Ohio puts child in foster care for being overweight.

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http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-puts-200-pou ... 32515.html

The kid weighed 200 lbs/91kg, that's not good, but treating failure to reduce his weight as medical neglect on part of the mother is just ridiculous. IMO, you can't legislate health, but some elements of government are certainly trying.

*FACEPALM*

A 91kg 8 year old. That's heavier than me.

Only in the USA.

What do you think would have been a better way to handle it, considering the "8-year-old is considered severely obese and at risk for such diseases as diabetes and hypertension."?
His life is in danger and his mother is unwilling or unable to change that.

Taking the child away from the mother may have went too far (Why else would it make national news?). However, if she was unwilling, they may have had a point, but if she was unable, they went too far. As for a better way to handle it, simply watching portion size and what you eat can have positive results.

Oh I agree, but I'd guess that's exactly what the mother was failing to do - hence the intervention for the child's safety.
This has also likely been a situation brewing for months, if not years. Actually, the linked article in "The Plain Dealer" says:It later says:If undernourishment is deemed a valid reason then I don't see why the inverse of that shouldn't also be valid.

I'm thinking this incident made national news because some will say its unnecessary intervention while others will agree with the states decision.

It's all politics.

Regrettably true.

While I think it's horrible that the Mom allowed her child to get so overweight, I think taking him away from her and putting him in foster care was going a bit too far. I mean there are kids out there living with abusive parents who have a lot worse things done to them like being beaten, molested, and starved by parents who are more concerned with spending their money on crack, and the government completely ignores them. I understand the kid was having health problems from his obesity but taking him away from his family to be raised by strangers for the rest of his life because his mother was basically spoiling him to death just kind of ticks me off.

I guess pretty soon the US Government is going to take a nazi approach to fighting obesity, if you don't look like an annorexic Hollywood movie star or super model you will either face prison time or be put to death.

I'd regard that as a horrible failing of the immediate society and government for failing to intervene.
I got the impression it was only until his weight was under control - isn't that how these things normally work? I've not been back and double-checked though.
No; there's no reason to go to the extremes of forcing the leather-skinned and glowing, white toothed, perfect build monstrosity types onto people - just something of a rethink about what's good, what's reasonable - and what really isn't a good idea as food to live on. And less still to raise a child on.

Well sometimes when a child is put into foster care their real parents can regain custody of them if they can prove they are able to become better parents, but that usually takes a lot of years and by then the child is a teenager and the damage of being raised by total strangers is already done.

I guess maybe I was being a little overdramatic with what I said, but I know that foster care can be very drastic and hard on kids. Now I'm not saying there was any excuse for this woman to allow her child to become so unhealthy, but I get the feeling she still loved her child and taking a kid away from a parent who loves them to be raised by complete strangers can be very damaging to that child. Most children are very attached to their parents and when they loose them it can have a bad effect on that child when they grow up. That's the reason this whole thing upsets me, even though the Mom was at fault for what she did.

That's really the most upsetting part of it: she loves her child so much - and really; I have no doubt she does - that he has to be temporarily removed for his own good.

I doubt there will be any enforced non-communication between the child and his mother - that really would be cruel - and she won't be just left alone. Her education on improving childcare will continue while the child's immediate problems are resolved by those who are better able to deal with it.

Yeah it really is a sad situation. I'm hoping everything works out for the mother and her child.

Wouldn't it make more sense for CPS to offer help for the Child's family in teaching proper nutrition? Both mother and child are only going to be traumatized by this.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

It seems that's already been tried, and failed.
From the article linked from within the OP's link:

It appears the mother basically had no idea he was seriously overweight.

I don't know... taking the child away just seems like overkill to me. Obviously, the kid hadn't been neglected for food.
But seriously, what I got from the article was that the mother seems to love her child, and that's something some kids don't even have.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Another article says she is allowed to see him only once a week for two hours.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/11 ... child.html

That is utterly pointless and cruel. Even if you accept the premise that she should not be allowed to feed him, why shouldn't she be allowed to see him as often as she wants so long as she doesn't bring food?