Yeeeaaaah. I'm answering another one of these cuz I really need to blog here more often. Hopefully this will get me started. So, here it goes.
Do you think allowing a child to become obese can be considered abuse?
Yes and no, but mostly yes. I don't quite know what age range "child" covers, but it's clear that when a person is very young (around 7 years old and younger) they can't really be held accountable for all that they do. Nor can they really be counted on to watch what they eat. During the younger ages I do think it is the parents' responsibility to feed their child carefully. Obesity causes health risks, therefore a parent would be subjecting their child to those risks if they did not take action accordingly. And putting your child in a known dangerous situation would be abuse.
Now, there is a certain point where a kid can hold responsibility. They need to fully understand the danger in becoming obese and be able to actually care. (For example, they may know obesity is dangerous, but "That candy just tastes soooooo gooooood! It tastes too good to NOT eat three every day!") It's something that would take a while to gauge. Some kids may be old enough to take care of a dog at age 8, others maybe not until they're 11. Same with taking responsibility of what they eat. But obviously, if the child can't take that responsibility, it lies on the parents.
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