This is dangerous, dangerous stuff:
A Canadian father says the fact that he’s losing the battle of the bulge is hurting his efforts to win back his children.
The 38-year-old father of two, who weighs 360 pounds, could not be identified under Canada’s Child and Family Services Act because the case involves minors, but spoke to CTV News on condition of anonymity.
“I’m waiting on [a] decision to be handed down by family court if I’ll ever see my children again,” he said. “One of the reasons they used is because I was too fat, and couldn’t keep up with my children.”
His children have been living in foster care ever since they were removed from his ex-wife’s custody last year when she reportedly had a mental breakdown and was treated for a suspected overdose.
The custody decision is now in the hands of his local family court. A doctor involved in the case recently filed a report saying the man’s weight may interfere with his life too much to make him a competent parenting.
The custody decision is now in the hands of his local family court. (CTVNews)
“(The father) has struggled with obesity for years, which impacts significantly on most aspects of his life including (his) functioning as a parent,” the doctor wrote, according to CTV.
“He was short of breath or winded in simply walking short distances about the clinic and he lacks both the mobility and stamina required to keep up with young and active children.”
That doctor’s opinion was quickly lambasted by Ottawa Sun columnist Anthony Furey, who flagged the incident as a dangerous trend.
“According to a 2011 report, a quarter of Canadians are obese,” he wrote. “Should we be investigating those families to see if their obesity is restricting thier child-rearing abilities, then take their children away? Absolutely not.”
But the father argued he has actually taken great steps towards better health, pointing to a roughly 150 pound weight loss since the custody battle began. Once weighing over 525 pounds, he is down to roughly 360 pounds.
Nevertheless, the struggle to get his kids back could have a harmful impact itself.
“I am a stress eater,” he told CTV. “Having them in my life would cause stress, but not having them in my life would cause even more stress.”
The hospital declined to comment on the case to the Canadian network, but said in a statement that “every case is unique.”
“Mental and physical issues are examined as well as any special needs of the children,” they said.
The dad admits his own record isn’t spotless and he’s had a few run-ins of his own with the law, he says he’s cleaned up his act by taking anger management courses and no longer smokes marijuana.
“Nothing can be compared to my kids. If I lose my kids for good, it’s over for me,” he said.
This is mind-boggling to me.
Listen. I can totally understand the need for a parent to be able to chase their child around. Earlier in my blog, I wrote about how I felt itvital, as a single parent, to be able to chase my child or pick my child up and run with her in hand. For crying out loud, the zombies are coming. I need to be able to run to save her, or run with her and protect her… or any children I may have in the future.
But. Are we saying that our elders, who often can barely walk a flight of stairs without being out of breath, shouldn’t be allowed to care for children? I mean, look at the doctor’s statement:
“(The father) has struggled with obesity for years, which impacts significantly on most aspects of his life including (his) functioning as a parent,” the doctor wrote, according to CTV.
“He was short of breath or winded in simply walking short distances about the clinic and he lacks both the mobility and stamina required to keep up with young and active children.”
The same things could just as easily be said for lots of unfit people, period… not just overweight ones. Are we taking their children, too, for such frivolous reasons?
Didn’t think so.