To withdraw DD from being weighed at school?

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DH thinks I am making a big fuss about nothing.

I refused consent for DD to be weighed at school as I don't think its neccesary. I didn't make a fuss, just ticked the box saying that I did not give consent.

Snacks have become such a normal part of the day, and of social time that not having them is seen as strange. We went to see Peppa Pig today at the theatre, show started at 1pm so I would assume most people had eaten dinner before going to the show yet the vast majority of people sat around us were eating throughout the show. I very much doubt it was from hunger for most so it must be habit and the idea which is pretty much ingrained now that sitting watching something must involve food.

I do seem to know a lot of kids who just don't appear to eat actual meals. Most of them actually. I really don't think its my cooking-(I have cooked for a living) I think it's that at home they know they will get a snack later(which is more interesting to them anyway).
I have a friend whose son ostensibly doesn't eat. I made him tea once, he didn't eat it, I went to clear the plates, and friend said "Oh, just leave it out-we always do, so he can have it later"
OK, but what actually happens is he doesn't have it later, and then complains he is starving before bed, at which point he is given a massive bowl of cereal. I suggested to my friend that he should tell his son "if you don't eat your dinner you will be hungry as there is nothing else" and mean it, but my friend said he would feel so cruel allowing his ds to go to bed hungry. And so it goes on..
In a way, being dirt poor as I have been has turned ds into a no fuss, eat everything child, because when I say there is nothing else, there isn't!
Friends ds is not fat btw, but has food issues a go-go.

I think that people have forgotten that you should be hungry by a meal time, because if you are constantly snacking you are never hungry.

Only parents of fat children tick the 'no' box.

Don't be an idiot. Just because you can't think of another reason doesn't mean there isn't one.

lol - my daughter isn't fat she is 5f7 and 8.7 stone but I ticked the no box

Does knowing your child is overweight actually make a difference? My friend's dd is big - she has been trying to keep her dds weight down for years and now her dd is old enough to suds out what her mum is doing it has become a real bone of contention between them - child is still overweight btw.

Another friend has been stressing about her dd being overweight since she was in Reception - her dd is still overweight 7 years on.

Loads of people have weight issues and IMO most know they have - it doesn't change a thing.

I expect the parents in the newspaper knew their dds were a bit chubby but didn't want to face the pain of depriving their children - most people find it hard to say no to their dcs.

For those that commented my five stone five year old is now a five and a half stone six year old. You can see her vertebrae and count her ribs. She dances three times a week,swims, bikes and doesn't stop moving.she has child size portions on a child's plate and loves veg.snacks are limited, not every day. She is just a solid musclely kid. I'm 5ft 7, dh is 6ft 6. She is genetically tall not overfed.
I agree with the poster who said its not the numbers on the scale but how the child physically looks. I know another child with the same stats as my child who is definitely obese.
The good thing about these Checks is it flags up early intervention. We know about healthy eating,portion control and the importance of exercise, not all parents do.
The worrying problem is those that do and do nothing about it.

KNowing your child is overweight should make a difference. It should make the parents make the effort to make sensible lifestyle changes the post upthread by siblingrivalry (I think?) shows how that can be done and done in what sounds like a very sensible way.

You know something I have just realised. I have no idea what DD weighs. Or how tall she is. And I don't care.

I know she is fit because she is constantly active (listens to the sounds of French skipping coming from the dining room). I know she is healthy because I cook the food she eats and her sickness record is negligible.

I know she is tall enough to no longer need a car seat - because she is tall enough to go on the scary rides at the fair

I know she isn't overweight because I have to buy the next size up school trousers to fit her in length, and then take them in at least two inches at the waist so they don't fall down and show off her knickers

I don't need her weighed because I don't need someone to tell me is fine - I already know.

then take them in at least two inches at the waist so they don't fall down

Is it me or are children's clothes getting wider every year?

I always have to buy the trousers with elastic in and hoik them in loads. DDisn't overweight but she also isn't what I would call skinny either. Are children's clothes normalising being overweight too?

Me too Dallas
Maybe knowledge changes a few but is that enough - do they know how many? How much dies this program cost and could the money be better spent elsewhere or is there something else that should be done anyway. Assuming that measuring is achieving something is a cop out. Kids are getting fatter - the measurement isn't doing enough - I would say it's doing bugger all but help the rare few.

That thing that someone said up thread about tall children probably being over fed/over-nourished: is that really a thing? Can you make your children too tall by over feeding them? Does anyone scientific know?

Dd is exceptionally tall and I've always vaguely worried that I gave her too many top up feeds as a baby or something but assumed that this was just the nonsense of maternal paranoia. Now I'm wondering again...

I ticked the 'no' box. Dd is comfortably within the normal range for BMI and is a lean, athletic build. My refusal was based on a lesson in class a couple months prior to this when everyone had their height, weight, hand span, shoe size measured for some sciency - comparative thing (not for the government stats). DD was the heaviest girl by a tiny margin (only 9 girls in class) - essentially because she was the tallest girl by a big margin! ...however no amount of explaining this to her / reassuring her seemed to appease her. One or two of the other girls pointed out she was the heaviest girl and that was all it took to make dd ask to go on a completely unnecessary diet!! There was therefore no way I was going to consent to the official weigh in at school which would have prompted further discussions of this nature between the girls

"That thing that someone said up thread about tall children probably being over fed/over-nourished: is that really a thing? Can you make your children too tall by over feeding them? Does anyone scientific know?"

Of course not!!

Good. It's just that it was declared with such an air of authority that I began to doubt my reason.

I don't know Gold, but I do know that with DS aged 4 even the next slim fit jeans need taking in for him to wear them without them falling down. He is on the skinny side but not overly skinny (pretty much the 9th centile for height and weight since birth). They also do wide fit jeans and I don't see how a parent could need to buy them for a child without admitting they are overweight.

what the weighing doesn't take into account is how much muscle a child has, girls that do a lot of sport have an increased rate of knee problems due to over developed muscle and it will not just be their legs but all over their body - this will increase there weight but not be measured in any way

So many people here saying their children are okay and not realising this is mostly about collecting statistics.

Having your normal, healthy child weighed could really help a child who is overweight or underweight.

Data drives policy, and some children do need intervention.

Your child's weight will not be shared with them or their teachers or peers. They will line up with their shoes off, be weighed, and then go to do something else more interesting. I just can't see what the problem is!

It is true - you can accelerate a child's growth by overfeeding them. A child has a genetic predisposition to be roughly a certain height by adulthood and overnourishment can mean they grow quickly, then prematurely stop growing as they reach their genetic height earlier than they 'should' have done. So you then potentially end up with a child their adult height before adulthood, then they keep overeating and become overweight.

If a child is very tall for their age and is expected to be tall because of parental/familial height then it is a different situation completely. That doesn't mean all tall children are overfed but if a child is unexpectedly tall and also quite heavy for height then further monitoring might be indicated.

People are taking it personally, whereas it is the data that is necessary. It is not going to be accurate , while I accept that it is not only those with overweight children who decline, there are more parents of overweight DCs who decline because they will never admit, even to themselves, that their child is overweight. I see whole families that are overweight when I am out and about and it is due to their diet and lifestyle.

I know a mum and dad who are both on the short side but have a child who is 6 foot 4 or thereabouts. He was 10lb at birth and has always been a skinny giant.

Okay, so statistics mean nothing in individual cases, but they are still a good guide when you take thousands of children into account.

Have your children weighed! You could help a child that does need intervention!

Paper, I don't think that is a given.

Just anecdotal, but women in our family are tall and strong built ( not fat, more athletic. ), I always was tall but did not hit puberty until 14-15.

There is huge variation in every person, tall does not msan early menstruation, and early menstruation does not automatically mean cancer

Yanbu its your right. But people have a warped view of weight. DD is in reception, 4 v slim, in a toned, healthy, wiry kind of way. Also she's generally slight build. She regularly gets described as 'skinny' which really irritates me. She is NOT skinny and I don't want her to be!!!!

About 6 months ago I got a bit worried and put her on the scales at boots. According to the scales her weight was 30th centile (so totally normal range) but I still get comments about 'feeding her up' Erm she eats plenty, her weight is fine......