After the death of their 18-month-old son, this couple is convicted of child abuse and faces life in prison.
They face life imprisonment. In Florida, Sheila O’Lear, 39, and her husband were recognized guilty of the death of their little boy, Ezra, only 18 months old. The child’s death occurred in September 2019. At the time of the events, the little boy weighed less than 8 kg. At 18 months, the average weight of a child is between 11 and 12 kg.
Quickly, the investigation revealed that the death was linked to the strict diet that the parents imposed on little Ezra. In fact, these only fed him raw fruits and vegetables, in addition to breastfeeding. In bad shape, the little boy was no longer eating and had serious sleep problems. At the time of his death, he had not eaten for more than a week. Unfortunately neither parent thought of seeking medical help. “She chose to ignore Ezra’s pain, she chose to ignore his screams. We are here because their children were so hungry that the youngest died of starvation.”said Sara Miller, the assistant district attorney, during the trial. Now the couple are waiting for their sentence to be set and risk life in prison.
Feeding children is not a game
Veganism can cause serious damage to the health of the child. Completely excluding milk, meat, fish and eggs from your diet can have serious consequences, such as a deficiency in iron, calcium, vitamin B12, etc. However, these are essential nutrients for a good neurological, cerebral, cognitive development but also for its bone and muscular capital. On their side, vegetable juices are totally unsuitable for infants. If you still want to feed him this way, opt for an infant formula based on rice protein and which corresponds to European CE directives.
This is not the first time that fancy diets have put children’s lives at risk. In 2016, a baby in Italy nearly died after undergoing a strict vegan diet. At 14 months, the baby was the weight of a 3 month old baby. In 2019, a 5-month-old baby was saved after nearly dying of malnutrition. His parents fed him only mashed potatoes. The infant had gained just over 400 grams since birth.
Feeding a small child is not a game. Unsuitable, it puts his life in danger.