When is too much really too much?

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday was fantastic weather, wasn't it? I went for a coffee in the afternoon and had to roll up my sleeves on my walk to the coffee shop, it was so warm! Today was supposed to be the same, but now I notice that the forecast has been changed and there is a 50% chance of rain later today-you'd better bring your 'brully. Apparently women are more likely to pack those little foldable umbrellas than men-4 out of 10 women will take one, but only 1 out of 10 men will. Interesting. As for the rest of the week-it'll be mostly cloudy tomorrow but we may see some lingering rain in the morning. Friday and Saturday are still up in the air but as of right now they are calling for rain both days. From Sunday it'll be better weather-a mix of sun and cloud and temperatures in the low teens through Tuesday.

Did you read in the papers about the child in America who the government is trying to take from his mother? He is 8 years old and weighs 200 lbs (pounds). That is about 91kg! Being severely overweight can put children at risk of hypertension and diabetes.

Even at my heaviest I weighed only 84kg! Now, that must be one big kid! Speaking from a Canadian I say they should take him away, if the parents aren't doing enough to get him to lose weight. As someone who has lived in Japan for 10 years, I wonder if we should leave the family to deal with it.

In the West, authorities are much more likely to remove children from unsafe environments whereas in Japan they tend to leave families to deal with family situations. I think that system can still work in Japan because the family unit still extends beyond the immediate family. What I mean is that grandparents are still involved in the day-to-day care of the kids. However, as young families leave home for the big city it is becoming harder and harder to count on grandma and grandpa to help out. I wonder what will happen in the future as this continues to change. Will we be asking the police and government authorities to help out more? Or will we continue to let families deal with family issues?

It'll be very interesting! 

Have a great day!