Fat Boy May Be Placed In Care :

8 year old Connor McCreaddie at one point weighed around 15+ stone (over 210lbs). He may be placed into care unless his mother improves his diet.

???Taking the child into care or putting him on the child protection register is absolutely the last resort. We do not do these things lightly but we have got to consider what effect this life-style is having on his health. Child abuse is not just about hitting your children or sexually abusing them, it is also about neglect.??? - a spokesman from the UK National Health Service ( telegraph ).

I believe this is a first - and raises some difficult questions. Why should the government interfere? No-one is force-feeding the boy. Who controls the pantry/larder - is it Connor or his mother?

"He has double, treble what a normal boy (of his age) would have, but if I didn't give him enough at teatime then he would just go on at us all night for snacks and stuff," she [the mother] told ITV.

It sounds to me like the mother needs some immediate help with her parenting.

UPDATE: Connor is allowed to stay with his family - and has apparently lost 1 stone 7lb since beginning a diet and exercise regime 2 months ago ( link ).

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