I doubt judges or attorneys had this in mind when thinking about “fitness” in the context of custody cases.
To be clear -this is not about parental fitness. No. It is about the child’s fitness – as in their physical fitness. Seems there is an increased focus on a child’s diet, nutrition, exercise and weight in contested custody cases. If the lack of fitness is attributed to one parent, it might effect how a court decides child custody.
And a parent’s physical fitness has been called into question as well. A mother in a recent custody case went so far as to claim that the father’s own obesity prevented him from performing basic childrearing functions.
In Connecticut, there are a few “best interest” factors which could arguably encompass some of these arguments.
For example, the capacity and disposition of the parents to understand and meet the basic needs of the child – i.e. proper diet and exercise. Or perhaps, in an extreme case of parental obesity like the one mentioned above, the ability of a parent to be actively involved in the child’s life might prove difficult. But, the far more likely scenario is a situation where the overall health of a child is so compromised that the child is neglected or even abused. In this situation, removal of the child from the offending parent would be warranted. This might occur in family court as part of a custody proceeding or in juvenile court by way of DCF filing a Neglect Petition.
Have a look at the article below: