To wonder about the plus size clothing in next

[MumNWLondon]

Following on from all the threads about taxing fizzy drinks.

I took 4 YO DS to next to buy him some jeans. We picked up almost all the ones they had in an age 4 and headed to the changing room.

I'd describe DS as having normal build for 4 YO, definately not skinny but probably very slightly on thin side of average. Basically normal for 4 YO.

Anyway, noticed once we got to changing room some of the jeans were labelled as being 4+ for pus size kids so we didn't try them on. But even the normal ones were HUGE on the waist and legs, would have required me to really pull the elastic in the waist in and honestly could have fitted both his legs in one of the legs, looked ridicolous. Anyway we did find a skinny fit pair which were fine.

Now I am wondering - how fat would a child have to be to wear the normal fit ones and even more so the plus size one. FInd it quite worrying. AIBU to wonder about the demand for these trousers? There are 20 boys in his class and none of them look fat at all.

:o @ domesticsluttery. I'm the same age as Helena Bonham Carter... if only the size thing were true....

TheLadyEvenstar According to the Red Book (which I have infront of me as DS2 saw the paediatrician yesterday) the 50th centile point for a 3.2yr old boy is 15kg (2st 5lb) and 97cm (3'2"). As your DS is taller than average he is almost on the 98th centile for height and the corresponding weight would be 19kg (2st 13lb). According to the NHS BMI calculator he is obese.

Has the Dr/HV expressed concern? As obviously it is one thing plugging numbers into computer programmes and another thing seeing him in the flesh, IYSWIM.

Sorry cordonbleugh but your scales must be wrong. I hate to sound like I am picking on you but my DD is 112 and 3 and a half stone and she is skinny! You DD is quite clearly quite overweight by your pics.

I know I am sounding like a cow but all this oh she is just a bit chubby stuff is rubbish.

Kids vary,my DD is about 110cm and 2 stone 12 and very slim.

Kids definitely vary. DS2 (who is 6) is 110cm and 3st 3lb which according to the BMI calculator makes him at the upper end of "normal" however I have yet to find a pair of trousers which fit him without hoiking the adjustable waistbands in. Yes he is built more chunkily than his brother and sister but he isn't fat IYSWIM. nikki1978 your DD is also at the top end of the normal weight for her height according to the BMI calculator.

It just shows what I was saying about TheLadyEvenstar's DS, without seeing them in teh flesh it is impossible to pass judgement.

important to remember that "red book" scales don't tell us what childrend should be, but what actual children were at any point in time. They are useful (ish) in terms of checking the overall trajectory of a given child across time, but not particularly useful in terms of telling us what their weight 'should' be.

Also worth noting how huge the 'healthy' range on the NHS BMI scale is - this allows for a very large amount of natural variation.

Giddypickle, dd1 was weighed and measured several time during her chunky period and was neighter overweight or obese.

I think the charts are simplistic and don't take into account build. For example, ds1 is a tiny build, he is minute round the pelvis and shoulders, his arms are skinny as can be, and at age 9.5 he weighs 4 stone 2, despite being average or just above average height. But he is healthy, he is just a very narrow build.

Dd is a more solid build, she is very slim and fit (does loads of sport), wears age appropriate clothes with the waist pulled in, but she weighs 4 stone 5 at age 7.2. That seems to be about right for her - if she weighed less she would be too thin, likewise if ds1 weighed much more he might overweight FOR HIS BUILD.

Ds2 is small all over - he looks in proportion but is 'little' - he is 4.6 and weighs 2 stone 10, and again looks 'right'.

Ds3 is nearly 6 months and looks like he is going to be a similar build to ds1, but we'll wait and see!

BubsMaw - not as cheap as the supermarkets but absolutely gorgeous - Polarn O. Pyret www.polarnopyret.se/en/ made for giant Swedish babies.

But that's the point really - size isn't always about 'fatness' despite OP's belief that it is, it's also about build and ethnicity. I think cordon bleugh's LO is stocky but she's not obese, her height and ethnicity definitely have their part to play.

When DD started to go off the scale the HVs got really stressed about how big she was and stressed us out. We (DH and I) took her to doc's to make sure she didn't have a hormone disorder and he said that as she was in proportion she was fine, and had we looked in the mirror lately? (as I said before he is 6'5 and I am 5'11). He then suggested for peace of mind we got hold of a Dutch or Danish percentile chart as then we would only be on about the 70th percentile rather than the 120th!

Also, I had a big fat tummy from a young child to a teen even though my mum controlled my portions quite ferociously. I spent about 5 years of my life feeling constantly hungry. By the time I was 19 it had just melted off me - I weighed under 10 stone and was 5'11 tall, without dieting. That's model thin, though I was never pretty enough to be a model. I am now 34 and weigh 68kg, again without dieting.

Sorry, ridiculously long post.

Domesticsluttery Thanks for that info. My dr said DS2 was classed as medically obese BUT that he was not concerned as, just as you said, he can see he is not fat.

He is very solid and not at all chubby.

I was just laughing with a friend the other day about childrens sizes and clothes when I bought DS2 some pants from John Lewis and they were too small - they were 4-5 I gave them to my sister for her DS2 who is 7 and went and bought DS2 5-6yrs.

Polarn O Pyret stuff really is lovely - and huge! My four year old is wearing a 12-18 month fleece from there today. It looks like it might fit her for another year or two...

Yes nikki, you are sounding like a cow! And clearly you are "picking" on me when you come back and only comment to me, not any of the other posts.

As far as I'm concerned, DD has a healthy diet, plenty of exercise etc. She has always been large. The doctors and HV's have no issue with it, she is tall and chunky, not obese.

And at the end of the day, I'd rather have my chubby DD than a child so thin (but apparently "average") that their ribs stick out.

Have just taken and added a couple of pics of DS2 you can see he is not fat but is classed as obese

I have an 8yo DS that is on the 90th cetile for his weight. That sounds UTTERLY shocking - until you find out that he is also on the 90th centile for his height as well, he is actually the 'perfect' weight for his HEIGHT...which just happens to be about 4-5 inches taller than most 8yo's. I can't buy him trousers from anywhere other than GAP because if I buy the correct leg length for him from somewhere like Tescos, he stands up and they're round his ankles! And why is GAP the only place that does adjustable waists in age 11-12 trousers for boys? Even Next stops at age 9-10 yrs for boys with the adjustable waists. Tis bugging me massively. Makes me wonder just who they are making clothes for!

He's lovely TheLady - love his hair!

DD's belly is like that but even more pronounced. But it's solid, not wobbly fat.

CB I love his hair as well....it is lovely when just washed lol

LadyEvenstar he certainly doesn't look obese to me.

cordonbleugh in much the same way as there is no need for others to be nasty about your DD's weight, there is no need for you to be nasty about children whose ribs stick out. Both DD and DS1 are skinny with sticky out ribs, they both eat like horses. It is just the way they are.

DD's afro is a nightmare to control!

DS Thats my point. He is tall and weighs more than average for a 3yr old. But he also has big feet...can I put them on a diet??

Thanks Kenobi and others for big baby clothes suggestions, those Polarno- clothes look great, and a little different to UK high street. DS currently only wears jersey stretch and trackie bottoms, partly because I think babies look uncomfortable in most denim styles, but also because he's such a little chubster. My DSIL lent me a whole stack of clothes that were my nephew's, and so far only one of the pairs of trousers has been usable. I think he also has unusual body shape, all is mass is concentrated round his thighs, he's got normal width elsewhere. My older DD is such a teeny wee thing as well, I guess they're just individuals. It will be a new way of thinking for me if I have to start limiting DS's food intake, I have a lucky metabolism and can eat like a horse, have been underweight in the past without meaning to, and DD has been prescribed food supplements to try to boost her weight (she has allergies), now out of the blue I've got a gigantic baby! From the beginning he only ever BF for 5 mins every 5 hours, and managed to stay on approx 95th weight centile at that. He's still at the steamed veg stage of weaning!

Apparently the best way to check whether your child is OK is to measure their height and their waist size, waist should be no more than half the height measurement.
It applies just as much to adults too.
The reason this is the best way to see if you're OK is that the fat on the torso (ie. around vital organs) is the stuff that is dangerous. If you have a big bum or chunky arms/legs it's not really of any consequence healthwise.

Oh and cordonbleugh, your DD is gorgeous!

Thanks bubs

Cheers sops, will try measuring her tonight.

You're right DS, didn't mean to be nasty, sorry.

When my 5 yo was last weighed and measured they told me she was on 9th for height and 2nd for weight 'which is how it should be .The centile charts are based on the average child and the average child is too fat'