Shit, my kids are nearly overweight.

[Rainallnight]

2 and 4. Thought four year old was looking bigger after lockdown so got the tape measure and the scales out, ran it all through a NHS calculator and she is only just within ‘healthy’ weight.

I never thought I would be that person.

Need to nip it in the bud right now.

Don’t know why I’m posting, really. Just wanted to offload as can’t tell friends.

@Crunchymum

Good to see the MN hysteria about food and weight extending to children.

I mean they ere 2 and 4 FFS.

Can you point to the 'hysterical' posts please?

The UK has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Europe.

But sure, let's call a sensible parent who's a bit concerned about her DCs weight 'hysterical'

@Rainallnight

Thanks *@SleepingStandingUp* That’s really helpful. So DD is on the 91st centile for height and 98th for weight.

If she's 91st for height she isn't going to be 50th for weight and be healthy op. Use this as a chance to be healthier yes but don't beat yourself up over it. Make sure you all get more exercise and less junk but gently

Sorry that you’ve had such a horrible time and sorry for your loss.

Don’t panic, you are doing good. Get them out running around and playing.

Sleeping that is rubbish.

My DD is over 75th centile for height and below 25th for weight.

She is as healthy as can be.

What it means is that for 100 children the same height and age as her, 25 weight less and 75 weigj more.

Lots of varying opinions here but ultimately, you already had a gut instinct they were getting a bit too big and the measurements confirmed it. You sound very sensible and know what you need to do. We've all succumbed to pester power over locked. My children have so much more TV than they normally would but I try to get them to burn off their energy outside first when we can. Also, they would snack all day of I let them and I've just had to so no on repeat until they give up. I offer healthier options but often these are turned down as they aren't really hungry, just getting bored and want sugar. It's so annoying! Some days have only just done the breakfast dishes and they are hovering about asking for treats. I started to give in more and more often for peace and quiet but then I realised the more I gave the more they asked so now it's back to one (small) treat a day with their afternoon snack. They still ask but they don't nag as they know I'm not going to back down anymore!

Don't beat yourself, a few small changes and they'll be fine

My Ds (13) has always been a drainpipe - isn’t .

It is completely my fault buying too many treats but never expected it would be this long.

Been older we had a chat last weekend about healthy eating and exercise. Since homeschooling has finished though he is now getting more active again and I have stopped treating it like it’s holiday treat time.

I am so sorry for your losses- I think these are difficult times but now we do have more freedom - you can take them to the parks ,

You had the sense to see it and address it.

This is parenting sometimes we have to stop and think

Sorry, my post was full of typos. You get what I mean. Been a long day!

Its exercise which is the problem

No. Not just exercise. You’re feeding them too much if they are overweight children. Stop the snacking. Feed them smaller portions.

I’m a KS2 teacher and the number of overweight children in primary schools in the UK is very worrying. They can’t run about properly. They are already acutely conscious of their body shape. They prefer to sit in school sweatshirts and swelter in a warm classroom during summer rather than show their body in the school polo shirt. It’s just mean and short-sighted when their parents say ‘they’re not overweight’ ‘they’ll grow out of it’ ‘it’s puppy fat’.

Also, the height & weight checks which the nurses do at the school in yR and y6 are nothing specifically to do with the school itself. It’s just easy to do the checks there. Having said that, teachers often get to hear which children are deemed overweight / obese at these checks and I’ve never disagreed with the verdict. And it’s heartbreaking when the child him/herself tells you that they are overweight because the letter says so. I always want to tell them it’s not their fault. Obviously I don’t express an opinion. But it’s so sad.

Well done OP for recognising your children are nearly overweight and being aware you need to watch it. My 9 & 10 yr old boys are the only children among their peers I know that wear their actual age clothing - I've seen the volume and type of food some of them consume regularly and it astounds me, more so that their parents allow it and actually buy it, am not just talking treats when out and about but stuff that seems to be in their normal shopping.

Lockdown has set back loads of children, it's nothing to do with eating, it's just they're so used to being on the go constantly and then we all became much more sedate because we couldn't go anywhere! Just maybe start going on some walks/bike rides to get a bit more active, it won't harm any of you long term. Please try not and make your children aware you're worried about their weight though as it isn't a healthy attitude to pass on to them

At this age, just get them out of the house more! And tweak their snacks a bit. The aim with little ones is to give their height chance to catch up with their weight, rather than actively lose weight.

I also monitor my children's height and weight. I've been obese most of my life, and after a very long diet since my youngest was born I'm almost merely "overweight". (He's 2y7m so that tells you how obese I was.)

I don't make it a big deal. Once a month we all pop on the scales and measure our heights and that's that. But I know what it's like to grow up overweight, and I don't want that for them.

They are both comfortably "healthy" weights at the moment. Hopefully when school starts the natural decrease in snacking and increase in movement will make sure it stays that way.

No. Not just exercise. You’re feeding them too much if they are overweight children. Stop the snacking. Feed them smaller portions
For my child it is exercise. She has one snack a day which is almost always fruit, maybe something like rice cakes or a cracker or breadsticks. I dont need to give her smaller portions - she already doesnt eat all the food on her plate, she eats until she is full. For example today's lunch was cheese sandwich (one slice of brown bread, no butter), some cucumber, a 45g yogurt and a small apple. She didnt finish it all but I dont see how I could give her much less? Her snack was grapes so it's not like she was full up at lunchtime. Shes not on a diet she just doesnt eat much.

I really dont think food is the problem in our case but thanks for your input anyway.

Mine is definitely a combination of food and exercise. Their basic diet is great - porridge and fruit for breakfast, something like soup or scrambled eggs with toast and carrot sticks for lunch, and something like home cooked chicken casserole with lots of veg and lentils for dinner.

But DD has a vast appetite and nags endlessly for snacks. Before lockdown, I was great about sticking to fruit and rice cake for snacks with sometimes a cookie or bun just if we were out in a cafe. But during lockdown I became ‘oh have a biscuit’ mum.

Oh and thanks so much to posters for kind words about all the bereavement.

@Crunchymum, I’m with @WorraLiberty on this one. I’m definitely not being hysterical. I saw early signs and I’m taking action. Lots and lots of kids are obese and they all have to start somewhere.

Yes we’ve had some lockdown weight gain here! DS1 who is a pin is looking almost normal! And DS2 who is a chunk normally is now on the 89th centile for BMI! Lack of sports coupled with lots of movie nights (snacks) etc. We’ve been walking for at least as hour a day but it’s not the same.

I think BMI is spot on and if a child gets a letter saying they are overweight, then they are.

Two of my kids are regularly measured because they have health conditions. I know that they can develop fat around the tummy area and still stay with a healthy bmi. It is often just before a growth spurt but I do respond with a small change to their daily eating habits.

Clothes size for kids is a nonsense. My eldest is in age 15 clothes and is 12. However, he is the average height for a 15 year old and is slim, so spot on for what he should be.

Also, I think people mistake a healthy diet for not over eating. Cooking from scratch and serving veg with every meal doesn't mean your child isn't over eating.

Sorry, was busy ranting but should have said I'm so sorry you lost your parents op. You sound like such a good Mum, I hope you have someone who looks after you too.

What I don't get is all the tape measuring and weighing.

Surely that isn't the example to set.

Of course if you have concerns you address them? Kids look a bit lean / big then you act accordingly.

I fear my vision is skewed as my DC3 has a condition which means she has low tone, a wonky metabolism and is prone to weight gain. She will be on a special low carb diet for the rest of her life. And she has been weighed and measured more than I can remember!! I'd love to go back the day if "tweaking diet" but the reality for us now is we have to support a child with a very strict diet.

@Crunchymum It was honestly done in a low key way, sort of as a numbers/maths game for DD. ‘Let’s see what we all measure’. So she measured me and DP, we measured the kids, marked our heights on the door frames and stepped on the scales.

I get your sensitivity about kids with health conditions cos I was one (underweight, among other things) and I was endlessly prodded and poked and measured and weight. It honestly wasn’t like that yesterday. I wanted the data to confirm what I was seeing, I’m glad I have it now, and the DC will never remember it happened.

Well done for picking it up. No need to panic but good to be aware and start making healthier choices for them. So many kids are overweight and half the time the parents don't seem to realise even when they're wearing much bigger clothes and stop wanting to be as active.

Lockdown has been challenging for eating habits in some ways and it's been easy to give more snacks. My eldest is great at regulating her food intake and generally stops eating when she's full. Although given too much sugar this can change! Youngest dd4 not so much and I have to be careful otherwise she will end up overweight.

I try to only buy healthy foods as snacks so fruit, veg and houmous, oatcakes, cheese, yoghurts, nuts, chicken satay. I don't let them eat carbs all day. They're not eating low carb but they don't need lots at every meal and snack. My youngest could survive solely on bread!

Your dc are really young and you sound like you're really on top of this so it's unlikely they'll tip into the overweight category.

Thanks @MrsBobDylan. I try really really hard to be a good mum and it’s been so hard since my mum died. DP looks after me in and off.

I'm another who measures and weighs in a fun way.
I don't weigh very often but I take heights for clothes 10x easier than shopping by age.

Op you've had a hard time but go easy, lockdown has been on going for 5 months, 5 long months, expect the loss to take the similar length of time.

My Mum was always very aware of 'doing something' when I gained weight as as a child. I'm sure she thought she was being sensitive but I picked up on it as I'm sure most kids would. I grew feeling like my body was a problem to be solved. I have had many years of problems around food, disordered eating and weight cycling which I am only really getting to grips with now in my late thirties. My mum admits that she always wondered why her close friend didn't do anything about her daughters weight but this girl who was just let be grew up totally fine and is now a healthy women in her forties (and fairly thin too which is isn't necessarily an indicator of health obviously).