Friday, May 4, 2012

Realizing My Child was a Victim of Bullying

Do you remember the stories in 2011 of parents being accused of "Parental Neglect" and having their children removed based on obesity?  The overall suggestion was to remove children from their parents and place them in state care which would somehow reduce obesity.

I was completely infuriated hearing about such decisions being made with no regard to the true causes of obesity.  While it may seem easy for the government and the public to judge whether or not a child has been neglected due to their weight, the parental struggles of everyday life, especially in regards to weight and weight bias, are often overlooked or not addressed at all.

Facing the disease of obesity as an adult has been extremely challenging and raising a child affected by it takes things to another emotional level.  This is a very sensitive subject close to my heart and it was not easy putting it all down in black and white but I wanted to share my personal insight in hopes of reaching other parents. 

Below is a link to the article I wrote for the Obesity Action Coalition sharing my perspective of raising a child affected by obesity.