Wow, apologies for the long silence. Things have been... odd... recently. My brain has been somewhat poopy of late, I'm sorry.
Now! Back to the righteous indignation and moral outrage! Wheee!
I've been keeping up with my blog reading list, and today read this piece over at Shapely Prose.
Let's dissect this a little, shall we?
Firstly, let us take this assumption that OMG TEH KIDS ARE FATTIES THEYR MUM MUST BE ABUUUSING THEM AND STUFFING TEHIR FACES WIT LARD AND CAKE!!!11!!11!!!!!1!
Point 1; How this family were brought to the attention of Social Services.
According to the original article, the parents were concerned with the wellbeing and development of their children, so sought advice from Social Services. Because, of course, all abusive parents want their children to have contact with adults in a position of authority whose job is to safeguard abused children. Or, could it be that these parents actually care about their children?
Point 2; The genetic component involved in size.
According to the article, the parents also are "overweight" or are considered to have "weight problems". Now, despite endless rhetoric from companoes promoting weight loss techniques, books, medication and so on, there is growing evidence to suggest that obesity and size are more genetic than behavioural; that a person is morelikely ot be fat if their parents are fat, because that is how their bodies naturally store energy. If you doubt that fat storage is something that can have a genetic component, then please compare aquatic mammals such as sea lions with, say, cheetahs. A sea lion will never be as skinny as a cheetah no matter how little it eats or how much it swims. Likewise, when was the last time you saw a cheetah with jowls? I'm not saying variation in humans is on this scale, but I think we can agree that this conclusively shows that genes can control a body's tendency to hold weight.
Point 3; The diet these children enjoy
They also state that they do not prepare junk food or prepackaged meals for their children, but cook everything from scratch. This does not surprise me. Any one who has been classed as "overweight", "obese", fat or chubby or fuller figured or whatever euphamism you prefer, is likely to be acutely aware of their size, and thus acutely aware of healthful eating habits. If one is fat, one does not have the luxury of believing that one is thin, unless one has body dysmorphia. Close friends, "concerned" family members, work collagues, superiors, doctors, teachers, bus drivers, builders, random drunks and complete strangers in the street will be happy to point it out to you. Every day, us fatties are told that we are ugly, slovenly, gluttonous, unhealthy, gross and destined to die an early and painful death if we do not haul our jiggly arses out of the sofa and into the gym. When I go out shopping for food for myself, I find it difficult to walk down the sweet or snack aisles, or the dairy sections. Not because I feel tempted, but because I feel self conscious. It isn't unusual for me to pick up milk for coffee, cheese, some butter, sugar, and then some chocolate for baking, then abandon the chocolate, then the butter and cheese a few moments later because I feel like everybody is staring at me. Intellectually I know this is untrue, but I have become so accustomed to the shame and guilt of existing while fat that it is an easy mindset to fall into, even when the rest of my trolley is filled with peppers, tomatoes, avocadoes, lettuce, fresh seafood, wholemeal flour for baking, nuts and seeds and other nutritious things. So I am not surprised to learn that these parents feed their children a healthsome, nutritious and health-conscious diet. I can only imagine how important it would become for me to do so if I had children, considering not only their wellbeing but my own childhood of being fat and feeling bad about every tiny treat.
Point 4; Child Abuse by the government
Picture this. You are a healthy, happy 10 or 11 year old child; part of a large and loving family. Your parents seek government assistance to ensure that your needs are well met. Then you are told that if you do not lose weight in three months you will be separated from your family. Suddenly, while still a child and still developing physically, mentally and emotionally, you are saddled with the weight of a terrible responsibility. If you do not lose weight, your family is split up, and since everybody is always telling you that fat people get that way out of their own laziness, it will be all your fault if you fail. Just how likely do you think it is that such a child may go on to develop any of these issues?
Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia
Depression
Self Esteem Issues
Stress or anxiety
Panic Attacks
Obsessive, disordered eating
Disordered sleep patterns
Self harm
Failing grades
Emotional and social withdrawal
Misplaced guilt
Acting out/rebellious behaviour.
Yeah, I can really see how an ultimatum such as this must have been made with the children's wellbeing in mind.