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Original poster

Should the boy be put into care cos of childhood obesity.....

123 replies

crispyduck · 25/02/2007 19:55

Watching the news tonight, a young boy has been threatened to be taken into care by SS, do you think SS have the right to put a child into care because of obesity....

OP posts:
lisad123 · 25/02/2007 21:36

The only reason they will panda to this family would be because SS have to give court evidence that they have tried everything possible to keep child safe and within the family. Its a pain, but why so many children are left longer than should because court insist on tons of evidence!!

Lisa

motherinferior · 25/02/2007 21:37

Good foster carers are utterly brilliant. Yes, there aren't enough of them and they get appallingly low levels of pay. But the good ones are marvellous.

expatinscotland · 25/02/2007 21:37

True, Legacy. My SIL was originally IL's foster daughter. She'd been removed from a home in which the custodial parent was a drug user and neglected her.

Under their care she really blossomed.

Sadly, the mother was not able to get her drug problems under control and lost custody of her permanently, but SIL was adopted and is now a lovely mother herself.

expatinscotland · 25/02/2007 21:38

DD1 asks for junk food and snacks every half hour or so.

We tell her 'no'.

Caligula · 25/02/2007 21:39

But surely the doctor should have the right to refuse?

I'm just coming over all outraged of Tunbridge Wells - that they can waste NHS money like this, pretending that feeding children crap is a normal thing to do and then spend precious resources doing unnecessary tests - God how infuriating.

I don't often say this, but those people deserve Gillian McPoo or Jamie Oliver to go and live with them and hector them for a month. Food intolerance forsooth.

Legacy · 25/02/2007 21:39

I heard/ read a comment in relation to this story today which basically said (of obese adults, rather than children) "oh well, we could let these idiots eat themselves to death at 53, and then at least that'll be the end of the pension crisis!"

Caligula · 25/02/2007 21:40

TBH Legacy, I'm firmly convinced that there will be no pension crisis, because that is seriously what will happen.

expatinscotland · 25/02/2007 21:41

Whatever happened to 'NO, you can't have that'?

What's wrong with that as a response to asking for junk food nonstop?

colditz · 25/02/2007 21:42

I truly believe no child can get fat on apples

"I'm hungry"

have an apple

"I'm still hungry"

have another apple

"I am hungry and I don't like apples"

Then you, my child, have enough physical resources to be hungry until your next meal.

Aloha · 25/02/2007 21:42

My son loves sweets and is dyspraxic with low muscle tone so he can't ride a bike, kick a ball properly, hates to walk etc As a consequence, he's a little bit chubby, but if I didn't force him to walk a bit and say 'no' pretty often, he would be fat. But I cannot imagine how I would get him to be 14stone at the age of eight.

lisad123 · 25/02/2007 21:44

Well that would mean putting down rules and bounderies, and that means taking time and engry, now that would be too much to ask

Lisa

expatinscotland · 25/02/2007 21:44

My daughter is also dyspraxic and has difficulty walking any length of time, can't ride a bike, etc., and as I also have a strong family history of heart disease and hypertension, it's my job to police what she eats whilst I can.

It always boils down to a lack of personal responsibility with so many these days.

It's not my fault, it's the NHS's, the teacher's, etc.

Legacy · 25/02/2007 21:46

Caligula - I had a bizarre conversation with my brother along similar lines. His view is that the educated middle classes will reinherit society from the 'ignorant masses' because the latter will wipe themselves out through obseity. "Just like the influenza epidemic" he said.....
Outrageous, but it made me laugh and got me thinking....

Chloe55 · 25/02/2007 21:49

It's really sad that things have got this far. I always have a pang of annoyance towards parents with obese kids (and yes, this is my first instinct before I consider any reasoning behind the obesity) - most of us know, as adults, how hard it is to lose weight, how much willpower it takes to not have that bar of chocolate or the extra biscuit - how is a child supposed to have this control?

I'm not sure putting the boy into a foster home in the way of care is the best idea - he possibly should be considered for a live-in obesity clinic and the mother should be forced to seek nutritional advice by professionals or face court.

And yes, the headline is viscious.

fireflyfairy2 · 25/02/2007 21:49

What has the poor child been eating to be 14stone?

How many nights a week has he had shite to eat?

But what I really really want to know is: How the bloody hell did he get to be 14stone before anyone decided that something needed to be done?????????

I mean, I have seen pics of my dh at 9/10 & he was obese. He was 14 stone when I met him, went up to 17 stone after we married, back down to 13, up to 16, is now 13.5 stone. And he is a grown man of 32...not a small boy of 8.

If connor being taken into care for a short while is what his mum needs in order for her to see what's been happening, then I for one, am all for it.

Judy1234 · 25/02/2007 21:53

Some people have genuine medical conditions where they can't stop eating so it's not necessarily the parents' fault. I doubt taking him from his parents is going to help but if the parents are doing nothing the doctors say then they may be a case for some intervention.

I try not to buy any particularly unhealthy foods so there just isn't too much rubbish in the house to eat at all.

expatinscotland · 25/02/2007 21:57

Yes, that is true, Xenia, but if the parent won't take him to the doctor to determine if that's the case, well, then, intervention of some sort may be necessary.

chocolatekimmy · 25/02/2007 21:58

I think its a disgrace that a parent/parents can allow a young child to get like this. I agree that it is a form of abuse.

Imagine how the poor boy must feel in his mind. Its not his fault, he probably feels embarrassed and ashamed and will face a lot of bulling no doubt in the years to come. He is only 8, bless him, just a little boy but I bet if people see him they don't think that! SS have been trying to get him to attend appointments to be weighed and measured, how humiliating will that be for him.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to breed though I don't think putting him in care is the answer. He probably loves his family, despite what they have done, but he is too young to understand that they have not done him any favours. They need some serious education.

winniepoo · 25/02/2007 22:00

This is so sad and I for one think the parents are to blame and this is an example of child abuse and neglect. So sad it got to this point . Definately something needs to be done but what I don't know.

Tortington · 25/02/2007 22:04

Dr Tom Solomon, a doctor at Royal Liverpool University hospital with an interest in obesity, said: ?The state intervenes with schooling. Parents who do not send their children to school are prosecuted eventually. To be badly educated is not dangerous, but we are making our children diabetic, and even killing our children by our feeding habits.?

erm... i think t be badly educated is very dangerous. fuckwit.

Tortington · 25/02/2007 22:06

i didn't see any thing in the article about educating the parent.

surely if this is to change education,cokking on a budget and that kind of support is needed.

fireflyfairy2 · 25/02/2007 22:07

But I doubt if budget has anything to do with it in this case custy, as she is able to buy him takeaways night after night

SenoraPostrophe · 25/02/2007 22:08

there was a girl in my class who was 12 stone when we were 9. it's unuual but not that unusual is it?

anyway think it's ludicrous to talk about care before talking about nutrition/cooking etc with the parents.

simplycontrolfreaky · 25/02/2007 22:09

it sounds like neglect, pure and simple.... the headlines are misleading. a child protection case conference is a multi disciplinary meeting convened by ssd with an independent chair. if the child's name is put on the register a child protection plan must be drawn up... ie what monitorung / support / services are needed.... what is expected of all concerned.... ie. re mother: she must take him to all health appointments and ensure punctual regular school attendance......
the only way this boy would end up in "care" is if local authority decided to startcourt proceedings and a court decides to make a care order having approved a care plan to place him with alternative carers (or if mother agreed he should be accomodated).

nearlyfourbob · 25/02/2007 22:10

Taken into care? He should be taken into hospital. He probably does need some sort of medical treatment, but at this stage probably by the mental health team.

He has probably ingested a lifetimes worth of MSG already poor kid.

His mother actually has the solution:

"I have tried to introduce healthier food but he refuses to eat 90% of them.?

Problem solved - he'll lose the weight in no time if he only eats 10% of whats put in front of him and it's all healthy.