Government wanting to weigh children

[birthdaybelle]

Anyone see this on Jeremy Vine this morning? Loads of backlash (rightly so!) about children's mental health and eating disorders etc. But what stands out to me is another bloody bashing of every day people trying to feed their kids on meagre wages or benefits.

More shame piled on to us because on top of everything else, our kids are fat.

Children have gained weight in lockdown as they were doing less sport a parents working full time could not do the same level of exercise with them. Pair that with them being at home a bored means the combination mean they gained weight. It will go as they start to do more exercise but what were full time working parents and in some cases more than full time supposed to do

@Reluctantcavedweller thank you and I do hope so. DD certainly does not look obese and is very healthy (the dietician noted her shiny hair good nails etc and said it’s v clear she eats well). But on paper from these measurement she would fall into the overweight category. I’m just saying people should be kind and not jump to the conclusion that the parents are stupid/lazy/poor/can’t cook.

I DO NOT want my child weighed. My DC was bullied at school for being a bit overweight. He ended up weighing himself regularly, refusing food and refusing to get changed in front of anyone, age 9!

Every single child in my family, including my eldest, was "podgy" until they hit 13 and then they grew like a weed. My DS grew 5 inches in year 7 and another 5 in year 8. He is now 14 and 5ft 11 and skinny.

If you weighed my 11 year old now I would be told he was overweight as a) he is heavy anyway and build like a brick wall and b) he has some puppy fat.

If the school weighs him this year and comment on it you will set us back again and reinforce what others have been saying to him about his weight and cause me an eating disorder again. My child eats better and healthier than most adults.

My problem with it is that they weigh your child and you get sent a letter and that is the end of it. You get no access to anything extra (free swimming / gym /clubs etc..) or any support if any problems are identified. So for that reason I don't think they should do it.

Yes it should be a collective effort to ensure our future generation are informed about healthy choices and maintaining an active lifestyle but this will only work if caregivers are themselves informed and motivated. A lot of it stems from low levels of education, deprivation, generational patterns etc so there does need to be some level of government intervention to reach out to these children so they don't follow the same pathways. It's pretty cheap and easy to keep a kid a healthy weight and fit but it's much harder to break down these social barriers.

I was born in the sixties and obesity definitely wasn't as prevalent as it is now. Our diets were certainly not slimming though, there were suet puddings, puddings daily at school, sweets, crisps and all the usual suspects.

The differences today I think largely boil down to exercise, we walked to school, plenty of people didnt own cars so walked to bus stops, train stations etc. We walked to the shops regularly instead of one large grocery shop, we played out with friends for hours at a time. Now exercise is something that has to be structured into daily life instead of just lifestyle and I think that makes it harder to start and harder to stick to.
Basic rules like no snacks before meals and sitting at a table make a difference, but with busy lives this often gets overlooked. I think it's sad that we've got to the point that parents feel shamed, and children have to be restricted diet wise, I think it needs a holistic approach, sadly I think the government will see it as an opportunity to increase taxation on sugary/fatty foods instead of getting to grips with the real underlying issues.

My problem with it is that they weigh your child and you get sent a letter and that is the end of it

It's not the end of it in my area!

DS was weighed before school closed down as part of the year six screening programme. We knew he was overweight and this is due to medical reasons, his weight was being monitored by his paediatric team so when the permission slips came out from school I ticked the box to say that I did not give my permission and I did not want him weighed. It turns a out that despite what you tick o the form, they ask the child on the day and go with whatever their answer is.

So we got a letter saying he is overweight which we ignored.

A few days later we got a phone call from the child health team to discuss it and ti offer DS a place on a healthy eating course, usually done in person but currently being done by video link. Three sessions, each an hour long, around healthy eating, making good choices, and getting exercise. I explained told the person on the phone that the call was appreciated but none of that is applicable to DS, it is not something he is able to engage with, and that it's all in hand so thanks but no thanks.

A few days later I got a letter reminding us that DS is overweight and repeating the offer of the video course.

A few days after that we got another phone call stating that DS "has to go on the course" and that they take a dim view of parents who are unwilling to engage with it.

DS paediatrician has said to ignore it.

CherryPavlova
Set a car exclusion zone around schools

I see what you're saying, but this is the most impractical idea ever. Our school has two entrances, both on long residential roads. Would you ban residents from parking at their homes? Also, the time gap between school opening the doors and me starting work is 10 minutes. The drive to work takes 7-9 minutes if traffic is ok. If there was a car exclusion zone I would have to put my kid into breakfast club (££s), and would still have to take the car to work anyway so I would be in time to pick her up from after school care after I finish work. I'm pretty sure my situation is not unique, there are a lot of parents sprinting from drop off to cars!

There is a lot of talk about cooking skills and the cost of food but I think the issue of time poverty and burnout gets overlooked here, the quick easy options are often unhealthy.

This makes me sad, I know everyone from time to time is rushed off their feet, really tired etc, and throw something easy in the oven or microwave. I don't think there is a parent on earth that hasn't done it. Some weeks maybe more than others. But there is just no excuse for this to be an every day thing. Surely, the health of your children is your top priority. Batch cook and freeze things like home made bolognese (mince is cheap, as are onions, carrots and tinned tomatoes). Pasta is cheap and takes less than 5 minutes to cook! Have frozen veggies in to add to and bulk up whatever you are cooking, also cheap. Again, it's all down to doing a bit of research and making an effort. I'm no chef or expert, but I can Google...

people should be kind and not jump to the conclusion that the parents are stupid/lazy/poor/can’t cook.

Podgy toddlers and medical issues aside, most children are overweight because of their parents' choices.

When I was growing up, it was never my parents' fault. Instead, I was 'greedy' and 'lazy' (due to food being a source of emotional comfort and not being confident enough to get involved in sport and other activities ). Given what children suffer, I think people are often too kind to the parents.

If the Tories cared they would put more PE and activity back into the school day.

I have a very sensible (I thought) friend who put her ‘your daughter is overweight’ letter and pics of her DD on FB. Ranting on about how her DD was not overweight etc. She is overweight, showed DH and it was the first thing he said. Lots of people will always be in denial.

There’s a woman locally who has a blog/webpage thing for days out. She’s doing it to make money/freebies. Much of it is going to food places with her 2 DDs and taking pics of them eating enormous afternoon teas and ice creams. Her DDs are both morbidly obese, the eldest one is one of the biggest children I’ve ever seen. Someone needs to step in and do something, if they don’t weigh them in school who else is going to say anything.

Makes sense only if they do it corretly.

When DD was in Reception I measured height and weight the weekend before the date they did it in school.

When her results came back she was 3kg heavier and 4cm smaller than my measurements. So I did it again and confirmed my data. No wonder we got a "keep track of her food intake" leaflet.

A friend's DD was measured short by 10!cm.

We didn't give consent in Y6 as DD was already struggling with her body as she was taller than average with a decent amount of boob. She fretted so much, we again did it at home and she looked her measurements up herself.

@runbummyrun

What is this lockdown weight!?!

Why has everyone got fat?!

In my case, I think I've got fatter because instead of doing 20,000-odd steps a day, I've been at home/unable to breathe properly. Been calorie counting religiously and at no more (and often less than) 1400kcals a day, I've not lost a bean, I've put it on despite my alleged TDEE for essentially immobility being 1950.

Just done a HBa1c test which might go some way to explain this - whether it's latent autoimmune diabetes, attributable to years of steroid use or just plain common or garden Type II, I suppose I'll find out which it is, depending upon whether I lose weight once on Metformin and back at work again.

@LittleMissRedHat

There is a lot of talk about cooking skills and the cost of food but I think the issue of time poverty and burnout gets overlooked here, the quick easy options are often unhealthy.

This makes me sad, I know everyone from time to time is rushed off their feet, really tired etc, and throw something easy in the oven or microwave. I don't think there is a parent on earth that hasn't done it. Some weeks maybe more than others. But there is just no excuse for this to be an every day thing. Surely, the health of your children is your top priority. Batch cook and freeze things like home made bolognese (mince is cheap, as are onions, carrots and tinned tomatoes). Pasta is cheap and takes less than 5 minutes to cook! Have frozen veggies in to add to and bulk up whatever you are cooking, also cheap. Again, it's all down to doing a bit of research and making an effort. I'm no chef or expert, but I can Google...

I personally do batch cook (Following the Batch Lady ) but I have the luxury of a second freezer in the garage. Someone in a small flat might not have much storage space. I remember my student flat only had a little freezer compartment, by the time you put a loaf of bread and a packet of mixed veg you couldn't get much more in.

The other issue that gets overlooked is that of addiction. I mean I can afford the ingredients for a salad and have the knowledge of how to make salad but after a shitty day I don't want salad.

What is this lockdown weight!?!

I put on weight because my gym shut, all our activities stopped and for two months, I was working from home while looking after our toddler. So while I made sure he got his daily walk and playground trip, my exercise routine fell by the wayside as I simply didn't have time or energy for it. I also started reaching for the chocolate and biscuits to survive the day.

Here in Scotland many primary schools adopted the “daily mile” initiative, started by a head teacher in Stirling, I think. All the kids run or walk a mile round the school together before starting lessons each day. It encourages sedentary kids to see exercise as a normal part of their routine. Some schools grow vegetables with their pupils, teaching them gardening skills, and then how to cook the veg for healthy meals. Some have a “walking bus”, others ban car drop offs within half a mile. There is quite a lot that schools can do to help reduce child obesity.
Weighing kids is important, to pick up the problems before it’s too late, but there then needs to be targeted intervention or it’s pointless.
I can’t understand any parent wanting to remain ignorant of their child’s serious health problem. Denial is not an effective coping mechanism.

I’m both a bit appalled and a bit relieved that the mistakes they make with weighing and measuring are common!

Again, it's all down to doing a bit of research and making an effort. I'm no chef or expert, but I can Google...

You have the capability to do that though, not everyone does and these are the people who need the most support with things like cooking skills.

There are a lot of co-morbid factors involved in childhood obesity/obesity in general and a sledgehammer approach isn't going to fix them, it needs to be a cross system initiative with investment and education across the board.

• reinstating SureStart and the early intervention programmes they ran

• cooking lessons in school and healthy choices on lunch menus. Lunch options are DS cafe-style school canteen are mainly paninis, pizzas, chips, or toasties with the kids (aged 9 to 13) free to choose whatever they want

• changes to food packaging so that instead of telling you its 300kcal per 100g or whatever, it shows a photograph or illustration of a serving size alongside the nutritional information for that serving

• extend the Healthy Start voucher scheme to all under 5s to encourage good habits from an early age. The vouchers are worth £3.10 a week and are currently very under claimed. They can be spent on fruit, vegetables, milk, and vitamins

• address the issue of "food deserts", where people live in areas without access to fresh, healthy food as they are too far from proper supermarkets and so are reliant on convenience stores selling convenience foods, often at a price premium

• instead of bike vouchers, give gym or swimming vouchers or vouchers for classes both of which are more accessible to more people than cycling. Once the voucher had been used then people would have the option of paying to continue if they find they enjoyed it with concessions for those on low incomes

• look at PE in schools and change how it is taught wo that children actually enjoy it and it fosters a love of doing exercise for the fun if it rather than make many children think of exercise as something hated and to be endured before dropping it as soon as possible

There are other factors but they're the immediate ones I can think of.

Children are already weighed in reception and year 6 so if they extend this it can only be good for children.

So many adults have lost sight of what a healthy weight/size is themselves as adults and for their children.

If the weight check improves the lives and health of some it will be worth it. Exercise is free and healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive. Not to mention most children get child benefit to help with costs anyway.

If a family is on the bones if their arse financially then child benefit is more likely to be spent on Bill's than bananas.

*bills

The country has a growing obesity problem and the Government and medical community have recognised that.

I’m in favour of weight / measurements being taken of children as a diagnostic tool. Offering healthy eating guidance and support to their families seems the sensible response. What other option is there? Just not to acknowledge childhood obesity because it upsets the parents of children who fall into that category?

Unfortunately there are a lot of people in denial of their children’s obesity. There is a primary school aged boy who lives opposite me who has been walking to and from his car with his top off this week. He has rolls and rolls of fat it must be uncomfortable to move, it’s sad to see.

If the govt are serious about tackling obesity they should make the daily mile compulsory in all primary schools. With an understanding that some time will have to be given from curriculum time for this. But as assemblies can't happen at the moment, this could be a suitable time? Could be staggered by year group throughout the day, take place later if weather is inclement etc. But a mile is more than some children moved in a week during lockdown so would be a step in the right direction.

Weighing 8-12 year old girls isn’t particularly right unless you take into account which ones have gone through puberty and measure heights accurately. My local GP puts the tape measure above the skirting board at the surgery so all heights are at least 3 inches out - this means many adults and kids are deemed obese when they shouldn’t be.

Absolutely agree the daily mile helps fitness levels and aids concentration in the classroom, it’s s great initiative. Especially as PE is only scheduled once or twice a week and break time playing may be more restricted due to Covid. Children need to be as active as possible from as young as possible.