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.

@yomellamoHelly

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.

No personal responsibility there, just expecting rewards for free for being overweight.

If you were short of money you wouldn't buy these things and concentrate on cheap nutritious foods like eggs or beans on toast, baked potatoes, bananas etc. And if you can't/won't do that, then it's not a money issue is it?

It's also an education and resourcefulness/resilience issue. Chaotic lifestyle, low resources, poor emotional and mental resilience, no education around how to cook from scratch or healthily and lacking the necessary skills and resources to learn or to look it up and the nuggets and chips combo is the best/only/easiest accessible option.

Saying "if I lacked money I would simply eat x, y, and z" is us speaking from a place of education and privilege where we know that meals can be stretched if you freeze the leftovers or bulk it out with lentils or that it's more cost-effective in the long run to bulk buy. Its presuming everyone has these capabilities when really they don't and that's why a multi-disciplinary approach is needed to tackle the problem.

I've a pair of close friends with overweight children. The older boy now has breasts that ressemble my 32Bs. They've been known to complain about the letters sent home from school. It's a fair point that the children have a broad bone structure, but over time it is increasingly being covered in surplus fat. They think my children are skinny and underwight. They are naturally lean, and ribby, with visible muscles. They are on the bottom end of healthy, as were DH and I as children. DS1 has been regularly monitored by dieticians and through other health professionals and has always come out as being healthy. But it's my children that look thin and anomalous compared to their peers.

There should be regular montoring. YR to y6 is too long and the damage is done. Too many cute, chubby 4-5 year olds that still look toddlerish at that stage are easily dismissed, and by the time they are in juniors they are plainly carrying surplus fat. For many that will accelerate puberty.

Poverty is not the only cause. Constant access to sweets, snacks etc and excessive portions size affects all incomes.

My DCs don't seem to have changed through lockdown, we've tried to restrict screen time, and get out regularly to exercise. I have failed to recognise classmates on zoom calls though.
Our organised activities are still heavily restricted. Swimming pools are still not accessible to families. No junior parkrun (free). No indoor martial arts.

Parents need to be objective about their children's health. We need to be pointing out what a healthy bodyshape is like. Children know it anyway, they are often less stupid and deluded than adults!

There also nreds to be accessible, inclusive support.

People fear children developing eating disorders but don't seem to register that obesity often is the outcome of disordered habits, and they are allowing or encouraging what they fear anyway.

Yes, we've lived on benefits and we just ate very simply, not much variation but otherwise healthy.

Same here.

We weren't eating avocados (although they were less of a 'thing' in 2000!) but it's not expensive to eat healthily.

I'm better (not well) off nowadays but old habits are hard to break. The majority of our diet is simple, natural, 'clean' healthy foods without additives and preservatives.

Never buy premade, never buy packet/jar sauces for convenience.

I've raised two children to adulthood/near adulthood and never bought a bag of chicken nuggets in my life!

people have lost sight what a healthy weight looks like

The other day there a thread about uniforms from a certain shop coming up small. Some of the comments were like “I had to buy my 6 year old size 12-13 and still snug around the waist”. So I think whoever said upthread that parents have trouble recognising their own children are overweight is correct

Stuff like crisps, chocolate, pizza, hot dogs are all more filling

Nope, they're not.

What they do do though, is cause an insulin spike because of the carb content (inc cheap carb fillers in hotdogs) which damages the metabolism. And the sugar crash that follows makes people reach for another quick carb fix.

People who follow lower carb diets often feel less hungry, have more stable weight and have fewer (if any) cravings for junk food.

Schools will weigh my children over my cold dead body. Or more accurately, the body of anybody that attempts to weigh them. The school's involvement with my children is with their education, that is their responsibility and duty of care.

The children's physical health is my responsibility along with their doctor's.

I will never ever get the negativity on Mumsnet about weighing children and the insistence that doing so, will cause an eating disorder.

Thankfully in the real world, most people I know think monitoring kid's weight along with all the other things like hearing/eyesight etc is a good and pretty normal thing.

I often wonder if the negative Noras on Mumsnet just don't like being told their child's weight is a problem and they need to do something about it.

I get that being 'officially told' must hurt and be worrying but it's not all about the parents feelings, it's about the actual child and the fact they're overweight, just like 64% of the adults around them.

We don’t have hearing and eyesight tested in school any more, do we?
So why is weight the only thing checked? Is it because it’s a quick and easy way for the govt to look like they give a shit?
DS’s height and weight were checked annually due to another health issue. I withdrew him from the YR and 6 checks, because they weren’t necessary.

Your right fruit, veg, making from scratch can be cheeper. But you can buy cheap white bread from Aldi for 50p, tub of chocolate spread for 89p, and a 24 multipack of crisps For about 1.99, pack of 5 chocolate bars for 50p maybe. That’s probably going to last longer than 6 tiny apples for 89p, a block of cheese/pack of ham that’s 1.99 and some better quality bread that’s £1. Stuff like crisps, chocolate, pizza, hot dogs are all more filling. It’s cheaper to buy 6 burgers than it is to buy a pack of chicken breasts, you can buy a bag of chips that might last a week for 89p.

But the unhealthy food you list is not "more filling". It's the opposite, it doesn't fill you up and also causes you to crave more of it. It's a false economy.

Four slices of cheap white bread will not fill you up but one slice of brown multi seed will. One banana is more filling than a packet of biscuits or a six pack of crisps. Half a chicken breast is more filling than a cheap pack of sliced ham.

Is it because it’s a quick and easy way for the govt to look like they give a shit?

Possibly, but I would imagine it's more to snap a lot of parents out of denial.

Its presuming everyone has these capabilities when really they don't

I actually really disagree with this. In this day and age, there is enough information, adverts on the TV, in fact everywhere you look to know whether what you are feeding your child is healthy or not. There isn't a single parent of an overweight child that doesn't know that veg is better than pizza! And if you feel you don't know where to start, there are thousands of resources to point you in the right direction. You can admit you just don't know (there's no shame in that, that's where all learning starts) and start Googling... I'll bet those very same parents who blame the government for not educating them on healthy eating, know how to google to find their local takeaway number, or where to buy a PlayStation...

As a society in Britain, we need to stop excusing this kind of bad parenting. People know what they are doing isn't healthy, but choose to blame someone else rather than take it upon themselves to become educated about the subject. EVERYONE has the capability to look around, realise something is amiss and look into it. Every adult without severe learning difficulties has the capability to educate themselves. It is doing them and their children a severe disservice to keep finding excuses for them to hide behind. There are NONE.

This is something people need to stop taking as a personal attack. The health of our children matters. Not the feelings of guilt ridden parents who really need to wake up and stop using excuses like growth spurts, puberty, big notes, slow metabolism, puppy fat etc.

Alot of us have put on weight in lock down . Pretending otherwise won't help. It was inevitable really as gyms pools and parks etc were all shut.

Instead of whinging about letters, which aren't even given to your child, it won't hurt any of us to try and improve the situation bit.

Its heartbreaking to seen these overweight lods huffing and puffing all red faced unable to keep up with their friends even on a short run to the swings. And then "cheered up" with a share bag of Doritos.

As a fat adult its a damn site harder to lose it . Gym memberships cost alot. No friends come calling for adults to go play on the park.

Far easier to try and combat it when you have full control over where they go what they do and what food they eat.

Why take it personally. As a nation we are fat. Kids and adults alike

kids.

Stupid auto xorrect. Is lods even a word?

@Saucery

We don’t have hearing and eyesight tested in school any more, do we? So why is weight the only thing checked? Is it because it’s a quick and easy way for the govt to look like they give a shit? DS’s height and weight were checked annually due to another health issue. I withdrew him from the YR and 6 checks, because they weren’t necessary.

We do. My nephew was in reception last year and had both done.

Lots of children are regularly weighed at hospital appointments and it doesn’t seem to have caused some epidemic of self conscious children so why do people thing monitoring all children will?

Believe me, I monitor my children's weight in the same way as I monitor their hearing and eyesight, I am quite capable of being objective about my children's weight, because it can become a health issue - it is no indictment on me as a parent, or them as a person if they become overweight, it's quite simply a health issue to be dealt with.

They also get weighed by their GP, which is the appropriate forum for this to happen, with the right qualified specialist to make recommendations as to any action that may be required with reference to diet and lifestyle.

My sister can pinpoint her long-term eating disorder back to a comment and action made by her mother in her teenage years. I make every effort to ensure that my children are not exposed to such comments, as a result, given I've seen the permanent damage it has done to her life and health.

Well it's worked, this announcement - six pages arguing what people should feed their children and very little discussion about why Britain is prone to poor diets and low activity levels.

There's only two answers - either British people are just shitter or there's something in our policy environment that's not right. I don't think the British people are shitter.

mbosnz have you ever thought that making weight and weighing such a taboo thing, that you won't allow your DC to be weighed along with the rest of their class, might cause a problem for them in itself?

Weight - both gaining and losing is just a natural part of life. Much like gaining and losing teeth.

To treat it as otherwise is what makes it into a 'thing' for children imo.

To treat it as otherwise is what makes it into a 'thing' for children imo

Kids aren't stupid . They will notice they are bigger than their friends.

They will notice they cant keep up. Akd sadly kids can be really cruel and will call them names and use their weight against them.

They will grow up far more angry at their parents for pretending there wasnt a problem and for allowing them to get to a point they struggled to even find their school uniform and having to order their age 16 primary junper specially, than they would be if you were just honest and supportive and generally just overhauled diet and lifestyle at home together.

There's only two answers - either British people are just shitter or there's something in our policy environment that's not right. I don't think the British people are shitter

My personal view, that I shared a couple of pages back, is that we need to review outdated advice on healthy eating.

NHS dietary advice is informed by this.

Approaches designed to tackle societal obesity is informed by this.

It's the information that came about around the same time as the 'diet industry' did and, yet, our health as a nation has never been worse.

Calories in vs calories out is overly simplistic. TDEE and BMR and eating good quality food are more important. 'Low calorie' that takes our daily intake to less than our body needs to function isn't the answer.

Starving ourselves and eating fake foods isn't the answer.

Many people's diets are too heavily in crap carbs. We avoid natural oils and fats in favour of industrialised 'healthy' sunflower oil etc.

Eating fat doesn't make you fat.

@Saucery

We don’t have hearing and eyesight tested in school any more, do we? So why is weight the only thing checked? Is it because it’s a quick and easy way for the govt to look like they give a shit? DS’s height and weight were checked annually due to another health issue. I withdrew him from the YR and 6 checks, because they weren’t necessary.

It must depend on area, my son had it in the first term of reception last year. They also had a dentist who did a little session with the class one day then on the next day gave the children a check up.

We could only agree to both the sight and hearing test as they were at the same time, so the hearing test was a waste of time as my son is hearing impaired and wears hearing aids.

It’s really important for people to know about good health.
Adults and Children should know that eating fruit, veg and less processed foods are good for you, junk food is bad, exercise is good, inactivity is bad and being overweight (or very underweight) is unhealthy.
Being unhealthy will have implications on how you live life today, as well as the future.
There’s nothing wrong with education and it should be everyone’s goal to be as healthy as possible.
Being physically as well as you can be in terms of diet and exercise, has an affect on mental wellbeing too.

Schools will weigh my children over my cold dead body. Or more accurately, the body of anybody that attempts to weigh them. The school's involvement with my children is with their education, that is their responsibility and duty of care

Compulsory attendance in schools was not just set up for education purposes, eg the three R's.

There is a history behind why the education acts came about in the first place and the purpose of compulsory education as a whole. Since then, schools have always monitored children's health, safety and well being. Even if a parent home schooled, the child would still be monitored in the same way as if being in school.

Children, from the moment they are born, have rights, their own individual rights under the law. For example, the crucial right to a birth certificate being one of the first

@Saucery

You can withdraw your child from the weigh-in if you object.

My friend did. She's has issues with her weight as her mum used to keep on at her when younger and she doesn't want her child to fixate on weight like she does, fair enough. However, her child is vastly overweight but she doesn't seem to see it. Someone mentioned something about it once and she was really miffed. They're always putting pictures up about days out, complete with massive cakes/ ice creams/ sweets so I know that's a contributory factor. I've got a child exactly the same age, he's like a stick insect and when the two are together there's such a noticeable difference but you can't tell her.

One in five children leaving primary school in England is obese. Not overweight. Obese. The majority of their parents think they are a healthy weight. Someone has to do something.