Should Parents of Obese Kids Lose Custody?

With obesity levels soaring each year, I knew this was going to be a massive topic one day. Little did I know that day was a whole lot sooner than I anticipated.

Time.com posted a story on Friday about parents in Scotland who have lost custody of two of their six children because of the children's weight (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1930772,00.html). Having lived in Scotland for nearly 3 years, this story holds extra significance for me as I remember following the details when it first came out. What would be decided? Time would only tell and apparently that time meant the parents losing custody of 2 kids for "a failure to reduce the kids' weight following warnings from Scottish social services."

Scotland may have sparked the media's attention to this topic, but there are a plethora of other similar anecdotes as the article reveals.

So, what do you think?

Do you know someone with a child who is overweight or obese?
Do you think the parents are responsible?
Are you obligated to intervene for the safety and health of the child?

Post your thoughts here and find out what others have to say.

Submitted by lisa on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 7:33am

obesity

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 11:56am.

Obesity in children is sad. It is preventable in most cases.
There was a particular family in our area who had a son who was 600lbs. They went drastic to save his life. He had to lose 20 lbs. in order have gastric bypass. The surgery was a success, but he later developed an infection and became septic and died 1 week later on July 4th. He was only 23 years old! They later sued the hospital for malpractice for not intervening sooner with the infection.

As I watched this family at potlucks and saw what they ate and how much, it was clear to me his family lifestyle was a product of his health problems. Help for this man needed to come sooner.

Often times we as parents don't have the knowledge and do things by patterned behavior of our parents lifestyle. Education and knowledge is very empowering. I wish this family could have had earlier intervention.

Submitted by lisa on Tue, 11/10/2009 - 10:56am.

This is truly a sad story. I appreciate you sharing and reminding us all that education and knowledge is powerful! I shared your story with a group coaching session last week and the stunned room turned to tears. I pray the family has been able to find peace and a healthy lifestyle that works for them.