood and it wasn't hard to see how that experience had manefested itself in her overeating.