To complain about teacher weight comments

I agree that these kinds of conversations have to be handled mindfully with kids, but the teacher did give the kids an 'out' if they didn't want to weigh themselves.

Was it the physics lesson where they calculate the amount of energy used by climbing stairs, perchance? That is a very common KS3 exercise and cannot be done without the inclusion of weight.

Good lord is this still happening? I am 63 and can still remember this humiliating and pointless class activity at school. There is no need to look at actual personal weights (or height for that matter as this was also damaging to those who were above or below average height or indeed any measurements). Furthermore any education about health and well-being needs to be conducted by someone with specialised knowledge and ability provide appropriate support.

I suspect the teacher was well meaning but highly under qualified to approach these topics in a supportive and positive way. YANBU

No not everyone share the same views , I know this , but you can say what you like , it’s true 🤷🏻‍♀️..
Some students will have felt like they were put in the spot light , I know some won’t, but is it fair to make even one feel like that ??? ..

The moment she ushered those words , I want each student to weight themselves, she made students feel uncomfortable, nervous, anxious , how dare she !!!
Don’t be so bloody ridiculous. Not everyone shares your issues.

The teacher is WRONG, WRONG , WRONG !
The moment she ushered those words , I want each student to weight themselves, she made students feel uncomfortable, nervous, anxious , how dare she !!!
One thing teaching about healthy bmi’s & healthy eating habits , it’s completely over stepping the mark , pulling out weighing scales ..
I can’t believe everyone isn’t on the same page here ..
I don’t care if other students don’t know one another’s weight result , doing something like that is the same for eg , if you were walking down the street & you slipped , you feel as though all eyes are on you , they’re not but that is how you feel ..
When she got her students to weigh themselves, that’s how she made many of them feel ..
You’re telling me that’s right ???
Well it’s not …

I remember doing this at school in the '80s and was surprised that my DD reported doing it in Y9, exactly because I assumed schools were more switched on to the potential dangers of this type of activity.

I wouldn't complain about the teacher. If I was going to complain, it would be about the school including this in the syllabus.

I'm sure she didn't mean this as wishing an eating disorder on the OP's DD.

Lots of things to think about - the OP has been told what her DD heard which may be different to what the teacher said, the teacher perhaps should have considered a more neutral comment, or just not given a reason 'If you don't want to weigh yourself, write down 50kg', and lastly, is this something that required a complaint?

The OP could have helped alleviate her DD's concerns, and then sent more of a 'FYI' email rather than going in with an accusation before she'd heard the teacher's side.

And minding about having supply teachers may seem precious, but many parents have been on here complaining about just that, and you never know when a teacher will have had enough. Parents are often cited as a significant reason for teachers leaving the profession.

fair point there - it was my misreading, not yours. You're right, the teacher didn't tell her to lose weight.

That being said, I still feel iffy about teenagers being told to weigh themselves. There will inevitably be comparisons with the 'normal' weight of 50kg: there will inevitably be comparisons with the girls who weigh less than you. So much stuff about weight is shoved at young girls online (heroine chic is back) - do we really need to bring stuff about it into our schools, as well? Reading the post properly this time, I don't think that the teacher was malicious in any way, but I still think that it was a thoughtless thing to do.

No i would t have complained. The teacher was being nice and told them to put 50kg down if they didn't want to write their own weight. Your dd must have own insecurities to react that way.

For most 12 years olds who havnt gone through puberty it may be normal or average

I was my adult height at 12 with periods and boob's.

Except that’s not what the OP said happened.

Hi! I was an anorexic, and for me the anorexia was triggered by a desire to lose weight, and manifested itself in a deep terror of gaining any weight at all.

I totally take your point that for some anorexia is about far more than this - however, for many it is triggered by the desire to lose weight.

Weighing oneself doesn’t cause EDs. These days, I’d say it’s much more likely to cause anxiety about weight through exposure to social media. Never mind the scales, take away unlimited access to Instagram!

Where did the teacher tell op’s child she needed to lose weight?
I must have missed that?

I find it hard to swallow that in 2025, educated people believe anorexia is caused by a desire to be slim or a fat comment.

The initial control might start as a diet or by accident, but most people won't become anorexic, it takes dedication to pain.

On reality it has very little to do with being slim, it is a mh illness that is created as a method of control when the mind out of control.

Hence the baggy clothing and hiding the symptoms.

Oh come on, this is really bad. Weight isn't a neutral thing, and what the teacher said wasn't 'neutral' either. 22 is a healthy BMI, and the teacher telling the child to lose weight was her clearly telling the child that it's not health that matters - it's whether you're skinny or not. I had the same message taught to me as a child and developed severe anorexia nervosa. I suffer with chest pains because of it to this day (once your body runs out of fat to burn it turns to muscle, meaning that I now have heart weakness).

OP isn't being 'crazy', she's rightly concerned about the teacher telling her child that she needs to lose weight at a BMI of 22.

Please see the original post and calm yourself down.

Half of MN is bragging about how much they’ve lost on skinny jab and how miserable they’ve been half their life the other half saying whatever you do don’t dare mention scales to your kids - they’ll all wind up anorexic -Jesus

This

It’s shocking they still do this, it helped trigger an ED in my dd. It’s completely wrong, unhelpful and unnecessary.
Do not let your dd go on a diet op.

Forced? You are just making stuff up to be offended by. The kids could weigh themselves if they wanted. If they didn't want to, they could write down a weight of 50kg.

Ha. The area that I teach in was mainly OCR until the new spec came in, I was glad to see the last of 21st Century Science. Can’t wait for the new, new reform! I think I’m currently on the 3rd ‘new’ science curriculum 😬

It was tongue in cheek, but tone never comes across right in the written word.

OCR is fine, especially when you continue at A-level where it's often taught in preference to AQA.

Bring in monthly weighing at schools I say, letters home for any fatties.

Wow, I don’t know any schools that stuck with OCR when the specifications changed, how are you finding it?

There’s no national requirement for BMI at KS3.

Oh, and kids love my lessons thanks, no need to be rude!

Perhaps what you teach from is different. Ours is very specific.
Our GCSE Biology curriculum asks for BMI calculations, but we also have to do this at KS3. OCR 21st Century is an example of an exam that requires this. Again, kids don't respond well to that being some random number.

The weight on planets is the most interesting one! Who doesn't want to know what they weigh on different planets.

Pressure, you typically put a kid onto a board balancing on balloons or eggs or something else that breaks easily. Then get them to calculate pressure with and without the board. Or get them to calculate their pressure in different shoes, which also involves measuring their foot area and their weight. Honestly, have you got no creativity in how to bring these to life! Elephants indeed!