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Debate Info

5
6
Yes No
Debate Score:11
Arguments:8
Total Votes:11
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Argument Ratio

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 Yes (3)
 
 No (5)

Debate Creator

PassionFruit(307) pic



Should parents lose custody of their super obsese kids?

Yes

Side Score: 5
VS.

No

Side Score: 6
1 point

Children don't get to pick their parents. If a child is being overfed and learns bad eating habits, the resulting health problems and other issues are the fault of the parents (barring any medical conditions).

I think that if a parent really cared for their child, they would do what it takes to have them be healthy and happy. If a parent can't take the time to learn about good nutrition, then they don't care what is best for the child. If they recognize that, maybe they would realize they shouldn't have children, or that someone else should raise them- or that they need to become a better parent.

As for other adults, such as grandparents- that is also the responsibility of the parents. It is their responsibility to stop that situation, even if it means not letting the grandparents see the child.

Side: Best For The Child
1 point

PassionFruit makes a great point on the other side.

If a child is malnurished they are taken from the parents, if they are put in harms way regularly, if they are abused, etc.

Why should allowing them to turn into walking piles of fat be different? Parents control a child's diet and allowing them to get so fat is just as much neglect as any of the other things mentioned.

Side: yes
2 points

We are now wondering on if a parent with a fat kid is all of a sudden a "bad" parent? But not just any bad; bad enough to lose their child.

Hmm, do we not consider many factors? Did the child "learn" the eating habits or did the parent "force" their child to eat that way?

Was it all that the parent could afford? Did the child only like that kind of food and the parent wasn't strong-willed enough?

What constitutes taking a child away from their kid? Is it the result of the kid or is it the action of the parents? If it's the action, we are talking investigation into why this child is super-obese, which is filled with anecdotal evidence and opinionated decisions.

So in general, no. There is not enough evidence to say that this parent is being either neglectful or abusive (in general, of course).

Side: No
1 point

Parents can't completely control their children 24/7. For example, when the kids go to Grandma's house who do you think is stuffing them probably worse than the parents? And then you have to take into account any health problems. Or maybe it's just baby fat that will disappear once they get taller and older.

Side: No
1 point

What effect would this have if you did it?

Parents lose their children, because the child is quite large. This child thinks "I'm being taken away from my parents because I'm fat" - That's a pretty harsh thing to put a child through. Would this honestly help? No, it would make them depressed, possibly causing them to eat even more to make themselves feel better, or just screwing up their childhood. Also, the parents would think "We're awful at taking care of children" screwing up their lifes, and putting them through something horrible. It's not like the child has done something wrong, they have just eaten too much. It's like you're saying to the parents "You're not taking enough responsibility for 'that', so we're confiscating it", making the child look like a toy!

Side: No
3 points

Just to make things clear. When I say “super obese”, it is not the medical condition.

The obesity of this debate is due to malnutrition. What if the child were to be underfed? Should that child be taken away from his parents? The child is a risk of starvation. By the way, that child is most of the times taken away from his parents. Obesity offers a life threatening risk as well.

This child thinks "I'm being taken away from my parents because I'm fat" - That's a pretty harsh thing to put a child through

Taking a child away from his parents is always a tough for the child. No matter what the reason. Even if the child were to be beat up by his parents, separating the child from his parents is still quite difficult. Child loves his parents no matter what.

Would this honestly help? No, it would make them depressed, possibly causing them to eat even more to make themselves feel better, or just screwing up their childhood.

What is the difference between separating an underfed child from his parents and separating an overfed child? Both are traumatizing. It is true that separating a child from his parent is not the the best solution to giving the kid the best childhood. But, the super obese child is at great risk of a heart disease. So, the child is not having a healthy childhood. Also, is living with his parents as a super obese child a good childhood? The kid is teased, bullied at school. He can’t play sports because his weight busts his knees. He can only sit.

Also, the parents would think "We're awful at taking care of children" screwing up their lifes, and putting them through something horrible.

Well, yes. The parents should think that they are not good caretakers because they are not. They are putting at risk the life of their child. It does not mean that the parents to not love their child. They are simply careless.

It's not like the child has done something wrong, they have just eaten too much.

In most cases when a child is separated from his parents, it is not his fault.

It's like you're saying to the parents "You're not taking enough responsibility for 'that', so we're confiscating it", making the child look like a toy!

I do not completely understand your analogy… I do not think the parents’ feelings matter at this point.

Side: yes
Calcifer(140) Disputed
1 point

If it's due to malnutrition, then try to make it a bit clearer in the explanation.

If the child was being beaten by their parents, then obviously they'd be more likely to go away from them, because they would be terrified. A beating is definitely more scary than a massive plate of fries. You say that children love their parents no matter what, but there are quite a few cases where parents "beat their children" so they wouldn't love them NEARLY as much as others would.

How many children do you think are obese in America? At the moment, it's between 16 and 33% of them. Where do you suggest 33% of the child population goes? You can't just magically create new areas for them to live in straight away. There has to be some kind of organisation coming into it, and a heck of a lot of money spent by the Government, as they would have to pay to feed the children, get people to take care of them etc etc, until they get new parents. From what you suggest, it's saying that doing all of that would be easy, yet somehow, I don't think it would be.

You blame all of this on the parents, but looking up at Saurbaby's point, it's not only the parents who feed their children. Children get fed at school, they can buy their own food from shops, when they go to Grandparents or Uncle's houses or friends houses, they get fed their. Parents can't control their children 24/7, but you make it look like they are terrible parents because they can't see what their children are stuffing in their mouth's all the time. Obviously at a younger age, parents take a lot more responsibility for what the children eat, but later on, they start to lose that influence to others.

You think the parents feelings don't matter? That's a bit inhumane. My analogy isn't THAT hard to understand if you think about it. Say you get an Ipad for Christmas. You start to mess about with it and just throw it about, not taking much responsibility. Your parents think "That's not what it's meant for", and take it away. They confiscate it, making it seem like a toy. This is like the Government saying "You aren't taking enough responsibility for that child, so we're taking it away", even though they aren't beating the child, they aren't underfeeding them, but overfeeding.

You seem to have a lack of sympathy for what others would think in these situations. If it's APPARENTLY a similar thing taking away an abused child to taking away an obese child, then why would you want to just increase the number who are taken away? It's a lot harder than you would think, and isn't as easy as just saying "Take them away and...yeah, that's done."

Side: No
1 point

What next, take children away from bad parents? This would literally result in a Nanny State (pun intended)!!!

Side: Nanny State