Quote from: NoLeDeMiel on November 29, 2011, 07:21:01 PMQuote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 28, 2011, 09:43:26 PMQuote from: Nigel on November 28, 2011, 09:42:26 PM
Wow, I am very torn.
It reminds me of the cases recently where people were convicted and imprisoned for not getting medical help for their children because it was against their religion.
Slippery slope, yes. But I am torn. My eight-year-old weighs about 60 pounds. 200 lbs on an 8 year old is insane, and the child has a life-threatening medical problem as a result of his severe obesity. At what point should an agency try to intervene? Where do they draw the line? It seems like the medical condition is where they drew the line, and I think that may be a valid place for it.
Yeah, I see your point, but it makes me really uncomfortable.
This one, I don't like.
Read the original article to get a little more information and it just smacks of "making an example of". Can you remove a kid for being dangerously fat and the parents not having it together to do anything about it? Yes. This just doesn't look exactly that way.
The kid was losing weight, doing well, then shot up "rapidly". Not sure what rapidly means but if he's that big, it's not inconceivable for him to tack on 10-20 pounds over the course of a month without it being a sign that the parents have completely fallen off the program. And what is the state spending on foster care? Obviously, Mom has some serious ignorance obstacles to overcome, and something a little bit more intense then weekly group meetings are probably called for. The last few lines in the original article said that the foster parent is having trouble keeping up with the meetings and all the care the kid needs so the state's looking at providing her some extra assistance. That just sits, very, very wrong.
Too much experience around the foster care system to think that anything short of life or death makes that a good alternative. I've even helped friends emancipate because making their way at 15 on their own is wiser than subjecting them to the wide variety of horrors foster-care offers. Until all other options were exhausted, I just can't see how this is in any way good for that kid.
Again, taking him out of the home wasn't their first step in getting him help, it was just the latest.
Also, what's your degree in, again? Do you have experience in biology and pediatrics? Do tell.
Lastly, what next step would you like to see, then? In-home therapy? Big brother watching the mom make her meals? What? What can be done, then?