To ask what you think of weighing children in school

@riotlady I don't think the weighing at school caused you to feel like this, but more your dad poking your 'fat tummy'.
Surely if he didn't do that, jumping on a scale at the age of 6 wouldn't have been so awful for you

@LolaSmiles show me the evidence that weighing children at school has any effect. This is not snarky nerrrr nerrrrrr nerrrr question , I really would like to see it
I'm not in public health so unsurprisingly aren't going to have access to peer reviewed studies.

I'm going to guess that the people looking at health initiatives and problems of childhood obesity might know more about ways to promote change than us randomers on mumsnet, many of whom have their their chips on their shoulders about parents being told their child is overweight.

It won't magically solve the problem overnight, but it gives those parents who are willing to listen the tools to review their lifestyles and their food choices.

I have opted out of having my children weighed since my very healthy gymnast daughter was said to be obese on their centile thing. She had a lot of muscle and was short so would not be the same as others of the same age.

It's required, as some parents seem to be oblivious that their child is overweight.
It prevents parents being able to say "well nobody ever highlighted it" when it becomes a bigger issue, because some parents don't realise that they should actually be on top of this as the child's parent...
It's not as if their weights are shared with the other children/parents

[quote wirralwoods]@RufustheBadgeringReindeer

Me too![/quote]
Its weird isn’t it, you imagine as you are feeding them the same and they are getting the same amount of exercise (ok dd got more but ds1 didn’t!) that they would be similar weights!

@LolaSmiles show me the evidence that weighing children at school has any effect. This is not snarky nerrrr nerrrrrr nerrrr question , I really would like to see it.

wirralwoods
Weighing or not weighing won't make a difference. It's not like the act of getting on the scales changes the child's height and weight.

If children are being mean or bullying, school and parents need to deal with it. That's separate to a health initiative.

Is it actually better to have no health initiative, let the parents of very overweight children say "ooh but she's just a bit chunky... well he's big boned just like me..." than to say to the parent actually your child is overweight/obese and here are some healthy choices you could try?

One of my friends was furious when she got a letter through saying her DC was overweight and saying it was body shaming, putting pressure on kids etc. The reality is DC was overweight. The letter didn't change this fact and the letter was addressed to the parents, not the child.

@RufustheBadgeringReindeer

Me too!

and one little chubster

It would make no difference to me personally as I weigh my child at home and she has a dietitian for allergies who keeps track of her weight.

At a population level I think it's important. Children are supposed to look skinny, ribs visible, not like mini adults. People seem to be losing their reference point for what a healthy child looks like because so many children are overweight these days.

I wish I had been weighed in school and my parents made aware. We ate relatively healthy, home cooked meals most of the time but my mum's idea of portion size was way off, and we were practically forced to clear our plates. I was only a little bit overweight but an intervention then might have helped me have a more healthy adult weight. It's taken me years to change my mindset around food and eating.

A lot of ignorance here of the reality of bullying, 'banter' and 'teasing' at primary schools. Weighing children in private makes no difference.

I have a slim child so I don’t care.
But I imagine those with overweight children will object. Given there is almost no reason for a child to be overweight, it will shine a light on those parents who are not enforcing healthy eating and regular exercise at home.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/national-child-measurement-programme

Kids are weighed privately. Their height, weight and age are compared to percentile tables. If they are outside of the healthy range, parents will be notified by letter.

Nobody's shaming the kids, except maybe the occasional parent.

Surely the question is how it's done not if. Clearly weighing the children and announcing the weight in front of a class full of kids would be awful. Measuring their height and weight and not telling the kids the result has to be fairly harmless.

Why are parents showing the children the letters? They come home in an envelope addressed to the parents. If parents show the letter and it causes problems then that’s down to the parents not the program.

I understand the concerns but I feel that focusing upon maintaining a healthy weight is important so I think this is good move as it shows to children that this is important

I got weighed at school, I knew I was overweight, adult size 16 at age 10. But they weighed me in front of my classmates so it made the bullying worse etc. That was in primary 7. By the time I started 1st year a few months later I was underweight.

I'm now 36 so this was 25 years ago and I'm still obsessed with my weight. It's not good or healthy for kids to be weighed infront of others.

By all means weigh them in private and then don't tell them. Especially not at 11 years old.

It caused my son untold misery when he was 11. For some reason he was chubby despite being exactly the same in terms of diet and sport as his skinny siblings. The letter I received was poorly worded, patronising and aggressive. Not necessary.

He had a growth spurt when he was a teenager and at 20 his bmi is now 22.

The system is cruel and crude.

I'd be interested to see any evidence of its positive impact.

BMInis really only accurate if you have average build and muscle mass.
It's a fairly reasonable measure for most people because there is a big range for healthy.

For my height the healthy BMI weight range is 7 stone 13 to 10 stone 10. That's quite a big weight range and would easily cover a range of builds. I look like I'm carrying too much weight at the top end of that range and too thin at the bottom. One of my friends is curvy and looks fabulous at the top of that range, and would look too thin if she was my weight. We have different builds, both train and do sport.

I remember being weighed when I was 10. That would be in 1971. It’s not a new thing and it’s done for public health reasons.

BMInis really only accurate if you have average build and muscle mass.

As long as nothing is communicated to the child, I don’t see a big issue. DS was underweight at his yr 6 check (a letter was sent/given to parents). On the cusp, but that’s his natural state and genes. He already had a nickname pertaining to his skinnyness so he was totally aware. And still struggles to gain weight 7 years later.

I'm on the fence: DD was second youngest but second tallest when they did this in Yr 5 or 6 or thereabouts - so 9m younger than the tallest and heaviest child in class. She was also the fittest as she did a lot of sport, we lived the furthest and walked to school etc. Sadly she was heavy despite being slimmer than most due to height and I felt it unfair her age and height were not taken into account - this is the child that could lap the entire class in the 600m and was invited to train and run for the county - because we were sent a 'your child is in danger of being obese' note home, which DD took to heart for a couple of years and wouldn't even eat her Easter eggs (she still has the unopened Lindt bunny). In hindsight I'd have refused as I had no idea she'd be slightly over weight for her age and considered in danger of being obese. Her little friend (one of the shortest in class) was quite tubby /pot bellied and totally unfit if we walked home from school when she came for tea, but didn't get a letter. I think a more inclusive of other factors system would be better.

We allowed it in Reception, the results were totally wrong, DD was measured to small and her weight was out as well. She wasn't the only one, the 1 minute per child is just not enough to be thorough.

We didn't consent to the Y6 check as DD was already body consious with being tall, having boobs and some children made comments about a friend already on her period. The last thing we wanted for her was being put on the spot in front of the class while comparing height/weight. A 10/11 year old knows a lot more than a 4/5 year old one.

Interestingly several girls weren't measured as the parents refused consent for the same reason.