The Checkup: Should Fat Kids Be Put in Foster Care?

• Fact: We all want our kids to be healthy. But what lengths should we, as a society, go to ensure that our kids are just that? Social workers in one county in Ohio went this far: They placed an obese third-grader in foster care recently after determining his mother wasn’t adequately watching out for his waistline. County officials are saying the case qualifies as medical neglect, but lawyers for the boy’s mother say he’s not in any imminent danger, medically speaking. The boy’s weight? Two hundred pounds. What do you think? Did they go too far? Were they justified? I’m not entirely convinced that the psychological damage of being taken from your home to live with strangers is worth any gains—or, well, losses—the kid might see on the scale. But that’s just me.

• Speaking of mothers and children, here is one place I would not like to have a baby: a public restroom in an airport.

• Some interesting news on the autism front: A new study found that some boys with autism actually have brain growth spurts, resulting in brains that are up to six times larger than peers without the disorder. Researchers say the study gives credence to the notion that there are different types of autism with “different neurobiological underpinnings.” AFP has more.