how can a mother let this happen?

[ddaisy992]

i read a story about a 12yr old boy who weighs 17 stone! Yes 17! His mother 'blames' herself! Hes already got a heart condition! I am aghast at this story. Hes on sleepn pills in a bid too stop hm eating durin the night. (last wks closer magazine )

[lil75]

That is terrible! I can only put it down to laziness on the mothers part...everyone says my kids look too lean, but only because I cook them decent food, none of this frozen rubbish, well, maybe once in a while, but I prefer proper meat n veg and pasta dishes with a side salad....he probably lives on chips and god knows what else, all cooked in a gallon of oil...what a shame

[tiggerblue10]

That is disgusting. I bet she's hardly waif-like herself.

Home Ec needs to make a comeback and I also believe that nutrition needs to be part of the cirriculum.

[tigerlily11]

Again it falls to the schools to teach chidren how to look after themselves.
Some parents just shouldn't have kids.

[k8bailey]

if she was under-feeding him, it would be classed as neglect or abuse but over feeding does just as much harm.

[ddaisy992]

what gets me is that she endangered his life, now he needs psychiatric help as well as being sent away too one of those 'fat camps'! The mother is a big lady as well.

[sleepyj]

i know a boy at age of 11 being 14 stone all they eat is rubbish no wonder the family are all fat .he cant run ride a bike walk far .not right is it .?

[tiggerblue10]

I would say that over-feeding your child to that extent is abuse.

[Ethel]

Does this child have PWS?

If so, he will always feel hungry, no matter how much he eats. He will steal food, eat leftovers, eat out of a dustbin....

It isn't easy for any parent to say 'no' when a child is genuinely sick through feeling hungry, even though he has just eaten a large meal.

This hunger would keep him awake at night, give him tummy ache and have the syndrome has other effects, none of which are easy to deal with.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/praderw illi1.shtml

[annie0000]

I don't think that it is right, but the reasons for overfeeding a child are complex.

Generally, it isn't done with the intention of cruelty where underfeeding can be.

It can be misguided love
instinct to make sure that your child is fed
ignorance
lazyness

prosecution isn't the answer in this case.

At twelve years old, he will have already had nutritional education in school, he will be well aware that apples are better for him than chocolate, but the habits are already formed. Something should have been done with this family while the boy was still in nursery - that's when there should have been intervention.

[ddaisy992]

thats an interesting artcle Ethel, i dont think the boy has that condition( i was reading the magazine at docs surgery earlier so its not at hand). The mother fed him chocolate from a early age as a comfort food as he was poorly due too the heart problem. I think its built into a vicious circle.

[Nosha123]

Its sad to say but this case is not an isolated one. My Husband was at his friends for a few beers on Friday night. Both their girls are obese. One is being bullied. They both eat in one sitting more than a 6ft 14 stone adult male. Each Friday night they are dragged to the pub by their parents who then both get drunk and shout at each other through the fog of 20 cigarettes and the kids are fed pub grub. Then they go home and the parents get a midnight chinese takeaway and the kids eat yet another dinner of junk. They help themselves to cans of sprite for breakfast and wouldnt know a vegetable if it hit them in the face. Why is this not child abuse? What chance do these poor kids stand?

[cazzz1975]

thing is though daisy, I see a lot of skinny kids inhaling enough junk to sink a battleship as well yet they are considered okay,
he may have a medical condition, agreed his mom should not feed him junk but he should be checked for various conditions before the diagnosis of

"greedy and lazy" is reached by the armchair doctors