Do you agree or disagree?? 200+ pound 8 year old sent to foster care

If this was truly a last resort and lots of education and support was offered prior to the removal, then I'm fine with it. I would also hope that the goal would be to reunite the family through more education and support and training.

I agree it does not happen overnight, my daughter was very petite until age 3 when she started visiting my mother for summers and its ridiculous the weight she can put on in a few weeks, she is not overweight but I was sure to put a stop to it before it happened, I'm very cautious being in the predicament I'm in. I do limit her sweets and we do not keep lots of them around or any pop, there are settle ways to control it, before it gets out of hand, and they don't even needed to know your limiting them.

I know it sounds harsh to take a child away but were not talking a few pounds were talking 200!

That is a difficult question to answer. Not because I don't have an opinion on it but, I don't ever want to offend. Well, here it goes. Parents are responsible for the care of their children. If they indulge their children to the point of physical harm then shame on them. Why would you allow your child to become obese! Why would you want to inflict a lifetime of pain and suffering, illness and premature death on the one your suppose to lay your life down for to protect??? Alot of persons would look at it as child abuse. If it causes physical harm to the child then I think it is as well. We have got to get a grip on what we are doing not just to our own bodies but to our children as well! BTW, I have 3 children of my own. None of which are overweight and never have been. Why? Because I wish good health for my kids. I feed them balanced diets or as close to it as I can. God entrusted me with them to care for and that is just exactly what I plan on doing. Yes, I have had a problem in my recent adult years with weight (OBVIOUSLY) But I find that to be no excuse to put my ill behavior and bad habits off on my babies. And now I can be an even better example to them. It has always pained me to see children that were overweight. I never could understand it. Sorry, I've rambled on long enough that I'm sure you understand how I feel on the matter.

Thanks everyone for your opinions and for participating in a little healthy debate and idea sharing.

its so nice to know we each can voice our opinions and share personal examples and not judge each other.

it makes me glad to know there are a group of people i can share things like this with and get great opinions.

I work for Child Protective Services and know first hand what effects taking a kid from their parents has on them. Not to mention that the Foster care system is not really set up to help the child anymore than her parent. That being said I also know that the parent was given time to correct what she was doing to the child. She was most likely given an opportunity to take some classes to help her find different ways to tend to her child without using food to do it. I feel that if the child is put into a home that has the proper training to deal with the food issues the child will be better off. If not they are really setting the child up for many more issues.

If obesity was not a disease then maybe it might be the parents fault.. if the governement did not subidise the crap like HFCS that is addictive, and almost in every food we buy that blocks the "full" feeling, it might be the parents fault.

If all the most expensive items in store were not the healthy ones, it might be the parents fault.. but to lose your kids because a disease takes control is pretty dam sad... Its an epidemic in this country and what is totally amazing is you ask how many obese adults how many parents "forced" them to go on diets from a about 7 years old and ask them if it helped them youd prob get a resounding answer as no.. why not isnt that what the story in this case that their parents didnt force their child into ww or something? we are in an economic crisis where there are thousands of families that cannot even get jobs they are forced to feed their families what ever they can afford often when rent is paid there is nothing left... yet this is the parents fault to i guess...if a child wants food badly enough they will get it whether they have to hide  what they are eating it, eat it at someone elses house  or steal it...

I think when child services has the power to remove kids because of a weight problem then  that is pretty sad, people ask what would they do if it was someones child that was underweight?  id feel exactly the same...

If a child is underweight and or over weight if the child services is worried then maybe they ought to be taking the child and seeing if that child is suffering from some form of medical condition, if they have a metabolic disorder a thyroid problem, see where they are eating.... alot of times its at school, why is it child services is not in school demanding healthy choices???... some kids are going to be naturally under weight and some naturally overweight  but i do not think that a child should be removed because of a disease, what next because a child has asthma??

I agree with mini_me_now.  Child Protective Services is out of control.  You cannot have children taken from their homes for anything less than a direct threat to their lives.  Not a maybe some day threat.  I know some very obese people, who other than their weight have perfect labs, they are active, they have great blood pressure.  The trauma to this child is irreparable.  Children always think that things are their fault.  This child will not only be mourning the loss of his family, but blaming himself for it.

AND - I think the schools are largely to blame as well.  We have an entire generation of parents that have eaten CRAP their entire lives at school.  Crappy food is all they know.  The school feeds THEIR children CRAP and so it must be okay, right?

I wonder where this family lives.  I am amazed by how much more expensive food is in NC than it was in WI.

Children in foster care are much more likely to be abused than children in their own homes.  So, this poor kid may suffer physical and/or sexual abuse on top of losing his family.  Not right at all.

Ive been thinking about this more...

It is so hard for me to sympathize with this mom.  She had a year to work on this, to ask for extra help.  Not to mention that she has watched her son gain weight over his short life and just kept feeding him that way.  I think there is almost something pathological going on when a parent repeatedly feeds their kid that much food - or in a more passive way, makes that much food available to their kid, jus****ching them continue to gain weight.

You know, this little boy was 218 lbs - almost four times the average weight of an eight year old.  How much food does a child have to eat to gain that much weight by age eight?  Even on this website, there aren't many of us ADULTS who are four times our ideal body weight.  This isn't a kid who is just eating a double portion at lunch at school five days/wk, nine months of the year.  There had to be plentiful and excessive calories around at home, within his grasp, for him to gain weight like that.  An eight year old doesn't have the resources to buy his own food. 

My five year old has been known to get food out of the kitchen without asking - so I know this happens.  But what does she get to eat?  String cheese, apples or oranges, high fiber wheat bread and peanut butter, carrot sticks, maybe a yogurt.  Why? Because that is what I buy and put in the fridge.  She doesn't have unhealthy choices available to her.  She asks for sugary cereal and fruit juice at the grocery store every single week - what do I buy? Shredded wheat and skim milk, even if she is a whiny brat about it (not often because she knows the consequence of that).  I'm not a perfect mom by any means...but this is something that a responsible parent must control.  Honestly, even pre-op there were no sugary drinks, cookies, or chips in my house.  I got fat from eating way too big portions at meals, and from going through the drive-through (mostly without my daughter) not because my house was stocked with junk food.

The family is from NE Ohio, and it is possible to buy healthy food here for a reasonable price.  We have Aldi's and Marcs, two separate discount grocery chains.  While those places have lots of cheap junk food and sugary drinks, they also have very reasonable prices on meats, fruits, veggies and dairy products.  WIC also provides nutritious foods for lower income families - you don't have to qualify for food stamps to get WIC coupons.  
 
I don't think the problem here has anything to do with the lunch menu at school or the family being low-income (don't know if they are), and everything to do with the choices the parents made.

Sunnymicki, I so agree with you. But it is nevertheless heartbreaking to see a child taken away from his mother. I also stopped buying junky cereals and sugary drinks and juices and the kids whined about it for a little while and then got used to water and oatmeal and other 'good' choices. Sure, they still use their pocket money for occasional junk but they are equipped with the understanding of what the consequences of their choices are. They are totally supportive of me in my quest for the WLS and hopefully they will be mindful of their own bodies' needs for exercise and healthy nutrition.

there is a problem in america with babies 6 months old weighing in well over weight because of the formula given to them by wic  its full of you guessed i t" HFCS"  i guess all these babies should be ripped from their mothers too because they are fed formula..