Should the mom get this kid back?
Obese boy placed in foster care by judge
UnlikeCaesar Barber, the man trying to abolish personal responsibility once and for all, this kid doesn’t know any better. His parents are clearly negligent. Hell, this is borderline child abuse-- killing the kid with kindness so to speak. If the mother does not understand the wrongness of her actions thus far, I would call her judgement and fitness(no pun intended) as a parent into question.
Only in Michigan. sigh
I think that the mother’s inability to address this issue promptly and seriously calls into question her ability to handle other parenting skills.
But I’d suggest what she needs is education. It’s traumatic to remove a child from his mother. Reunite them on the condition that she attend regular classes, not just on nutrition but on parenting and child development.
They need to get him trimmed down before the snows begin, lest someone mistake him for a baby seal.
I’d have sympathy if it werent for the fact that she has brought him McDonald’s, Taco Bell and candy bars since she’s been taking the classes. Maybe this is another variant of Munchausen-by-proxy.
One HUNDRED and twenty pounds at the age of THREE? If mom starved her 3 year old, you wouldn’t question that the child should be removed. Why should it be any different because she’s done something equally as harmful in the opposite extreme?
I’m assuming they tried the “educate the mother” route and it was unsuccessful. If child stays with Mommy dearest, there is a real chance that the child won’t live to see his next birthday. The state simply must take the child away, for his own protection.
Is Mom stupid? Yes. Is she criminal? Yes. Just like the mom who leaves her kid in a car while getting her hair done on a summer day is criminally stupid.
I completely agree with PunditLisa. There’s no excuse for this behaviour!
Guilty Guilty Guilty!!!
I think the right thing is being done, by removing the boy and getting him treatment, and by educating the mother. She still gets to visit him, but I think the fact that she still brings him junk food during those visits shows that she is not responsible enough to look after him yet.
I worry about the fact that my five year old daughter (who is a bit small for her age anyway) only weighs 15kg at 102cm (or 33 pounds at 3’4"). She’s active enough and never gets sick, so my head tells me she isn’t too underweight, but I still wonder…
Yikes. Doesn’t your body kick in at some point? That is, there seems that there’s only a certain amount that a person is capable of eating. I know that if you feed someone fatty foods, they’ll gain weight…but what I’m trying to say is, after awhile, doesn’t the person become incapable of ingesting more? At least, that’s how it is with me- after a point I just can’t. 120 pounds…And he’s only three years old. It just doesn’t seem possible.
But lest I seem unsymathetic, let me hasten to add that my heart goes out to this poor boy. 
It sucks being young and in the care of people who just aren’t looking out for your best interests.
A lot of parents stuff children with junk food just so that they would shut up. I think it’s one of those cases.
120 pounds? Christ, that’s how much I weigh!
That’s exactly what I was thinking. :eek:
As for Zoggie’s post, while it does seem apparent that she over-feed the boy, and the wrong types of food, it was mentioned that he started gaining weight, in excess, while still on formula. It also said that the mother had failed to take her son in for testing, to find out whether, or not, there was a medical reason for his obesity. That, in itself, is reason enough to take him away, IMNSHO. If the food alone wouldn’t kill him, chances are that a medical condition that would cause such weight gain probably would.
~V
A 3 yr old’s frame is simply not designed to sustain that much weight.
It’s criminal. Kids today have it tough enough, they don’t need extra crap to deal with.
It’s criminal. I can’t believe any responsible parent would LET their kid get this large without seekign medical attention. Surely she’s seen other kids his age, and how small they are?
I now, this disturbs me. I’m only 140. Hell, 75% of my life I weighed the same or less as this toddler!
It’s obvious who is in charge here–the child. The mother lacks the willpower to say “no,” or even to substitute healthy foods. Total neglect of her parental role. She is not a good mother.
I have heard of people giving their kids food to make them happy and quiet them and stuff .but i never thought anyone could overdo it in such a horrible way!
Spooje as soon as you wrote that I thought of what it would be like if I sat on a three year old for 24 hours a day. I’m surprised that the child can still breathe and I can’t imagine how it may have affected the development of his limbs.
I picture the kid carrying me around and wonder about the conditions of his hips, knees, ankles, actually all his bones and joints.
LunaSea I have to agree. For a mother to ignore such life-threatening obesity and still bring him junk food does imply some kind of Munchausen-by-proxy disorder.
Don’t worry. I weighed only 27 pounds when I was 5 years old. I weighed 95 pounds in high school and weigh only 102 now. My daughter is 10 and weighs only 60 pounds. Some people are just meant to be tiny.