To think it’s fair to judge people on their appearance in certain situations?

I'm a teacher and I've often been to work in my PJs. A few times a year, actually. Usually, World Book Day, Children in Need and Comic Relief days. I work in a very deprived area and one thing children usually all have is PJs, so instead of the pressure of costumes, we have PJ days. Again, funnily enough, it doesn't have an impact on how I teach.

The children I teach wouldn't care if I turned up to school in a hula skirt and coconut bikini top, because they don't judge on appearance. We should all be more like them.

I wouldn’t want my
childminder
dietician
nutritionist
slimming leader
PT instructor

to be obese

any other profession? Knock yourself out! I don’t give a fig!

Good lord
I don’t have an issue with teachers

I’m talking about childminders who take children out to public playgrounds, lots of walking on streets, crossing roads etc

I DO care that my very active 4 year old is in the care of someone who is not obese and therefore would struggle to chase him down at full pelt

I have taught many reception classes and am not overweight. I wouldn't be able to chase after 4 year olds at 'full pelt' because I have a problem with my knee. Should I resign in disgrace?!

You lost me when you started on weight.

Yes its normal, we are animals and like the rest of the animal world make almost instant judgements on someone/something that we/animals see in front of us

I also dont think that its good role modelling to be morbidly obese if you work with children but thats not the same as being physically unkempt.

Well said.
Most of my fit friends are thin but a few are very overweight.
As for the thin people as a whole, they are a total mix of sporty and unfit. Judging how fast someone can go purely on the basis of weight is very ignorant.

When I was a size 10, it was because my metabolism worked well, rather than because I was fit enough to run fast.

I'm not longer a size 10 but I can definitely move quicker than I used to.

That’s the thing, you refuse to believe an overweight person would be able to chase him down. Why do you think a slim person would be able to? Essentially you take people at face value on how they look and make assumptions. Funny that you consider an overweight nurse, who will be on their feet all day, to be ok considering they may be giving people very active care and life saving treatment.

Calm down

I don’t give a flying fig whether my nurse, dentist, friend or colleague is overweight

I DO care that my very active 4 year old is in the care of someone who is not obese and therefore would struggle to chase him down at full pelt

Oh my goodness, you really are against overweight people aren’t you, what a shame. I’ve always been able to keep up with my children who have always been incredibly sporty and fast. I was also heavily overweight at one point but I was also running, exercising and competing. My diet just wasn’t great and changing it made me lose weight. Much like it did my friend. I ‘keep up’ the same way I always used to. Clearly, it’s not something you would believe as you don’t respect overweight people. That’s your problem, not theirs. I just feel sorry that your child might grow up with that same attitude and miss out on relationships with some truly wonderful people. What’s really a shocker is that slim people can actually be rather unfit and are less able to ‘keep up’, I guess that, again, is not something you would ever believe!

Nice to know you are judging people who have more to worry about than their outfit. Your attitude stinks.

@Jabberwok was hoist with his own petard, trying to be clever by using long words. It’s worrying that he doesn’t recognise the difference between psychological and physiological. That would make me judge.

If you are attending a job interview and you are keen to get the job, I would expect that you’d turn up on time, with an understanding of what the job requirements were and looking clean and tidy. That doesn’t mean wearing a three piece suit, or posh frock, although that might be appropriate. It means taken the opportunity seriously if you want to be successful.

I was a teacher my whole career. In some roles, I wore a grouse suit or skirt suit. Sometimes I wore a dress, sometimes a skirt and top. Sometimes I was very formal and sometimes more casual. None of that had any impact on my ability to teach. It was more that there were circumstances in which I wanted to present an initial impression.

We all judge, either consciously or subconsciously. Sometimes, we’re wrong.

But weight does impact people's ability to do some jobs. I was in local swimming pool last night and a grossly obese women walked (well waddled) from the changing rooms to the pool. She could barely move her feet one in front of the other very slowly, it required a sort of lurch to shift her body weight with each step. That would make her unsuited to working in a classroom. Why are people so deluded about the impact of obesity? It is a serious problem.

And if my child was obese and became a CM, yes I’d be concerned for her and the children

How bizarre

my son at 4 years as very active and very fast

an obese childminder simply would not have been able to keep up with him. Fact.

I know she fully agrees with me as we are very close, I’ve also watched her in action an awful lot. I hate to think how you would feel if your child became obese when they’re an adult. Many, many people have very active children whilst they’re overweight. Do you think they’re any less of a person because of this, do you believe they’re any less of a parent?

Teachers generally work 12 hours a day though. When are they meant to do their laundry and ironing, polish their shoes etc?

I mean, that's a bit different to saying "that teacher could lose a few pounds, they can't be any good at their job".

I think we all make initial judgments on everyone’s appearance it is what you do after that makes the difference.

there is a regular man on my train who has a swastika on his forehead. I have never spoken to him but I have decided to never sit next to him.

How does it give you a physiological edge? Do you mean psychological?

This. Similarly if I was in hospital I wouldn't care if my nurse or doctor had messy hair scraped back, clothes perhaps unironed etc, as long as they were clean enough for infection control purposes. All I'd care about is their knowledge, skills and bedside manner.

Some men have beards....this doesn't amount to "not shaving".

DH has uniform for work and we have no need for "formal" clothes beyond things like funerals or weddings, and what we do have isn't always appropriate given the number of years between these occasions. If we have the money we'll go buy for the occasion, if not we won't.

And judging someone on whether they're wearing jeans or formal trousers while they're grieving the loss of a parent doesn't speak well of your character. When I lose either of my parents I think it'll be a win if I am dressed and out of the house, I'm going to find that period very hard.

I really hope I never have the misfortune to use your funeral directors.

I wouldn’t want an obese childminder looking after my very active 4 year old DS

nope, no and no

And you say exactly the same energy and mobility now a size 8 as when she was a size 20? I’d love to know whether she agrees with you!

Why does weight come into being a childminder? My friend is a childminder, an incredible one who is graded outstanding. She was very overweight and then went onto lose and awful lot of weight. She went from a size 20 to a size 8 with no medical help. She’s the exact same person, albeit slimmer, before and after losing weight. She has the same energy and mobility with the kids, the same vitality and the same wonderful personality. What a shame it would have been if people had discounted her when she was heavier, their children would have missed out on a truly wonderful childminder!