SERIOUSLY ANNOYED!!!

Jus****ched the news and I am steaming!!! They want to pass a law that would take "obese" children away from their parents and place them in foster care.  The doctor pushing this sees this as abuse/neglect and thinks that it's time that the health providers stepped in and took control of the situation.

What about the factor that not all of us have $$ and our kids have to eat what we can afford to buy?  I would love to ahve a wonderfully nutritous dinner every night, but there have been plenty of days that all we could afford was mac and cheese or hot dogs.  Are my kids huge? NO.  But each of them could loose maybe 10lbs or so.  Where would the cutoff be?  Would it be a child 20lbs overweight? 50lbs?  Why not see if the parent needs assistance? 
This seems like another case of the rich guys figuring out with the poor foks need to do with their lives because obviously if your kids are chubby then you are unintelligent and unable to manage your household.

GRRRRR!!! When will people BUTT out if they dont have any actual help to offer??  Offer nutritional information/education.  Offer the list of food pantries if needed.  Offer a scholarship to the gym or local YMCA for the family.  Why is it...take the child from the home??  They dont think this will traumatize the child??  Well, as long as he or she is no longer FAT...life is good??  So sick of judgemental jerks!!

Sorry, END rant!!

This is sad.

How about protecting the kids that are living with drug addicts, alcoholics, sexual predators and physical abuse?!!

This is unbelievable!

This is why weight is the last acceptable prejudice because of men like this guy who thinks it is the worst thing in the world.  I understand if a 14 year old weighs 450lbs there might be an issue, but there still are so many components.  I'm just sick of ignorance! ugh!

I don't believe this will ever happen. I would not worry about it. Just more political hooha. I also personally believe you can feed a family healthy for as cheap as not healthy if you are willing to put the time (or you HAVE the time) in. Its cheap to buy say a whole chicken, bake it, veggies, etc. I know organic is more expensive and I don't always go THAT route, but you can make a baked chicken last for days at my house.

I think family meals are the way to go, they are healthy..you know what goes into it and everyone can eat for less money than going out.

In my home, being currently disabled, my husband does all of the cooking.  A chicken would last one meal, maybe two with three big boys, my husband and myself. (not having had surgery yet)  The problem here is that he often forgets to defrost the day before and then we turn to things that are quicker to make or that are available.

I eat mostly low carb and my kids are doing better as well, it is hard with sensory issues to try a lot of different foods but they are making the effort!! :)

As infuriating as this is, it will never fly.  There is no room in the system to channel even more kids through foster care.  Social services are already underpaid and overworked and still can't keep up with their work-load.  There are many children still living in drug homes, with alcoholics and abusive parents all far worse to me than a child who is being "over-fed".  There are far too many variables where obesity is concerned.  I've seen thin parents with obese children and very heavy parents with thin children--genetics do play a role here and they can't discount that or call it abuse.  I think we as a country do need to take more responsbility for our health and our diets and we certainly need to be educating our children on food because food can easily become a drug to our kids...BUT removing a child from a loving home and labeling them as abused because they are over-weight is just insane and I do believe that our lawmakers would never support such an absurd proposal.  Outside of the fact that it is INSANE this country simply doesn't have the resources to back it up and make it happen and we all know our law-makers are all about money--this would be very costly and would ruin many lives in the process.  It won't happen but it doesn't make it any less offensive that an asshole felt the need to even raise the possibility.  

PS--taking children from their home and placing them in foster care would make them even fatter and statistically they would likely grow to be a drain on society because MOST foster parents don't RAISE foster children they simply get them through to adult-hood (I have witnessed foster parenting many times--I am speaking from my own personal experience, I know a couple of good foster parents, but I've been exposed to some very awful ones)...no body can love a child more than their own parent--fat or not. 

The fact that it even got as far as the news is disturbing to me.  I want to think that we live in a world where most parents want what is best for their kids.  Us overweight individuals want nothing more than our children to be healthy and accepted by society because a lot of us were not.  My kids need to loose a little weight 10lbs for my older boys and maybe 20lbs on my youngest who has a hard time eating a lot of things because of smell and a hyper gag reflex.  All of my children have sensory issues which make it very difficult to try foods with weird textures or smells, do they think the foster care system would do better?

I have also seen the foster care system at work, the people next door growing up "raised' 6 foster kids with their own three.  Not one of those kids is really stable, all of them have seen jail time to my knowledge and two of them are dead.  Yeah great idea doc!

I find it interesting that people complain about the price of healthy food but yet have no problem paying for cable or cell phones every month or any other non essential luxury. It all comes down to priorities.

If there is a child that is literally 50 or more pounds overweight and it's caused by the fact that the parents aren't parenting, when does it become neglect?

 Just currious, have you ever lived in poverty?  (This is not an attack, please don't get me wrong).  

I grew up in an upper middle class home where the mind set was "just get a job and you won't be poor any longer."  I had a nanny and a personal maid.  I had everything I wanted and then some.  I went to college and spent a year in Japan as was due my station in life.  In Japan I found myself homeless for the first time.  It wasn't a long period of time, and I considered it camping LOL.

After college the first time, I tried to make it on my own, with out mommy and daddy's money, and ended up homeless in FL and living in my car.  I didn't even have enough money to get a cup of water.  

Now, I am an unemployed teacher about to be slammed back into abject poverty and borderline homelessness again.  Lucky for me, I have a land lord who is going to let me live for only the payment of electric and water until I can find a job.  

My son and I both have cell phones.  We have net flix instead of cable.  We have internet and a land line.  These are comfort items as well as safety.  

One of the issues with people in poverty is food insecurity.  You eat when you have the money for it and you don't when the money runs out.  Look in your store.  Look at what is cheap.  You will find what is the least expensive is high fat, high carb.  Take ramen noodles for example.  100% carb and fat.  Nothing else.  No nutrient value at all.  They also only cost .25 a package.  

We all know that it is the quality of the food we eat that is the most important.  When you are food insecure, when you rely on food banks to fill your pantries (omg way too often for me) you wind up crap.  You do not have the luxury of fresh vegetables and meats.  You get crap and it sucks.

Saying that it is a matter of priorities is a simple solution.  Unfortunately, when you are in poverty, sometimes it is a matter of comfort and safety.  JMHO

The deal is too, without internet how would you constantly check email, search for a job, or keep in touch with relatives should you have to relocate?  Cell phones are a necessity for life, and can be much cheaper than a land line.  Track phones are pay by use and home phones are just another monthly bill.

I never choose "extras" over my kids but I know what I need to keep this place running.  Without a home phone...I can still make all of my utility payments on the computer which is handy being disabled. (I no longer drive, or walk much...mostly wheelchair bound.)

You are right...you really have to search for good food, cheap crap is easier.  I can hit the golden arches drop dead broke and feed three kids for three bucks.  But I have researched and subscribed to the newspaper which we now clip coupons from, there are cheaper places to buy food.  We go to a butcher for meats which are fresh and MUCH cheaper than the grocery store, and there is a price rite store that carries all kinds of foods much cheaper than the average chain.

All in all the doctors need to look into the facts behind the issues, not just judge by appearance.  All of us got to this weight for some reason...should we have been taken away? Or could we have used some tools along the way that may have changed our path?

I thought the oath they took was first do no harm?  I read about the one child taken away from the parents and they said they work with the family to get them reunited as quickly as possible.  Over a year later the child was still not home.  Scary times we live in.  I want help for ALL obese individuals, but just that help...not control, not forced...help.