Is this child abuse?

[JuniorMintz]

I would also have to agree that the intent of the abuser has no merit. After all, I'm sure there are some very sick people out there that could argue that they weren't *trying* to molest the child, they just wanted to make them feel good... (ugh, that sentence made me feel dirty while I wrote it *gag*)

This woman is fucking gross, by the way. CHEWING the food before feeding them? Like a goddamn bird?!?

That sounds oddly similar to bulimic behavior, minus the actual vomiting part at least.

[Boozy]

I would also have to agree that the intent of the abuser has no merit. After all, I'm sure there are some very sick people out there that could argue that they weren't *trying* to molest the child, they just wanted to make them feel good... (ugh, that sentence made me feel dirty while I wrote it *gag*)

Good point. I hadn't thought of it that way.

So if intent doesn't matter, then I guess the question is at what point does feeding your children unhealthy food become abuse? When they become obese? When they start suffering obesity-related health problems?

Would the government set an arbitrary limit to the amount of fast food one can feed your children? Or set a minimum amount of vegetable servings they must ingest in a week?

[IDrinkaRum]

This woman is fucking gross, by the way. CHEWING the food before feeding them? Like a goddamn bird?!?

Ahem ...

My mom used to chew my food for me until I was 5 years old.

I literally would choke and gag myself if I had to chew my own food. Plus, the only things I would actually eat were either bananas, toast with lots of butter on it (thereby making it soggy and easy to chew), or scrambled eggs (again they were soft and didn't need to be chewed per se).

I'm not saying this woman's children gag themselves when chewing, but she's definitely making it easier for them to eat the fast food.

[AFPheonix]

Perhaps, but these children are so young, they shouldn't be getting the types of food they are getting, especially if they're having trouble chewing it. They aren't even a year old yet. Surely baby foods, cereals, and soft fruits would be more appropriate for 8 month old children?

(Not like I'm an expert on feeding kids or anything)

[Seshat]

She has plenty of opportunity to learn proper nutrition for herself and her children. She obviously has had the services available of several doctors ...
<snip>
In her case, it's willful ignorance about her own health and her childrens'. I would equate having the tools to properly take care of your child and not bothering to with abuse. <snip>

I totally agree.
If someone is ignorant, help them and offer to teach them, and leave the kids with them (under supervision) while they learn.
If they refuse to learn, it's neglect and/or abuse. Either way, it's harming the kids.

<snip>, then I guess the question is at what point does feeding your children unhealthy food become abuse?
<snip>
Would the government set an arbitrary limit to the amount of fast food one can feed your children? Or set a minimum amount of vegetable servings they must ingest in a week?

This is another continuum with 'perfectly fine' at one end, 'definitely not' at another, and a big fuzzy 'maybe' in the middle.

In this case, I'd deal with the big fuzzy 'maybe' as stated above: attempting to correct the problem with the kids still with their family, first. And only if that failed would I actually remove the kids.


That said, there ARE situations where removing the kid is totally the wrong thing, even if the motivation is good. So the 'fuzzy grey' cases need to be handled very carefully.

[Slytovhand]

Yeah, I'll go with abuse. She knows it's unhealthy, she knows there's better ways, yet she blatantly refuses to change.

Should the kids be taken off her? Well, yes, if that's her attitude to life and her kids (remembering, I'm fairly draconian when it comes to such things). If you're not even going to try to be a good parent, raising people, then you don't deserve to have control of them... simple, in my eyes!

[crazylegs]

Should the kids be taken off her?

There have been occasions when social services have removed children from their families because they are morbidly obese.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Well, if the kids were being starved, social services would intervene. This is the other end of the scale. True, the kids are getting food, but they are starved of proper nutrition and could very well end up obese if their mother keeps on with what she's doing. They get no fresh air or exercise, cept once a week when their mother dresses and takes out the kids to collect her hand out.

Now, I'm not a parent; so, I looked up to see what you would be recommended to feed 18 month olds.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/ma...ticlekey=10040

No mention of junk food or processed food at all. However, a lot of fruit and vegetables instead, along with milk and cereal. There is ready made baby and toddler food that anyone can buy at the supermarket if they don't want to make up their own meals for their kids. This mother is just lazy, selfish and feckless and is obviously not going to change. The kids would be better off somewhere else; in fact, they'd be better off being raised by wolves than with this mother. -.-

[tropicsgoddess]

There's a good example of child abuse for this particular topic. A 14 year old is 555lbs. (I kid you not) due to the negligence of his mother.

Here's the link:

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/fit...ng-health.html