This week Dr. David Ludwig from Harvard made a bold statement. “In severe instances of childhood obesity, removal from the home may be justifiable from a legal standpoint because of imminent health risks and the parents’ chronic failure to address medical problems.” Predictably, this sparked outrage and an immediate national debate which I find both comical and distressing. What’s comical is this is one man’s opinion, and while I have never worked for child services I am quite sure there would be lengthy debate and political maneuvering before states consented to this. What’s distressing is this uproar takes the focus off of what’s most important, finding solutions.
Let’s take a minute and paraphrase Dr. Ludwig’s statement. In the most extreme cases, after the state has provided support to the family which has not worked, and a definitive health risk to the child still exists, it may make sense to remove the child from the home. He is not suggesting that every obese child in America is a candidate to be removed from their parents. He clearly states that if the help provided to the family has failed and the child’s health and safety is at risk then this should be an option. How is that different than physically abusing a child? Both endanger the welfare, health and safety of the child.
What bothers me is that once again we’ve been sidetracked. The odds of what Dr. Ludwig suggested happening are slim. Even if it did, the amount of people affected would be exceedingly small. The national conversation needs to be focused on solutions. We need to focus on getting kids more active and eating healthier. That’s how we will beat the obesity epidemic.
Why is this happening? I believe it’s because we don’t want to look in the mirror and admit we’ve failed our children. It’s easier to blame someone else. It’s easier to focus on something related to the issue but not the issue itself. Here’s the truth. Every adult in America is accountable in some way, shape or form. It’s time to stop dodging the issue, keep our eye on the ball and find the solutions. It’s the very least we can do for our kids.
