Monday, February 26, 2007

Killing with kindness.



From to days UK Independent.

"The mother of an eight-year-old boy who may be taken into care tomorrow because of his excessive weight has condemned her local health authority for threatening the drastic measure without offering enough support to deal with her son's weight problem.

The boy's mother, Nicola McKeown, who has suffered from depression, said her family would be devastated if Connor was taken away. She accused the authorities in Wallsend, near Newcastle upon Tyne, where she lives in a council home with Connor and his sister, of failing to support her.

Speaking to the Tonight with Trevor McDonald programme, which has been following Connor's case for a month, she said: "I was given a diet sheet when he was five-years-old, stuck to it for a whole year. There was supposed to be a follow-up appointment, nothing. Carried on, stuck with it as long as I could and for the amount he was eating, I felt sorry for him.

"He lost a stone in a year and for the amount he was living on at the time, it should have been a drastic weight loss, not just a stone." She added: "The worst case would be Connor getting taken into care. He is well cared for, well looked after between the family.

"It is just the fact that he has totally demented me wanting feeding constantly. It is so hard."

Connor has reportedly broken four beds and five bicycles. He has difficulty walking, washing and dressing himself, and often has to miss school because of health problems.

His grandmother Barbara Bake said: "He is walking pretty bad at the moment because the strain is all on the knees.

"[I'm] extremely worried because if he ever gets taken into care, I think that would be the finish of me seriously. I love that little boy so much really. I would give my life for him, willingly."

The family has been summoned to a child protection conference tomorrow to discuss his future. The conference, which will be attended by two specialist obesity nurses, among other professionals, could result in his being placed on the child protection register, or the less serious, children-in-need register, and lead to him being taken into care.

Obesity experts believe the intervention is justified. Dr Michael Markiewicz, a consultant paediatrician, said: "I think we are looking at a child who is going to be exceedingly unhappy, exceedingly unhealthy and probably will face an early death. They love him but they actually love him to death, literally ... through the way they are treating him and feeding him, they are slowly killing him.

"As far as I'm concerned this is a form of child abuse. Not done intentionally, but the result is child abuse."

Dr Colin Waine, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, which campaigns to raise awareness of the impact of obesity on the NHS, said in extreme cases removing a child from his or her family would be justified. "The long-term impacts of this child's gross obesity are frightening," he said. "He has great risk of diabetes and coronary illness. His life expectancy is severely prejudiced. So action is required if his health is to be safeguarded."

Ms McKeown maintains she should have been helped earlier. "I don't see how they can say we are not doing enough," she said.We have all got Connor in our best interests. These are people that have never helped us before now. I asked to have a social worker to help me and this is what it has come to." "

I don't know if this woman is deluded or an absolute lunatic. She's bleating on about how unfair it is that the 'authorities' are threatening to take her son, instead of facing up to what she is doing. This is an eight year old that is so overweight he can no longer make the five minute walk to his school.
He's 8 years old and he weighs 14 stone.
"I don't see how they can say we are not doing enough"
It's unreal how self- pitying this woman is. Her son has no friends, eats an unbelievable amount of crap a day and is slowly but surely killing himself. At eight years old this boy cannot make decisions regarding his own diet and his own health, that's a parent's job. Just as it is a parents duty to protect, provide for and care for their child. Even if fulfilling that duty sometimes means saying 'NO'.

This is Connor's diet.


BREAKFAST: Coco Pops cereal

11am: Three slices of toast with turkey ham

LUNCH: Two sausages, burger, chips, fizzy pop

DINNER: Takeaway (two nights a week). Roast will include four Yorkshire puddings

SNACKS: Every 20 minutes. Intake will include four packets of crisps, three packets of biscuits, several bars of chocolate.

I could hardly believe what I was reading. 3 Packets of biscuits? four packets of crisps? His snacks alone probably exceed 2000 calories.
I'm against kids being taken from their parents if there is another way to resolve an issue. But in this instance a care order for this boy might just be the only thing that can save him. From himself and from a family that are too blinkered and head in the sand to realise that while they doubtless love their boy, they are doing him immeasurable harm.

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11 Comments:

Blogger Kav said...

Jesus Christ in a chariot-driven sidecar. Ah FMC, I can always rely on you to get me feeling angry and self-righteous in the morning.

Oh, and how was the restaurant?

11:10 a.m.  
Blogger fatmammycat said...

Good morning Kav, I ended up going to the Bonne Auberge, round the corner from Strathclyde College, I thhink it's on Buchannon Street? Very nice it was too. A french Bistro, good dishes and not overly priced-excellent service too, in fact everybody I met in Glasgow were very delightful. I"d like to go back for a weekend and actually spend some time gadding about.

11:40 a.m.  
Blogger Kav said...

I know the place, haven't eaten there though. Glasgow tends to get outshined by Edinburgh, but it's a fantastic place to spend a few days. Great shops (Buchanan Street and at the bottom of it, Argyle Street), lots of great restaurants, decent pubs, and plenty of little curiosities. Personally I find the people friendlier than in Edinburgh - parts of Edinburgh are just a little bit on the pretentious side and that kind of alienates me.

1:36 p.m.  
Blogger Student said...

I agree, a child cannot be expected to make the right decision between what they like and what is good for them. That's the job of the parent.

I got very wound up about the parents passing burgers and chips through the fence to the schoolkids that while they were at school were banned from junk food.

Not only were they feeding them crap at home they also sabotaged the once chance they had of one healthy meal a day.

It is child abuse. Their kid is a fat fuck due to their faliure as a parent. He's not a bit chubby, the poor bastard is digging his grave with his fork.

He can't even wash himself properly and his "mother" has the nerve to blame the government. Well I guess they are helping now. I hope they chek his sister too and make sure she is ok.

You have to have a licence to have a dog but any twat with genitlas can have a kid. It'd be funny if it wasn't so fucking depressing.

I thought about talking this one through on my blog but I think I would yell too much and get the red mist.

3:00 p.m.  
Blogger fatmammycat said...

It's the outraged parent that makes me shake my head too. I don't understand how she can not see how much harm has been inflicted on her son. Poor little guy, imagine being eight and not being able to walk to school or wash yourself.
Her attitude stinks to the high heavens. Yeah lady, blame the government and social services, blame junk food makers, blame your son for liking junk food and not veggies. Blame blame blame, but never turn the blame inwards. Oh no sir.

3:12 p.m.  
Blogger Student said...

I couldn't leave it alone and posted on this. I admitted I nicked it from your post though. Cited my references. It makes me Muuuuh muuh mad!.

3:45 p.m.  
Blogger Student said...

I also have to admit to wanting him to do the truffle shuffle

3:49 p.m.  
Blogger Sam, Problem-Child-Bride said...

The reaod to the fat-farm is paved with good intentions.

Poor little sod. He needs a mentor or somebody to encourage him in what he's interested in or even to help him find out what he's interested in. He's got nothing to absorb him so he absorbs food and his damn fool parents are letting him and letting him down.

5:04 p.m.  
Blogger fatmammycat said...

He needs parents who understand that love is not saying 'yes' to every demand.

5:17 p.m.  
Blogger Sam, Problem-Child-Bride said...

Nobody involved seems like an evil villain and all clearly love the boy but, Christ, blaming it on social services is a bit much: I feed my child crap all day - why didn't you stop me?

2:10 a.m.  
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8:29 a.m.  

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