Helping 4yo lose abit of weight..

[Thedarksideofthemoon30]

My dd is chunky. She always has been. She’s tall at 3ft8 but weighes 4 stone 2.

She’s started gymnastics last week and next week she starts tap and ballet which she is so excited for.

She eats cereal (normally shreddies or multigrain shapes) with soya milk

Snack she normally has a fruit pouch but now takes a cheese string or grapes

Lunch is whatever they have at school and pudding

Tea is things like chicken curry and naan bread, sausage and mash, fish with veg and mash, pizza, pasta..

And then she has a yogurt or something similar for pudding

She drinks sugar free squash (very little as she takes water to sxhool).

I feel like an awful parent 😭

Oh bless her she looks perfect. Little girls’ posture often makes their back curve and their tummy stick out but I’m sure when she stands up straight there’s nothing notable about her. Her legs and arms look totally in proportion for a 4 year old

She’s absolutely fine and there is absolutely no reason for her to lose weight!

She's absolutely fine. Just solid. Given your build and your DH's, she's unlikely to be a wraith.

My honest opinion is she looks fine. She'll probably have a growth spurt soon anyway.
Encourage healthy choices etc but don't stress.
Ignore all the above if a medical professional has advised you differently, of course.

She looks fine. What is happening?? I’m reading these kinds of concerns more and more often and unless there really is a problem, just let the kids be!

What is centile in her red book? Is it tracking the same/similar as when she was a baby? When she is naked can you see her ribs?

Children should never be loosing weight. If children are over weight the ideal is for their bmi to decrease as they grow.

Her diet looks very low in veg and fruit.

I’ve just converted her height into cm and she is the same height as my daughter and age. If you like I will PM a you my DD weight tomorrow.

In a long empire line tunic and a loose cardigan it’s really difficult to see to her body shape so I can say if that is similar to my DD.

I have absolutely no idea how heavy and tall my 4 year old is.

At the figures the OP has provided, her DC is overweight & the photo would support that, tho hard to tell.

However, it is not about losing weight at this age, and just about slowing weight gain till height catches up.

I'm also concerned at the prevalence of these posts about children's weight on here as it's not the right place to deal effectively with the issues.

The GP should be able to discuss this further initially.

I know the photo isn't identifying but I feel a bit uncomfortable at it being posted, regardless.

@Hellocatshome yes it's a normal state primary school! When I was at school I remember the tiny portions too so I was very surprised! Maybe it's just our school then!

Small children gain weight quickly, and lose it again just as quickly - partly dependent on whether they're having a growth spurt. Your ds looks absolutely fine. Stop worrying.

You're being ridiculous! She isn't chunky. She looks fine..you're going to give your child self-esteem issues and a eating disorder. She is 4. Behave yourself.

She looks fine. Diet sounds fine too.
Plenty of exercise?

Probably just a little extra weight given all the sitting in through lockdown.. i've noticed mine has got back to her normal shape since being back to school. But takes a little time?

I've just looked back at photos on my phone. At just turned 4, DS2 had a toddler shape - which is where I would put your daughter. At 4 and a half, he was a string bean, and has stayed that way for the next 6 years.

She shouldnt loose weight. You could slow her weight gain by reducing portions, reducing calories content of snacks (raw veg?), reducing puddings, and increasing the veg content if meals. It sounds like you are already on with increasing her activity.

She looks utterly normal. Mine always chunked on a bit of weight though before a growth spurt, knew it was coming as they'd go through a couple of weeks of non stop eating.

For everyone saying it's a 'bit' of extra weight, it's not. On those figures, height / age / weight, OP's DD is significantly overweight.

OP is right to be concerned. The answer isn't to get her DD to lose weight.

OP, I feel the answers are best found IRL and away from here, it's clear that given the family genetics, she might be going to be a bigger child, but her current weight does need to be looked at, in a sensible way.

She looks fine and probably eats the same as my dd who has just turned 5. I wouldn't bother trying to cut anything out of her diet, just encourage her to stay active, which is exactly what you are doing by enrolling her in different classes. She is tall for her age and may just have a more naturally stocky build, there is nothing wrong with that. Try not to worry, just keep encouraging her to eat well and stay active x

Please, please do not mention your fears to her. It will end up causing her real issues growing up. She looks perfectly healthy. She has started exercising more- she will even out. She is far too young to begin restricting her.

What she's eating is fine. She probably just put a bit on during lockdown due to boredom or less activity like many people did. I'm sure if you carry on as you are with the exercise and food she'll grow into it.

She looks perfect.

I wouldn't weigh her regularly as she will click on to your monitoring- plus muscle weighs heavier than fat (not that I can see anything that resembles fat) but she may increase her weight that's all.

You may find with the extra activities she needs more fuel to keep going!

Honestly, she looks perfect as she is.

Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat

Muscle doesn’t weigh more than fat but it’s more dense so takes up less room.

It's hard to tell from the pic. I should imagine if she's overweight it's largely to do with portion sizes, and perhaps a lack of physical activity. I was just talking with my mum today about the MASSIVE amount of food we'd get through as kids. We weren't overweight as we were very, very active - no TV, so lots of running around in the garden and swimming/gym/horse riding etc after school, plus my mum didn't drive so we'd walk to school and back, and most weekends were spent hiking or cycling.

Your DD may be eating a reasonable amount for her age but be relatively sedentary. Does she have siblings to run around with? If she's spending a lot of time in front of a screen I would try and get her out more. I'm a nanny and try to let the kids have an hour in the playground after school every day - maybe just 30 minutes if it's really raining or during the winter, but every little helps!

Looking at her diet it sounds very carb intensive, but then when you say 'pasta' presumably you mean a balanced plate with pasta as the starch, rather than just a bowl of plain penne! Does she get at least 3 full portions of vegetables a day? Not fruit, but veggies, at least a tablespoons worth for each portion? And does she actual EAT them? Some parents feel just serving broccoli or carrots or whatever is ticking the box, even if they just end up in the bin at every meal! You may be subconsciously serving her more mash or bread or whatever because she's not eating the healthy stuff.

Do you feel the need to persuade her to eat? I know that sounds silly but I've worked with several families who have overweight children and yet their parents still stand over them cajoling/threatening/bribing them to 'eat x more mouthfuls' when the kid is resisting. That blows my mind! If your DD says she's full, believe her.

Is she drinking enough? I find kids drink way more with a straw. Maybe if she's drinking more she'll feel fuller sooner.

You remind me of my own mother OP, from the age of 6 she'd harass me about my weight (in spite of being average size).

I no longer have anything to do with her.

Our DD has always been on the higher end of the scale for weight since she was born, & the first lockdown didn't help. She's tall as well though, my DH is tall. She's also very strong & has ridiculous stamina. We got her weight/height ratio somewhat under control in just a few months. She's nearly 9. I'm only 5'3" but DH is 6'4" & he's also a rugby build type.

Don't try to get her to lose weight. Let her grow into the weight. We were fortunate, admittedly, in that DD has absolutely grown like a weed this year, so what was a rather large tummy is now only visible when she takes off her top, & there's not much of that left either.

More veg, more protein, more healthy fats, less refined carbs (breakfast cereals, white bread, biscuits, sweets & sugar sweetened food, etc). Absolutely minimise unhealthy fats as far as you possibly can. Smaller portions of wholegrain carbs alongside the other food groups only, don't offer second portions of carbs as the first choice, they should eat second portions of protein & vegetables etc first.
We say, sweets, crisps, ice cream, biscuits etc aren't proper food, they are occasional treats only. Crisps to be eaten as part of a meal, e.g. with a sandwich & some veg sticks, or perhaps take as a snack if you're going on a walk. If you're hungry, eat a proper meal. Snacks are a piece of fruit or a small piece of cheese. If you're hungry you don't eat sweets, crisps etc.
And we don't "snack" unless we've missed a meal or it's particularly late. Regularly we (including DD) only have breakfast & then tea at the weekend. Often we're too busy for lunch, she doesn't even notice. If someone mentions food she's suddenly so hungry she's practically dying but distract her & she's often fine - obviously it's not always real hunger, it's boredom.

Lots of fun exercise. Running around in the park with a ball, walk in the woods spotting the pretty flowers that have come into bloom this week, race to the next tree, etc. Support the exercises she enjoys.
Walk everywhere if at all possible. We live nearly a mile from school. Sometimes we walk the long way round if we set off a few minutes early.
Get her a little backpack, she can "help carry the shopping", put a little bag of lettuce or a few carrots, something light in there she can manage that won't put her off. She might eat it if she's carried it home. Likewise if you let her "help" with the preparation.