To ask what you think of weighing children in school

meditrina thank you. I can’t imagine why school would exclude it was a very ordinary primary in all other respects. I’d be interested to know if other children in private schools were weighed yr R and 6.

Hugely damaging

The response from nasty bitchy mother came "oh they weighed them in science last week and my son came home and told me the results."

That's nothing whatsoever to do with the NHS paediatric survey, which is clear the DC shouid be weighed indivudually, sensitively and in private, and results are not shared with the school in any way that identifies individuals.

We were weighed at the start of every term at our all-girls school and during my time there two girls died from anorexia. Many had eating disorders and were very self-conscious about their appearance and weight. Lining everyone up to be weighed did not help. I think it is the responsibility of parents and the GP.

Maybe other nhs trusts are more inclusive!

It's not run by individual trusts, but by PHE and the equivalent in other home nations. Private schools are not excluded. Though if one declines to let them in, I don't think they can be forced.

The aim is to surveille the population. They added letters to parents/caregivers only in the 1990s.

I don't mind but this is because my children are not overweight, they would come out as healthy to skinny. I think if that wasn't going to be the case I'd feel differently.

Because I have eyes. I can therefore see if my children are overweight!

We have become completely desensitised to what is healthy and what isn't, I can only assume the amount of overweight children is down to the fact parents don't see them as big. I sincerely hope that's the case or there are a lot of parents wilfully over feeding their child despite knowing they're doing it. I think many are ignorant to it.

My children are skin and bone. So I try and tam their diet with fat and calories where I can.
If I had the opposite, I’d do the opposite.

Unless they are markedly medically under weight you will probably find that "skin and bones" is actually the right size. They shod be bony. We often think normal sized children are under weight as so many are chubby. I wouldn't be stuffing rubbish in them unless medically advised.

@Inastatus my child is not overweight but is very aware of weight. There is a child in the class that is sadly overweight and has in the past been bullied for it. In our house we try to make a point of it’s not about what you weigh it’s about being healthy - exercising and having a balanced diet.

If my child was weighed it would play on their mind, I don’t want a already anxious child having the extra worry about their weight. There is no need for them to be weighed.

My children are skin and bone. So I try and tam their diet with fat and calories where I can.
If I had the opposite, I’d do the opposite.

Because I have eyes. I can therefore see if my children are overweight!

Dreadful, and means that heavier children will be bullied.

They don't read out the results, obviously 🙄

Do they do this in reception?

I'd be happy to because I'm the parent and I don't want to be setting my child up for health/weight problems (like I had as a child) so if an external 'body' said she was overweight I'd take it on board and try and change it. I know with children every child so different and the margins are small which makes it difficult.

No I wouldn’t be happy for my child to be weighed. My child wouldn’t be happy with being weighed either. I wouldn’t give permission.

**Do they take height into consideration too? My son is 94th centile for weight and height, the health visitor said that means he is fine, just tall. I wonder when he gets to school age he will be heavier than average because of his height?

My son is very thin, there is absolutely no weight he could possibly lose!**

Yes because they calculate it with height, weight and age.

However, some overfed children do grow a lot taller so they are on higher weight and height centiles.

Redheadonascooter, 3 breakfasts on a scooter seems excessive at 5, no wonder she will end with a food issue later

I think it’s a useful national exercise and had no issues with my DC being done. It was rather pointless at my old school though as the parents of the children who were overweight declined to let their children be weighed so the overall feedback was that 100% of the Y6s were a healthy weight. Rather pointless really.

The weights are only sent to the parents. They aren’t screamed out in front of everyone!

Dreadful, and means that heavier children will be bullied.

I went to a hockey match a couple of years ago. The keeper was the child who is quite overweight. One of the parents , known for being super bitchy and cliquey anyway, said "oh well of course it's X in goal, it would be because he's huge, look at the size of him...you know he weighs almost DOUBLE what my son does?!". Another parent said she couldn't say things like that and asked her how she knew that anyway. The response from nasty bitchy mother came "oh they weighed them in science last week and my son came home and told me the results."

So not only did her son bully this overweight child because the weights were all known in class, but this mother was using the info to be openly nasty about him too. When challenged about it, she replied "well it's a good thing he knows, and that his parents know, at least they might, you know , DO something about it now".

I have chosen never to speak to the mother concerned again as I no longer wanted to be part of her spitefulness toward other children and parents. She is well known as being a class A bitch anyway who thinks she is a lot better and nicer than she really is. But this shows why weighing children at school "in the name of science" is outdated and should not be allowed.

I don’t feel it’s an issue personally. Both my kids were weighed in primary school and neither of them thought anything of it. They are both very slim.

I was an overweight child and remember the humiliation of being weighed at school. I have struggled on and off with my weight since then (BMI is currently 26) but I have always been careful not to project my weight issues on to my children and they have never been aware of me dieting.

Judging by the kids in our school it's entirely necessary but completely ignored anyway. It's a national scandal the levels of childhood obesity in this country. Sleep walking our children into a disaster.

So the child's whose parents opt out in our child's class (there is only one opt out and I know this because the children notice!) is very clearly overweight.

Not so long ago we were having a general chat waiting for the school gate to open about fussy eating and what pests the children can be with food generally. I said my child had shocked me by the amount had eaten that morning as she'd had two scrambled eggs on toast followed by fruit with some (natural) yoghurt (that's unusual for her she'd normally have one or the other or a bowl of weetabix/porridge with fruit).

The father of said child piped up 'ugh we can't get X to eat any fruit or veg. But we don't worry, she had three breakfasts this morning, never mind the two yours had - Frosties, a pack of breakfast biscuits and then two waffles and honey! She often does, there's nothing wrong with her appetite so we don't worry!'.

The fact that A) It's not normal for a reception age child to regularly eat three breakfasts B) that's a sugar and carb heavy feast with very little nutrition in it and C) his child is tall but also very large was lost on him. He is not overweight but the mum is, very.

Tellingly they are the family who chose not to have their child weighed. Some people just don't want to know.

This is not in a deprived, poverty stricken area. These are not uneducated people, they're professionals.

If children of such people are eating regularly like this at five years old then really I'm not surprised we have an obesity epidemic quite frankly.

These are also the parents who complained loudly in the playground after school not long after we started that their child was not allowed Nutella sandwiches for lunch every day. School is nut and chocolate free. Apparently not allowing this child her chocolate spread sandwiches means she won't eat because she only eats these or jam and jam isn't allowed either.

No, before anyone shouts at me, this child does not have SEN as a reason for limited eating. She is just allowed to eat sugary crap at home and they don't like it that it's not allowed in school. Child now takes a large sausage roll in place of a sandwich every day.