Free Essay: Children from Their Parents and Place in Foster Care

Growth and development are characterized by changes in physical form, emotions, and behavior. Nutrition is, thus, a valuable complement in influencing development, in particular for the young individuals who are still growing. It is the responsibility of the parents and guardians to ensure that their kids are well nourished with a balanced diet and engage in exercise as a means to promote better health. The numbers of obesity cases in children are increasing at an alarming rate, especially in developed countries such as the US. As an outcome of these, measures to minimize on these cases are currently being established. Although some of these methods produce positive results, some practices incorporated into these actions raise the question about ethnicity.

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For instance, according to Varness, Allen, Carrel and Fost (2009), the practice of removing children from their homes and placing them in foster homes is encouraged. However, for this measure to be taken, there is a need to perform an evaluation analysis to ascertain the necessity of the act. The important factors to consider are an observation that there is a high likelihood for harm to occur (especially in the children), the absence of alternative options to addressing the issues, and identifying that it is only through government intervention that effective treatment will be available.

Based on the examples by Varness et al. (2009), the occurrence of obesity is attributed to child neglect by the parents. The British Medical Association resolves to charge parents of obese children with < 12 years. The same measure is accepted by the government in promoting child care practices, particularly in matters pertaining to health. With the adolescent, these individuals are considered responsible for their diets although the parent may significantly influence on this.

In regards to Murtagh and Ludwig (2011), child abuse and neglect Acts address the improper feeding practices causing undernourishment to the children and also a reduction in thriving. In promoting the welfare of the child, the protective services function to provide in-home social support, parental training, counseling, and financial assistance. The failure of these support service to promote the health leads to other more burdensome legal interventions that are considered. This includes foster homes and bariatric surgery.

In reference to the work cited, it is my view that the practice is legal. This is due to the opportunities it presents to the parents before other drastic measures such as the withdrawing of the child from their parents take place. Additionally, through the foster homes, the children are well taken care of with inclusion to ensure that their health safety needs are efficiently provided. An important advantage of the foster homes is that the personnel involved in the day-to-day running are professional health care providers, who are not only conversant with nutrition and diet but also on other relating diseases that relate to obesity. This includes hypertension, diabetes, cardio-respiratory, and liver diseases.

In conclusion, the issue of obesity presents life-threatening complications, hence, the need to detect and prevent its advancement early. It is, thus, the responsibility of the care providers to ensure that the young generations are practicing proper health habits that begin with dietary intakes and performance of physical activities. Ultimately, there is a need to explore all other alternatives before embarking on removing the child from their home. Preference should be given to multidisciplinary approaches as a means to protect the child from undergoing trauma from separation with their families.

References

Murtagh, L., & Ludwig, D. S. (2011). State intervention in life-threatening childhood obesity. Jama, 306(2), 206-207.

Varness, T., Allen, D.B., Carrel, A. L., & Fost, N. (2009). Childhood obesity and medical neglect. Pediatrics, 123(1), 399-406.