Courts Charge Mother of 555-Pound Boy

sallylou said:
So what's the point? Are you shaming people who are that obese?

A woman once describe how people treated her. She didn't go out to restaurants any more because people glared at her while she ate. People are so mean to her. Can you imagine how humiliating it is not to fit in a seat? Especially for women who are pressured in our society to achieve an impossible beauty standard. I'll never look like a model, unless I can find a way to add at least 6 inches to my height. lol
Click to expand...

I really do see ur point, Sally. But it's the "child", at age 14, 555 lbs.! And if the court did not intervene, this child would more than likely get heavier and heavier....The mother's lack of cooperation to help the child is a factor here too. I'm in agreement with the courts becuz it might save the child's life. And the mother, hopefully will get some help herself. And I feel confident sooner or later, the child might be returned to the mother, as long as she is in cooperation with her son's health.

It might be a medical problem or an eating problem, the reason for this obseity is being looked into. Even one of my boys was about 30 lbs. overweight at one time. He was called "fat boy"....I knew I had to stop his snacking (late at night) somehow....I enrolled him in baseball and now he's into football, and goes to the gym several times a week (all my boys do).

A "fat" child is not a happy child, I feel something else is wrong here.
All of us are responsible for our bodies and health. Whether it be eating, smoking, drugs, etc. When an eating "habit" is started at a very young age, and continues without intervention, it will continue into adulthood.
 
It definitely gets better but I still have issues! I try to focus on what I can do physically, like how far I can run and how much weight I can lift. I worry about young girls because the pressure is much worse now than when I was a teenager.
 
sallylou said:
If the people live in a poor area, there may not even be a grocery store (like in poor areas of Chicago) and they may rely on convenience stores and fast food. Healthy food like fresh fruit and vegetables are expensive when it is available. Every week the prices go up. I buy a lot of fresh fruit and often make a separate trip to Costco to buy it.

I agree that this child needs medical and mental health care. What I'm concerned about is that the child is being removed from his mother. Even if the mother has problems, the child is bonded with the mother and disrupting that relationship may not be in the child's best interests. The state only removes children in the most dangerous circumstances, usually physical/sexual abuse or parental drug addiction. There may be evidence that is not reported in the media so we may not have the whole story.
Click to expand...

I believe the mother and son are from a rural area in S.C., where they have vegetable gardens, etc. And there are also fruit stands...and Churches that give out free veggies and bread.....
 
Not everyone know how to grow a garden nor have time because of work. We do have to work to pay taxes and bills . since she is out in the rural area and poor, that is worst because the nearest store is usually a convenience gas station and not a food market. I am from the rural area (and yet lived close to a city too. I go to school near that city because of the county line) and that's how it was like for us.

She more likely to stock up food because of being in the rural area. Stocking up food is not a good idea to do for people who have an eating disorder.
 
RR, there are a lot of things that might be going on. As a mental health professional once told me when I was advocating for a client, "I have to deal with facts." We're speculating here because we don't know the facts. The judge has to decide based on the facts. Sometimes, I'm glad that I don't have to make a decision like that. It must take the wisdom of Solomon.

A's right about crops. We've got drought in some areas and the crops have been very disappointing.
 
Personally I think convience stores in rural areas should sell more healthy food for people who are poor around that area and can not make trips to the food market.
 
yizuman said:
And it shouldn't be. It should be the other way around. Hell, if the politicians is so dead against obesity, pass a bill that forces junk food to be more expensive than healthy food.

Yiz
Click to expand...

Interesting idea.

I've also noticed that it is very difficult to find real juice any more. Most of them are really drinks with 10% to 27% "real juice" (Not necessarily what the juice is labeled as) and these run as much as $4.

But they have big labels telling you how healthy they are.

Anybody heard of Gaylord Hauser? He believed "foodless foods" should be outlawed.
 
I've been in convenience stores in rural areas and the food is so unhealthy. I went to East Texas a while back and all I could find was barb-b-q and fried veggies. Southerners are guilty of too many fried foods. I broke that habit for health reasons. The food at our family reunions was incredible! My aunts were great cooks and they never skimped on the fat. lol
 
sallylou said:
RR, there are a lot of things that might be going on. As a mental health professional once told me when I was advocating for a client, "I have to deal with facts." We're speculating here because we don't know the facts. The judge has to decide based on the facts. Sometimes, I'm glad that I don't have to make a decision like that. It must take the wisdom of Solomon.

A's right about crops. We've got drought in some areas and the crops have been very disappointing.
Click to expand...

Quite true. The first step should be a mental health evaluation of this mother and the child, and a recommended treatment plan for both. Then services should be provided (home visits, if necessary) to assist them in learning different coping skills. If this was done, and the mother was found to be non-compliant with recommendations, the judge then has cause to remove the child.
 
sallylou said:
I've been in convenience stores in rural areas and the food is so unhealthy. I went to East Texas a while back and all I could find was barb-b-q and fried veggies. Southerners are guilty of too many fried foods. I broke that habit for health reasons. The food at our family reunions was incredible! My aunts were great cooks and they never skimped on the fat. lol
Click to expand...

There is a reason that obesity and several other diet related health problems have a greater incidence in the poor. Healthy food is difficult to obtain, and more expensive. When using food stamps, they often have to make a minimal amount stretch, and therefore, rely a lot on the more fattening, less healthy choices.
 
jillio said:
There is a reason that obesity and several other diet related health problems have a greater incidence in the poor. Healthy food is difficult to obtain, and more expensive. When using food stamps, they often have to make a minimal amount stretch, and therefore, rely a lot on the more fattening, less healthy choices.
Click to expand...

And when one of my daughters was on food stamps she said her kids could walk in with them and buy a soda and candy -- But she could not buy toilet paper with them.

She thought the toilet paper had more food value.
 
Berry said:
And when one of my daughters was on food stamps she said her kids could walk in with them and buy a soda and candy -- But she could not buy toilet paper with them.

She thought the toilet paper had more food value.
Click to expand...

That's true. And give a kid a soda and a candy bar, and they are good to go for several hours! Many use this as a standard breakfast to get the kids up and moving for school.

I agree with the food value of the TP.:giggle: IMO the entire system needs to be revamped. WIC, with it's restrictions on specific, healthy foods, operates much more efficiently. The food stamp program needs to follow some of their guidelines, and to allow for limited purchase of necessity items.
 
I agree, anything that is high in sugar and salt (which is usually part of the process food to preserve) should be purchase with their own money like they do with TP
 
Yeah, I knew this lady that was on FS....she could not buy laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, TP, towel paper, toothpaste!...a long list of things that we do need in our daily lives.....but she could go into a store and get a soda and candy bar or chips!.....say what?...but still, if I were on FS, it would not go for sodas or candy bars or junk food.....No wonder some people "sell" some of their FS so they can acquire these things they need.....She even offered them to me to be able to buy paper products, but I declined and just gave her $10 to help her along....

Also, most people that are on FS, are on Medicaid..so it's free dental....how are they expected to take care of their teeth if they cannot buy toothpaste??
 
I agree. They should be able to take care of themselves. on the outside surface of their body as well as the inside. But it is call food stamp for a reason, though. To make sure the kids are well fed and that the mother is not spending it all on some fancy brandname toliet paper and toothpaste.

There should be a stamp just for toothpaste and all that. maybe have debit type of card that have a dual purposes. (we have make sure they don't use up food stamp for other things)
 
rockin'robin said:
Also, most people that are on FS, are on Medicaid..so it's free dental....how are they expected to take care of their teeth if they cannot buy toothpaste??
Click to expand...

Try finding a dentist that takes Medicaid. 99% refuse patients who have Medicaid - won't even see them for a cleaning unless they pay cash up front, and a cleaning is NEVER just a cleaning. There is no dentist within 100 miles of us that takes Medicaid patients. The closest one has a 4-6 week wait for basic services, longer for more complicated procedures.

My daughter was refused urgent dental care even with Medicaid coverage. We had to pony up $1200 before they'd work on her. Thank goodness for generous family.
 
That's awful! Sometimes dentists won't work on small children unless the child is sedated at the hospital. Did that include some kind of special sedation? Sounds like a lot of money!
 
sallylou said:
That's awful! Sometimes dentists won't work on small children unless the child is sedated at the hospital. Did that include some kind of special sedation? Sounds like a lot of money!
Click to expand...
tell me about it! I switch dentist who can handle sedating kids (with gas) in their office instead of hospital after I dealt with that.
 
Back
Top