Child Neglect Or Genetic Reflex Essay, Research Paper
Imagine at age 3 already weighing 120 lbs, and the feeling of being taken away from your parents. It is scary thought for any child, but is a reality for one little girl in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ana Marie Martinez-Regino, who is 120 pounds, was taken from her parents and put into state custody on August 25. The reason, a form of medical neglect.From reading this article it was my understanding that there are no present charges against the parents, just the health and safety of little girl is at stake. Ana Marie was born April 11, 1997 and she weighed 6 lbs 13 ozs. But within a year she had already grown to 50 lbs. I personally don?t agree with the state taken the child away, but I also don?t think a 1 year old child should weigh 50 lbs. It says in the article that after she was taken off her bottle a typical meal consisted of green beans, low-fat yogurt, and a small piece of fruit. Now to me that seems a bit excessive, when my nephew was taken off the bottle, I don?t remember him eating that much. I couldn?t believe when I read this article that any parent could let there child eat so much, without realizing how much danger there putting that Childs life in. I think that the parents should have taken more control at a younger age to help prevent this from happening. I also want to mention that they did take her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with morbid obesity. Still I think with a better diet this would have never happened. Okay obesity may be genetic but so is your hair color and you can alter that. All I am saying is that even though it is genetic, ultimately you have control over it.There is another side of this story though. It has nothing to do with the weight of this little girl. It is the fact that a 3 yr old has been taken away from parents that love her. For any child to go through that is worse than weighing 120 lbs at 3 yrs old. Imagine what kind of damage this might cause this little girl. She might grow up thinking that her parents where bad for letting this happened to her, or she might grow up with the mentality that since she is overweight she is an outcast. No child should have to go through this, your childhood is supposed to be the best time of your life. Taken the child away from the parents was a mistake, true she needed help, but also she needs the love that only her parents can give her. The state should have done more to help this family than just splitting them up. The father had to quit his job, because they rely on the disability aid and he had to keep his families income below the eligibility cap. That seems wrong when a person has to quit his/her job to make less money just so they get aid from the state.Forget about the parents and the state for a while, and think about this poor little girl. She was happy until one day it just ended, she was taken away from the only place she knew and felt safe. I just hope this whole situation does not affect this child, even though I know it will.There are many aspects to this story I don?t know. But from what I do know am I undecided on which is the best thing for this girl. On the one hand you have her health and safety, but on the other hand you have her happiness.