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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To let dd watch ...

81 replies

Upsticksandgo · 27/03/2012 20:13

Supersize v superkinny. DD is 8, a little bit overweight with a liking for all things bad for you. Won't eat fruit and veg, only under duress. Am I wrong to let her watch this programme?

OP posts:
thepeoplesprincess · 27/03/2012 20:14

You're wrong to let her get fat in the first pl;ace if she's only 8.

Fifivisage · 27/03/2012 20:15

Wow that is so helpful and constructive thepeoplesprincess.

TheOneWithTheHair · 27/03/2012 20:16

Very wrong. All she will take away with her is a skewed vision of body shape and diet. She won't remember all the health stuff.

Original poster
Upsticksandgo · 27/03/2012 20:16

I didn't say he was fat. Read it properly.

OP posts:
ChaosTrulyReigns · 27/03/2012 20:16

That's helpful thepeoplesprincess.

I think probably the best way to deal with it at 8 is with subtlety. Which SvS isn't.

Fifivisage · 27/03/2012 20:17

I have never seen the programme OP but I would be very careful how you address this issue as it is a minefield. Maybe some wiser people on here could suggest some tips. I would just tread very carefully.

TheOneWithTheHair · 27/03/2012 20:17

I really think that she will learn nothing. The best examples are going to come from what she sees in rl.

Sirzy · 27/03/2012 20:19

I dont think the shock tactics on it are going to do much to help her. I think changing eating and exercise habits of the whole family

squeakytoy · 27/03/2012 20:20

An 8 year old should not be allowed to dictate what she will and wont eat anyway. You put the food in front of her at mealtimes and if she doesnt eat it, she goes hungry. I cant be doing with fussy kids.

Original poster
Upsticksandgo · 27/03/2012 20:23

The thing is we keep her really active, football, netball, dance, walking everywhere etc. She has a very hearty appetite - unlike DD2 who is the complete opposite.

I do worry about how she will fair in future. We are doing all we can. She is not fat per se but has a bit of a belly!

She just loves food. Always wondering what the next meal will be.

She is in bed now. She just caught the beginning of supersize nod showed an interest and I just wondered should I let her watch it? I haven't though so no harm done!

OP posts:
TheOneWithTheHair · 27/03/2012 20:24

No one said she was fussy squeakytoy.

Op I think you have to be very careful and show your dd about balance. Let her know that it's ok to have these things but it is occasional and along side a balanced diet and lots of physical play. Just going to the park is good exercise. It doesn't have to be formal.

Don't ban anything or she will want it more but also be careful to let her know that being too thin can be equally bad for her health. You wouldn't want her going the other way either.

rainbowinthesky · 27/03/2012 20:26

DD is 8 and although I havent seen this programme I wouldnt let her watch it. There has got to be better ways to keep an 8 year old at an appropriate weight.

TheOneWithTheHair · 27/03/2012 20:26

Sorry. X-post. Looks like you know everything I just said. Blush

crashdoll · 27/03/2012 20:27

YWBU to let her watch it regardless of her weight. It's trash TV and completely sensationalised.

Original poster
Upsticksandgo · 27/03/2012 20:29

Thanks theone. She isn't really fussy - just never seems full. She can eat as much as me. She wakes with tummy ache at 6 am as she says she is hungry. If I give her a normal sized child portion of say, pan fried chicken, sweet corn and boiled rice (tonight's tea). She wolfs it down in 5 mins and tries to eat what her sister has left.

It's hard work watching it all the time. We want to do our best for her. We don't want to say too much or put too much emphasis on it as, as you say, we don't want her to go the other way...

OP posts:
TheOneWithTheHair · 27/03/2012 20:34

Just a question though. She is clearly very active so that would explain the appetite , is it possible that she's just due a growth spurt? Has she always had a tummy or have you just noticed it recently?

Dd is also 8 and I can see the difference after a growth spurt as she looks thinner.

Winkly · 27/03/2012 20:36

I love SSvSS but I don't think children should hear anything about dieting and their weight. At all. It's terrible for their self esteem. I was a skinny kid and remember my mum saying how fat and ugly she was as a size 14 - at the time I thought she was like a beautiful princess. So imagine my trauma when I hit puberty and my enormous hips needed a size 14 in jeans in certain shops.

Her eating habits notwithstanding, leave her as a child with some self esteem for as long as possible.

Winkly · 27/03/2012 20:38

However have you considered having "slow eating races" so she eats more slowly and has a chance to feel full up? And/or putting another veg on the plate? Plus yes to growth spurts, I notice appetite and a bit of a tummy in DNep before he shoots up and thins out.

AwkwardMary · 27/03/2012 20:41

She sounds like she's not giving herself a chance before it hits her tummy f you know what I mean....try getting her to have water with her meal..sipping it...and give her child sized cutlery to eat with.

Original poster
Upsticksandgo · 27/03/2012 20:41

She has had the tummy for a while. I was wondering if she was due a growth spurt though, so you may be right. I can't understand sometimes why she looks so much bigger than her friends as she is quite active.

It's hard for me as her mother to see her hungry, but I do think she eats too much for her age.

It's all round healthy (most of the time). Not much veg though. I can't force feed her it.

OP posts:
TheOneWithTheHair · 27/03/2012 20:42

Unfortunately in dd's school they are already talking about who is fat or thin. I have been very shocked about this. Kids are very aware now and I don't think you can escape it. You have to find a way to manage image so they keep their self esteem. It's a boomin tight rope!!!

wherearemysocks · 27/03/2012 20:46

These type of programmes don't really pass on a good message.

My (very skinny) dd is 7 and she told me that she wanted to get really fat so she could go on the Biggest Loser Hmm

Original poster
Upsticksandgo · 27/03/2012 20:48

I tell her s he is beautiful every day, which she is. She has never mentioned it herself, so she doesn't see a problem iykwim.

I just need a good plan to fill her up, keep her healthy, stop her craving rubbish food, and stop the belly getting any bigger.

Magic wand anyone?!

OP posts:
TheOneWithTheHair · 27/03/2012 21:34

I wish I had one for you Upsticks.

Lots of carbs and veg to fill her up and keep her going? This may also help with the cravings.

If she hasn't mentioned it then I think you shouldn't either. Just subtly change her diet and see if it helps. :)

WibblyBibble · 27/03/2012 21:46

FFS what is with all the people on here self-diagnosing their kids as overweight and then instead of taking them to a medical professional who might actually help, coming up with bizarre shock tactics and silly fad diets? You need medical advice if your child is not healthy, just as much in this case as if they had asthma or ADHD or anything else that you would not try to come up with home remedies for.

If she doesn't eat fruit and veg, maybe you need to try different ones to find what she likes? I didn't like veg as a child, because my mum considered veg to be courgettes, sprouts and broccoli very lightly cooked in hot water. Now I like salad, I also like roasted veg (this does not need to be fatty and can be done in olive oil), peppers, tomatoes, peas, aubergine, parsnip, okra, all sorts really, just cooked in a way that makes them palatable (er except the salad obviously), put into curries or stews etc. I still don't like sprouts. There are lots of ways to get your 5-a-day, not just by having two spoons of boiled veg with meat and potatoes. There are various sites with suggestions for recipes and also ways to hide veg if she really won't eat them in any form. The most obvious being soup- very few kids I know won't eat veg soup if it is put through a blender. You just need to put some effort in instead of starting fat-hysteria on an 8 yo.

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