Authorities May Take 218-pound 8-Year-Old Away from His Mother

By Linda Orlando

Social service officials in Wallsend, North Tyneside, about 300 miles north of London, said that there will be a hearing Tuesday to determine the fate of a little boy who has been the victim of a bizarre form of child abuse. The hearing is being held to discuss the health of Connor McCreaddie, an 8-year-old boy who weighs 218 pounds. Depending on the results of the hearing, McCreaddie may be removed from the care of his mother and put into protective custody.

A statement by health officials said that they "have been working with the family over a prolonged period of time and will continue to do so." London’s Sunday Times quoted an unnamed health official as saying that officials are considering removing Connor as a last resort, because the family has repeatedly failed to show up for appointments with social workers, nurses, and nutritionists. The paper quoted the official as saying, "Child abuse is not just about hitting your children or sexually abusing them, it is also about neglect."

Connor’s mother, Nicola McKeown, told ITV1's Tonight with Trevor McDonald that she had received a letter notifying her about the hearing, but she disagrees with the allegations that she did not accept help from social services. "[I feel] really terrible receiving this letter," she said. "I don't see how they can say we are not doing enough when everyone is rallying around trying to do something for Connor. We have all got Connor in our best interests ... At the end of the day, these are people that have never helped us before now."

Connor’s mother told reporters that he steals food and hides it, making it difficult for her to help him stop eating. "He has double, treble what a normal boy (of his age) would have, but if I didn’t give him enough at teatime then he would just go on at us all night for snacks and stuff," she told ITV. The boy weighs more than three times the average for children his age, and he has trouble washing himself and getting dressed. He frequently misses school because of his poor health, and he is routinely harassed by bullies shouting at him and calling him fat.

Pediatrician Michael Markiewicz told Tonight, "We are looking at a child who is going to be exceedingly unhappy, exceedingly unhealthy and probably will face an early death. They actually love him to death ... they are slowly killing him. As far as I'm concerned this is a form of child abuse. Not done intentionally but the result is child abuse."

According to Connor’s sister and grandmother, he devours "chips with everything," and he loves to eat sausage sandwiches regularly, burgers, chocolate biscuits, and "junk food all day long while sitting at the computer."

Dr. Colin Waine, the director of the National Obesity Forum in Nottingham, said that Connor’s lifestyle is extremely dangerous, because he is headed straight toward developing diabetes in his early teens, followed by cardiovascular problems in his twenties. "He’s really at risk of dying by the time he’s 30," Waine said.

Still, Connor’s mother insists that he is better off living with her. "The worst case would be Connor getting taken into care," she said. He is well cared for. It is just the fact that he has totally demented me wanting to be fed constantly. It is so hard. It seems that it has all turned around and I'm getting blamed for it all but I would like to say, 'cope with a hungry child 24/7 and constantly hassling and nagging you'. I would love them to actually have to handle Connor for a couple of days. They would soon want to give him back."