Social workers took son into care because mum wouldn’t feed him junk

This is a horrifying story, which will send shivers down the spines of loving, law abiding parents…

Zak was a fairly typical two year old – more interested in the world around him than in getting food inside him (my niece is the same). The caring parents took him to their doctor for some advice and so started a nightmare chain of events that saw Zak being put into care.

The advice given to Paul and Lisa Hessey was to feed Zak junk food – chocolate, crisps, cakes. They eat “proper home made food at home” and only have cakes occasionally – to use their description of their home eating plan. When they said that this advice didn’t seem right – this didn’t sound like healthy eating – and refused to give him such junk during his formative years (smart parents), social workers put Zak into care to assess his needs. This literally defies belief.

Paul and Lisa have three other healthy children, so were right to check that Zak didn’t have an underlying condition. Who would do the same thing again after hearing of this story?!

Zak spent 2 weeks in hospital ‘being assessed’ and then was placed with foster carers for Aug/Sept/Oct and Nov while the family engaged lawyers and fought to get their child back. By the time of the third court hearing Zak had only gained 1lb (despite being 4 mths older and having been fed junk by his ‘carers’) and the ‘carers’ confirmed that he was fussy with food with them. He has, however, acquired a taste for junk food, which he never previously had.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital won’t even admit they were wrong: “while we understand Mr and Mrs Hessey’s distress, Zak’s welfare was paramount and we believe we acted in his best interest.”

What do you think?!