UPDATE ON THIS STORY: British social workers have agreed to let the boy stay at home with his mother upon coming to a formal agreement to "safeguard and promote the child's welfare". No further details were given.At age 5 he weighed 126 lbs. Now, as an 8 year old child from the UK he weighs in at 196 lbs (3 or 4 times that of a normal child his age) and he may be put into foster care until he loses weight. The reason for taking him away from his family authorities say? Neglect.
They claim the diet his mother feels obliged to feed her son could seriously damage his health, and that the family has failed to attend meetings with nurses and nutritionists.
The child's pediatrician says the family love the child to death, literally, and the way they are feeding him is slowly killing this young boy. At breakfast time he eats a bowl of chocolate cereal and toast with processed meat. During the day he eats about every 2o minutes, and will often consume a whole pizza for lunch alone. At supper time he eats a full meal of takeout accompanied by 4 bags of chips, followed by chocolate bars and cookies.
The child, a boy named Conner has missed a lot of class at school due to health problems and bullying. According to one doctor he is at risk of dying by age 30.
What do you think about this? We all know how hard it is to say no to a child, but we have no problem telling them "no" to touching a hot stove, something that will harm them, and technically his diet is harming him, so shouldn't his mother be saying no? Not only is it affecting his physical health, but it is also hitting home with his emotional health, and cheating other children who are judging him by his appearance from getting to know what may be a great friend.
