What Do You Think?

Recently, a South Carolina woman was cited for neglecting her son. Now, usually when we think of people neglecting their kids it is because they haven't provided enough food or water or other basic necessities. In this case, the mother provided too much food.

Her son is 14-years-old and weighs 555lbs.

Instead of showing up for court, the mother took her son and ran. They were found in a Maryland laundromat. Now she will go back to face the charges back in South Carolina.

Here's the question. Do y'all think that allowing her child to get that obese should be considered child abuse or neglect?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 and is filed under , , . You can leave a response and follow any responses to this entry through the Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) .
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8 comments

RAK  
May 26, 2009 at 5:07 AM

Here's a similar story: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=8136

AJohnP  
May 26, 2009 at 8:23 AM

Yes...when a kid is that size at that age I completely blame the parent(s). That kid needs to be taken out of that home and placed somewhere else, where he can lose the weight and learn how to live a healty lifestyle.
At the rate he's going, he won't live to see 18.

Anonymous  
May 26, 2009 at 12:14 PM

Absolutely...any parent that allows their child to get that big needs to be charged with child abuse/neglect. He's only 14 and at the rate he's goin won't live to see 18......

AL?  
May 26, 2009 at 1:30 PM

Whether it be neglecting her son's health and welfare or abusing of her child's trust, this woman has failed in her role as primary caregiver. Her son will face issues for the rest of his life, both physically and psycologically. I wonder what kind of pain she went through in her own life? Her moral and ethical boundries have most certainly been worn away over time, if her son doesn't get a great deal of support, he won't have any himself. These types of stories are all too frequent and evoke a range of emothions from sadness to incredulity. I can only hope that for eveery sad case like this one, there are two people who are making a positive change in their world.

RookieRuggerLSU  
May 26, 2009 at 5:06 PM

I am hoping to see an update about this for sure ... Haven't yet, but I will post an update once I find something. I am really hoping they can get this kid into Brookhaven or another similar facility. Seems to me he needs some nutritional education. I'm sure he hasn't been taught how to eat properly at all.

LisaW  
May 26, 2009 at 5:18 PM

OMGosh, that is definitely abuse and neglect...I agree that he should be taken out of her care. As long as she remains in charge of his diet the more he will gain until it finally kills him. If he doesn't get major help soon...he will die soon. This is a truly sad case....and I hope your update is that he is getting the help he desperately needs.

RAK  
May 27, 2009 at 1:18 AM

I agree that nutritional education is in order. But I'm disappointed that the default is "take the kid away from the parent." Maybe it's the case that residential treatment is necessary, but the kid needs to buy into it, and the mom needs to be given nutritional and health education, and support to help her help her kid. Taking a kid from his or her parents should only be a last resort when the kid is in imminent danger and services can't be provided in the home. I don't see that being the case here. (Note that I'm NOT saying that there isn't some form of abuse or neglect, just that disruption in the home environment is probably not the best thing for the kid.)

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