This seems to be a topic that does the rounds from time to time. I would love to know what you think.
Should fat kids be taken away from their parents?
- No (93%, 79 Votes)
- Yes (5%, 4 Votes)
- Undecided (2%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 85
Loading ...Regardless of your view, please let me know in the comments why you think one way or the other – anonymously is fine.
What an utterly creepy and sick scenario that is. Following fat hatred to its natural conclusion.
Sometimes I play games with this, asking “what if?”… and then I hear of it coming true somewhere. Chilling.
Barring deliberate abuse situations, which lets face it are NOT as common as Maury Pauvich America would have as believe, absolutely not. Just another example of knee jerk reaction to fat stereotypes ie. Feeders, lazy, neglectful, junk food addicts.
I think the same standard should apply with fat kids as with any other child. If the parents are doing something abusive or negligent (which can not be established simply by looking at the child’s weight), and it’s severe enough that the harm of leaving the child in that environment outweighs the harm of taking them from their home, then they should be taken away. If not, they should be able to stay with their families.
I think the damage caused by taking kids out of their home would far outweigh any benefits of controlling their diet. Breaking up intact families over weight has to be one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard. But, I guess they’ve got to get fodder for the for-profit privatized prison system somewhere…
I don’t really know that controlling the diet of any child is of help. Fat isn’t something that should be considered bad or wrong, but something that just is.
Healthy diets and exercise provide health but don’t guarantee any particular weight or shape.
What is needed is to allow children to learn to eat intuitively and work out what their body needs. When provided with a range of food choices, kids can be pretty smart. It’s when we force them to eat something or finish their plate before they get dessert that can be the real problem.
It turns off the instinct that we are all born with to know how much and of what we need to put in our mouths.
Genetics are not the same as abuse. Plain & simple!
Wow, where to even start on the badness of this idea.
1: I’m betting few – if any – fat kids will be taken from their rich parents, so it’s classist.
2: The foster care system is already overloaded with kids who are facing actual abuse (physical, sexual, emotional), and not enough foster parents lined up to accept more kids.
3: Unless the child got that fat by the parents strapping him/her down to a bed and force-feeding him/her deep-fried lard while the kid’s genetics allow for extreme weight gain… it just ain’t gonna work. I grew up with two brothers, and we all got the same breakfasts, lunches, and dinners every day, but we all weighed different amounts. Ironically enough, I was the skinniest one then and my oldest brother was the fattest… and we have now switched places on that scale, so to speak.
4: Despite the common assumption, the measure of one’s waistline is not an infallible measure of one’s physical health.
5: Are we also going to remove children with birth defects/injuries from the home assuming danger to the child? How about thin kids with diseases commonly associated with fat (heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure), or will they be allowed to stay in their own homes and be treated without destroying the family?
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I can’t say no strongly enough or loudly enough to express my true feelings.
Utter nonsense. There isn’t even enough funding/manpower to take care of kids who should be removed, such as those being physically severely abused by their parents.