permissive parenting is not a good quality. And had he got serious, she wouldn't want him yelling or disciplining the child, and would always take up for him and condone the child's behavior.
The child is not the problem, the child's behavior due to the mother's lack of disciplining the child is.
Yeah you can't let kids do whatever they want. They need protection from themselves as well as their environment. If you have a fat kid then its essentially child abuse, they will carry that lack of boundaries and discipline with them to adulthood and it will affect their entire lives.
We are all merely a product of our ability to say "no" to harmful indulgences. Further more if you're a fat kid and you grow up to be a fat adult, you'll get poor quality pussy, or even no pussy. I would never do that to my kid. They don't have to be an insane gym junkie like myself, but i'll be damned if they're going to sit on the couch and eat cookies 24/7. I'll beat the little fucker before that happens.