RedWine
02-27-2007, 02:10 PM
An eight-year-old boy who weighs 89kg (14st) will be allowed to stay with his mother rather than being taken into care for the sake of his health, social services officials said today.
Officials had reached an agreement with the family of Connor McCreaddie, who is four times the weight of an average child of his age, "to safeguard and promote" his welfare, a spokeswoman for North Tyneside council's safeguarding children board said.
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2007/02/26/mccreaddie256.jpg
"We have had a useful discussion today during which all agencies and the family confirmed that the priority in this matter is the eight-year-old boy," the board said in a brief statement.
"The local safeguarding children board was able to confirm that its hope and ambition is to enable this child to remain with his family.
"In order to move this matter forward we have made a formal agreement with the family to safeguard and promote the child's welfare."
Connor, from Wallsend, North Tyneside, has difficulty dressing and washing himself and misses school regularly because of poor health. After an intensive exercise regime and a programme of healthy eating, he has lost one and a half stone in two months.
http://www.gulfnews.com/images/07/02/27/28_wo_uk_mccreaddie_4.jpg
His mother was summoned to a child protection conference today to decide on his future. As a last resort Connor could have been placed on the child protection register and taken into care.
Connor, whose story will be told on ITV1's Tonight With Trevor McDonald this evening, lives with his mother and sister in Wallsend, where he is a target for bullies.
"People pick on us 'cos I think of my weight. They call us fat. It makes us feel sick of the nutters always shouting at us," Connor tells the programme.
Connor's family say he eats "chips with everything", loves curry and snacks on sausage sandwiches, burgers, chocolate biscuits and "junk food all day long while sitting at the computer".
The latest figures from the Department of Health show that obesity in children under 11 increased from 9.9% in 1995 to 13.7% in 2003. Prevalence has trebled since the 1980s, and well over half of all adults are either overweight or obese - almost 24 million.
They've always got the child's best interests in mind, or do they? At what point can someone who, by profession only, come into your home and remove a family member based on their opinion and definition of child abuse. For British eight-year-old Connor McCreaddie, this is a real concern.
Clocking in at 218lbs, three times higher than what it should be, McCreaddie already has a difficult time walking from the strain on his knees. It's symptoms like this that have some crying "child abuse".
Being taken into protective care is said to be a last resort, but according to an unnamed health official, the family hasn't been taking the necessary steps to prevent it. Missed appointments with social worker, doctors and nutritionists have largely gone unattended.
According to Dr. Colin Waine, the director of the National Obesity Forum in Nottingham, England, Connor is at risk of developing diabetes in his early teens, and cardiovascular and nervous system problems in his twenties.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1505048.jpg
"He's really at risk of dying by the time he's 30," Waine said.
The problem is easily diagnosed. McCreaddie's diet is anything but healthy. It consists almost solely of junk food such as chips and chocolate. According to Nicola McKeown, Connor's mother, the kid just won't eat anything healthy. In fact, fruits and vegetables are Connon's kryptonite.
This brings us to a new point- Nicola McKeown's ultimate roll in all of this. She loves her child so much and has done almost everything she can within the boundaries of her heart. However health officials have classified her actions as possible neglect. She claims that pleas for help have been heard but not followed through.
"Taking him away from his family when he needs them to help him would be, I think, disastrous for Connor. I think it would make him worse."
Finding help for Connor goes beyond his physical needs. Mentally, he's had to deal with self-esteem issues as well as routine abuse from fellow school kids. Behavior like this has led some adolescence deeper in self-destruction, and sometime suicide.
Connor's exercise routine is non-existent.
Officials had reached an agreement with the family of Connor McCreaddie, who is four times the weight of an average child of his age, "to safeguard and promote" his welfare, a spokeswoman for North Tyneside council's safeguarding children board said.
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2007/02/26/mccreaddie256.jpg
"We have had a useful discussion today during which all agencies and the family confirmed that the priority in this matter is the eight-year-old boy," the board said in a brief statement.
"The local safeguarding children board was able to confirm that its hope and ambition is to enable this child to remain with his family.
"In order to move this matter forward we have made a formal agreement with the family to safeguard and promote the child's welfare."
Connor, from Wallsend, North Tyneside, has difficulty dressing and washing himself and misses school regularly because of poor health. After an intensive exercise regime and a programme of healthy eating, he has lost one and a half stone in two months.
http://www.gulfnews.com/images/07/02/27/28_wo_uk_mccreaddie_4.jpg
His mother was summoned to a child protection conference today to decide on his future. As a last resort Connor could have been placed on the child protection register and taken into care.
Connor, whose story will be told on ITV1's Tonight With Trevor McDonald this evening, lives with his mother and sister in Wallsend, where he is a target for bullies.
"People pick on us 'cos I think of my weight. They call us fat. It makes us feel sick of the nutters always shouting at us," Connor tells the programme.
Connor's family say he eats "chips with everything", loves curry and snacks on sausage sandwiches, burgers, chocolate biscuits and "junk food all day long while sitting at the computer".
The latest figures from the Department of Health show that obesity in children under 11 increased from 9.9% in 1995 to 13.7% in 2003. Prevalence has trebled since the 1980s, and well over half of all adults are either overweight or obese - almost 24 million.
They've always got the child's best interests in mind, or do they? At what point can someone who, by profession only, come into your home and remove a family member based on their opinion and definition of child abuse. For British eight-year-old Connor McCreaddie, this is a real concern.
Clocking in at 218lbs, three times higher than what it should be, McCreaddie already has a difficult time walking from the strain on his knees. It's symptoms like this that have some crying "child abuse".
Being taken into protective care is said to be a last resort, but according to an unnamed health official, the family hasn't been taking the necessary steps to prevent it. Missed appointments with social worker, doctors and nutritionists have largely gone unattended.
According to Dr. Colin Waine, the director of the National Obesity Forum in Nottingham, England, Connor is at risk of developing diabetes in his early teens, and cardiovascular and nervous system problems in his twenties.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1505048.jpg
"He's really at risk of dying by the time he's 30," Waine said.
The problem is easily diagnosed. McCreaddie's diet is anything but healthy. It consists almost solely of junk food such as chips and chocolate. According to Nicola McKeown, Connor's mother, the kid just won't eat anything healthy. In fact, fruits and vegetables are Connon's kryptonite.
This brings us to a new point- Nicola McKeown's ultimate roll in all of this. She loves her child so much and has done almost everything she can within the boundaries of her heart. However health officials have classified her actions as possible neglect. She claims that pleas for help have been heard but not followed through.
"Taking him away from his family when he needs them to help him would be, I think, disastrous for Connor. I think it would make him worse."
Finding help for Connor goes beyond his physical needs. Mentally, he's had to deal with self-esteem issues as well as routine abuse from fellow school kids. Behavior like this has led some adolescence deeper in self-destruction, and sometime suicide.
Connor's exercise routine is non-existent.