Ohio Puts 200-Pound Third-Grader In Foster Care! Can They Do That?

Is the Government stepping over the line on this one or should they be able to take your child if they think he or she is to fat? The report says an Ohio third-grader weighing more than 200 pounds has been taken from his family and placed into foster care after county social workers said his mother wasn’t doing enough to control his weight. The 8-year-old is considered severely obese and at risk for diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The Ohio Health Department estimates more than 12% of third-graders statewide are severely obese. The removal of the Cleveland child is the first state officials can recall of a child being put in foster care for a strictly weight-related issue. Lawyers for the mother say the county is overreaching in taking the child. They say the medical problems the boy is at risk for do not yet pose an imminent danger to his health.