I work with many families who have the Department of Children and Families (DCF) involved in their lives. DCF becomes involved when there is an allegation of child neglect or abuse. My cases have ranged from a parent being accused of failing to properly secure a baby in the car to a parent sexually abusing a child. These cases all have one thing in common: a parent is allegedly failing to properly care for a child. In some cases it's a misunderstanding, while in other cases it's a crime. The state usually doesn't get involved if a parent is properly caring for and protecting a child.
Recently a study was published that may want to change that. The study suggested that overweight/obese parents should have their children taken away from them because an overweight parent may raise an overweight child.
Being an overweight person should never, by itself, be a reason for DCF to take away a child. Perhaps there may be an argument that a parent can be so obese as to be unable to move in order to properly care for a child, such as getting up to change the child's diaper, or acting quickly enough to prevent a child from seriously harming himself. However, even in these examples, DCF should still not have the authority to take a child away from the parent because all of these issues can be addressed by other methods.
The state should not have the authority to take a child away from a parent only because the parent is obese.
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