OT: Obesity a crime ???

If they found him skinny and emaciated - you would expect or DEMAND that the parent be held for neglect, right?  Even if they had to force feed that child - you would expect the parent to have made sure they were nourished, right?

Can't play the card without playing it both ways. 

another valid point MM

He has got to have some co-morbids with all that weight at his age.  Type 2 diabetes?  Falls under medical neglect.    Neglect is neglect... too much food or not enough. 

The reason the state is charging her now is that they offered help and the mom didn't take advantage of it.  The state always puts an offer of help on the table first before removing a child in situations like this.  The mom just didn't put enough effort into it because she was focused on working.  I applaud her for not wanting welfare but her child is suffering.  I feel for her though... you just can't win sometimes. 

oh ok .......you are right sometimes the odds are stacked against you

I am with you MM on this. I totally and whole heartedly feel that if a child is overweight, it IS the parents fault. I have had many conversations about this with friends in the past.   “Most" over weight children do not just blow up during their teen years when they have more access to stuff. They are usually overweight before age 13 and it just continues to get worse.

I have a 10 year old son that’s over weight. He is almost 100 pounds and running towards that mark.  My son LOVES sweets and junk food. He always wants candy and cookies. I realize he is getting chunky and I try to teach him to eat right and get him involved in activities but I still am the one who is bringing the bad stuff into the house. When I check his lunch account, I see that he buys a cookie a day but I feel guilty about putting a block on the account. When he asks for junk, I will initially say no but then subcomb to his begging. I am an adult and I am the one that is responsible. The only stuff he can sneak to eat is the stuff that I bring I the house, so I am to blame.   I have been doing better with trying to help him maintain his weight without making a big deal out of it although he knows he is overweight because my 13 year old takes every opportunity to remind him. He is always looking at his stomach which has developed a little pouch now.   I had to make a change and stop bringing the junk into the house. I had to also decide to block the lunch account so that he can not buy anything other than the meal. We decided that he will get money in cash on occasion to buy a snack for lunch. He rides his bike with me and is on a soccer team. Thankfully, he is not too far gone to get under control. If we continue on the route that we were going, he would easily become the 200+ pound teenager.   Parents ARE responsible! Eta: unless there are medical issues related to the weight gain or lack thereof  

Hi Taye,
the story didn't answer the first question that I had in mind which was, does he have some sort of medical condition that would cause weight control to be difficult? ie: thyroid, streroidal use for asthma, etc. If so then I do not feel that the mother should be charged. IMO even if he had no medical cause for the weight the mother should not be charged, mentally challenged or not, the mother more than likely could not be with her son 24 hours a day. She said that she has done everything that she could to help her son, who wants to deal with a 555 lb child? I believe her. Perhaps there may be a record of Dr. visits, visits to  Nutritionists, etc. if so then the treatment of the mother (and son) is unfair. My new question is what the hell is the STATE planning to do? probably nothing.

 Wow this is all I could say as I read that, There had to be something she could have done with him, I can say I  have seen parents over feed there children, for ex. We had a dinner at my house and I fixed my son a plate 2 pieces of chicken, veg, and some mash potatoes, ok he is 11,  my sister will fix my niece, 9 yrs old a plate 3 maybe 4 pieces of chicken, some mash, o and this is what my niece will state" O i don't like veg" and she wont get them.....  I try to tell my sister to give them other things if they still complain of being hungry, but what can I say the grl get a Link card, and  she don't pick healthy foods........ So when they stay over at my house they HATE it!!!! I refuse to let them over eat I tell them " you wil eat the veg, and guess what you only get 2 pieces of chicken, and if you still hungry eat some more veg".

Hey DD:
I'm not sure how I feel on the legality of making parent(s) responsible for a child's obesity past 13/14 years old. But my concern is how are we/this Country/Community going to really educate people about food (just as sex education is in the schools we need nutritional education on a continual basis also). Another issue is who is going to pay for all of the testing...that may be needed to determine/rule out that a child does not have certain diseases that would cause them to become obese. I noted that this mother works 2 jobs just to keep the household going; many low paying jobs do not carry health insurance...(Walmart for instance)

Frankly I do believe that a person's eating habits are instilled during those Toddler-Elementary School Years, but when people do not know (because of lack of nutritional education and in many  cases family history of eating) what they are doing is harmful, I think that they need an oportunity to redeem themselves before they are put in jail or fined (say a sentence of Nutritional Education Classes and ...) Just out of curiosity, I watch BIG Medicine sometimes, and I see all of these HUGE White kids; I find it interesting that a POOR Black Woman, working 2 jobs has been singled out to bear the burden of prosecution and defending herself (I know this presses on her financially, emotionally, mentally and physically.) I don't know, but lately it seems like Blacks are being made examples of more than usual or maybe it is Obama backlash or just the 24/7 News cycle.