Posted by
Steve on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 11:32:09 AM
In Ohio, CPS came in and took an 8 year old out of the home. Their “reason” was that the boy weighed 200 pounds and was having trouble breathing. I know that CPS has a lot of power, but there was no evidence that the boy was being abused. I agree that 200 pounds is grossly overweight. According to the weight charts, an eight year old boy should weigh about 60 pounds.
This case brings up how much power does the government have? Should the government come in and take children from their parents whenever they want? I agree that CPS should take children from the home when there is obvious physical abuse. No child should be subjected to physical abuse. I would even agree to CPS coming in on a case of mental abuse, if the case could be proven. Most of the time mental abuse would be nearly impossible to prove because the experts would all have to agree. That is always a difficult problem because each expert wants to have all the answers.
Whenever CPS gets involved in cases, it is so difficult to extract them from the case. Even if it is proven that there was no abuse, if CPS got involved they stay involved way past the time they should extract themselves from the situation. CPS has very difficult rules for people to follow.
When we were adopting children, we steered clear of cases with CPS involvement because of the tremendous red tape involved. We are now adopting two of our grandchildren and have to jump through all those CPS hoops because CPS has been involved in this case. CPS does have money attached to their children that can be adopted, but I am not sure it would be worth it if the children were not related.
Now that CPS is involved in this case in Ohio, the family will have to jump through a lot of hoops to get their son back. The paperwork involved will involve cutting down many small forests before it is done. But, is CPS involvement arbitrary because of the chart that gives average sizes. I know those averages are generally correct for most children. Is the chart correct for this boy?
Government charts give false pictures of things. The weight chart that we use today works well for those of us who are not athletes. For athletes, it gives a false picture. For example: All of the Phoenix Suns or any professional basketball team are morbidly obese according to the chart. If you look at the players, none of them look fat at all. The chart does not work because muscle weighs more than fat. People that work out and have lots of muscle will weigh more than the same size person who has fat. That is why the chart does not work well for everyone.
Does the height and weight chart for children work in a similar pattern? I have not studied it enough to give a good answer. Does racial makeup make a difference on the chart? I know the chart breaks down boys and girls into two different charts so sex is not a factor. Maybe the chart is 100% accurate. Maybe it is not. I do not have enough information to give a definitive answer.
I have a problem with the government coming into homes and telling families how to raise their children. This is supposed to be a free country. In a free society, the government has no business telling families what to do or not to do. The problem is that we have developed a Nanny-State mentality where people feel it is the job of government to come in and tell us what is right and wrong. To paraphrase a scripture: As for me and my house, we will make our own decisions and pay the consequences ourselves. We will not lean on the government for anything! I hope that those who know the scriptures will not beat me up too much over that. I just thought it fit.