The Family as the Least-Worst Alternative for Children’s Health
It's been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all others. Sheldon Richmond echoes that statement in a column, published by Urban Tulsa, about government efforts to address childhood obesity. Without saying as much, he argues that such plans install government-as-parent.
The proposal to have schools monitor kids' BMI may sound harmless, but it is objectionable both in itself and as a precedent for further intervention. In a free society the family is recognized as the best guardian of children. This doesn't mean it is perfect, but since the only alternative is the impersonal, bureaucratic state – a far inferior overseer of children – the family has been embraced by free people everywhere. Like any institution, the family is what it does, with childrearing at the top of the list. Take away its functions and the family withers as a meaningful entity. And as the family withers, the government inexorably grow.
If we expect government to act as parents to every child, we're hoping for good results far outside the competence of government.
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