Canadian man loses custody of kids for being too fat

[cpvr]

I guess we can file this news story on the WTF! Section. This is so wrong.

A Canadian man has lost custody of his two special-needs children after a judge ruled he was too fat to be a capable parent. The man, who can't be identified for legal reasons, weighs in at 380 pounds -- down from 525 -- but the judge says he still isn't small enough. A court-ordered doc noted that the man "lacks both the mobility and stamina required" to serve as the sole parent to his sons. "[His] weight loss regime is itself a full-time job. So is parenting two high-needs children," Superior Court Justice M. James said. "One will inevitably have to give ground to the other." The children, currently in foster care, will be put up for adoption.

Source: http://now.msn.com/living/0622-dad-t...?ocid=todnow11
This is ridiculous on so many grounds - how can you take someone's kid away because they're big? It doesn't matter because at any time, someone can take control of their life and lose the weight. I'd love to see a judge try to do this to me or any of my family members because my lawyer would have a field day with them.

What does everyone think about this?

[vanillaeclair]

PFFFFFFFFFT oh wow! That's so horrible I feel bad for snickering at the reason why he can't take care of his kids. What - judges are too scared he might eat up his kids when they run out of food? PAH.

But its really sad, these kids going up for adoption. :c Can't another family member take care of them instead?

[bamboo123]

this is totally sad and disgusting... How can anyone do that?! I mean, can't they imagine it happening to themselves!?

[Martyn]

I actually agree with the other party on this judgement.
(The one about being too fat, but not just because of that.)

He is 27St 14lb, plus he was 37St 7lb.
The two children have special needs (I have special needs myself), so I can understand how it feels when you aren't getting enough.

If the judge said something like 'You can have your kids back, once you have lost weight" then I think that's acceptable enough.
But yeah, I agree with the decision. As what would you rather, the kids die because the father can't help them or the father sorts himself out & gets the kids back?

[cpvr]

PFFFFFFFFFT oh wow! That's so horrible I feel bad for snickering at the reason why he can't take care of his kids. What - judges are too scared he might eat up his kids when they run out of food? PAH.

But its really sad, these kids going up for adoption. :c Can't another family member take care of them instead?

Foster care is usually a lot worse for children as is. It's sad to see that none of their family members stepped in to take charge of this.
@Martyn But still, kids without their real parents sometimes have a hard time dealing with real life issues. How would you feel as a parent if a judge just up'd and took your kids away from you?

[Martyn]

@cpvr
If I was in such a bad condition, as he is.. I'd try and loose weight, so I can support my children properly.

And saying "Foster care is usually a lot worse for children as is."
Yes, that's true. But death is far more worse, so it's better for the kids if they take them away.. in the hope that the dad may loose some weight.

[cpvr]

@cpvr
If I was in such a bad condition, as he is.. I'd try and loose weight, so I can support my children properly.

And saying "Foster care is usually a lot worse for children as is."
Yes, that's true. But death is far more worse, so it's better for the kids if they take them away.. in the hope that the dad may loose some weight.

Actually, I think you're missing the point. As a parent, when your kids get taken away, it takes a huge toll on your life. Such as, depression hits, and everything else. It'll be a lot harder for him to lose weight because his kids were taken away.

I've had my daughter taken away from me because her mother took off with her]I had to fight for her for months in court], and that really hurt me so bad. I didn't know what to do with my life. Sure, he can lose weight with his kids around, it is not hard to do. He's big because his metabolism is probably screwed up, so thus, it'll take some time for him to drop all those pounds. Can he do it? Yes, he can, and I believe he can because I've been big as well - and with the right amount of work/exercise, you can drop weight fast and keep it off.

So, thus, unless he was a bad parent - such as, doing drugs, then I can see why the judge took his kids away, but since he wasn't, it is not right to do that.

this is totally sad and disgusting... How can anyone do that?! I mean, can't they imagine it happening to themselves!?

Yup, its ridiculous as to what judges are capable of doing these days. They should have given him some hope - in terms of losing weight.

[tldr]

Personally, I think he should be given more time to lose, he's already lost 150 pounds, so I'm sure he'll be able to lose more until he's at an okay weight.

[Martyn]

@cpvr
You're missing what I said..
These kids have quite severe special needs & they need help with them.
If their dad can't do it when they need it, there could be quite a big problem with that.

Yes, it may be quite bad for the dad.. since they are being taken away.
But unfortunately, it comes to that sometimes.

The special needs are quite severe, so they need acquit care.

[cpvr]

@cpvr
You're missing what I said..
These kids have quite severe special needs & they need help with them.
If their dad can't do it when they need it, there could be quite a big problem with that.

Yes, it may be quite bad for the dad.. since they are being taken away.
But unfortunately, it comes to that sometimes.

The special needs are quite severe, so they need acquit care.

Well, one of my mom's best friend growing up had a special needs child. The doctors said he wouldn't live past 10. He's 18 now. There's a lot of programs and helpers out there that can help parents with special needs children. It's not like its something that you'll have to deal with on your own. You can hire a 24 hour nurse and everything else.