to not let DS be weighed at school?

[QueenofKelsingra]

DS is in reception. just had the letter home saying the whole year will be weighed and measured for the NHS.

I don't really know why but I don't want him to have this done. DS is a healthy height and weight (75 and 50 centiles respectively) so I'm not 'scared' I will get some snotty letter stating that he is over/under weight. I just don't like the idea of someone else taking his measurements and making comments/statements about him when I haven't asked for it.

DH thinks I'm making a mountain out of a molehill and that it's no big deal. For some reason I just don't like the idea.

So WIBU to refuse to have him weighed and measured? Anyone else do this and why??

"Sharing information with other HCPs" generally refers to the School Health Team liaising with paediatricians and GPs.

This can only happen with consent (unless there are serious concerns as to a child's well being) and is done in partnership with the parent/s.

I was responsible for reviewing and monitoring the growth charts of those YR and Y6 children that fell outside normal parameters. Sometimes I would phone parents asking them if I could recheck their child's growth in 6 months, sometimes I would ask them if I could speak to their GP to arrange a review and sometimes I would need to make an urgent referral to a paediatric consultant.

If you object to that then you have a very narrow view of what constitutes joined-up healthcare of your child.

What on earth is wrong with it being shared, other than being paranoid or an over controling parent.
I have yet to see a good argument against being weighed at school in any of the numerous threads there have been about it.
The child is not told their weight, it comes in a letter sent to home address.

Parents are notorious for missing and being in denial about their children and i suspect the ones that are most worried about things like weighing in school have the most to hide.
Even with things like eyesight if a child always has poor eyesight or like my dd had a conversion problem they dont know any different. My sisters eyesight problem wasnt picked up until she was about 8 at school, because she thought it was normal to be short sighted and nobody wore glasses in my family at the time. My dd didnt know it wasnt normal to see double when reading, but that was picked up at the opticians.

I think it would depend what they're refusing and what the issue was, Pastor.

It only happened once in my team and triggered a Children's Services referral as there were concerns that the well being of the child would be impacted by the parents' refusal to allow a referral to the paediatrician for their severely growth disordered child. There were other concerns from the school which contributed to the referral.

I did put in writing, PastorOfMuppets (love the name btw). I clearly filled their form in and added an explanatory note. And informed the teacher in person. Not much else I could do, really.

I really don't get what the fuss is about. There are loads of overweight kids about so clearly there is a need for this type of thing. I think it should be compulsory.

I was very grateful for the nurse at my school. (It was part-day/part-boarding, so she was there full-time.) My mother genuinely did think she knew what was best for her children, what was healthy etc. During one-half term in my teens, I began getting horrible unsightly sores that cracked open round my mouth. I asked my mother about going to the doctor to do something about them. She said no. The problem was me wearing make-up and not washing my face with soap. She said she knew about this, because she had been PE teacher.

On Monday at the start of term I went straight to the school nurse who told me I had impetigo, to go home, see my GP and not to come back to school till it had cleared up.

Nope, still don't see how the data being identifiable (if someone really has that much time on their hands) stops you taking responsibility for your child's health I'm afraid. They are two completely separate issues.

I can understand people having a data protection concern (although my personal view is that in this case that's over-the-top). I think that is perfectly valid and I respect that completely.

But many people aren't mentioning a data protection concern, they are simply saying they don't want their child to participate because their child's health is their responsibility. Data protection aside, I don't understand how someone else knowing how much your child weighs stops you taking responsibility yourself. It really doesn't.

What on earth is wrong with it being shared, other than being paranoid or an over controling parent.

i suspect the ones that are most worried about things like weighing in school have the most to hide.

Gosh, I wouldn't like to have you on my jury, bruffin.

I think it should be compulsory.

Lots of people think lots of things should be compulsory.

Thank goodness freedom for the individual to opt out largely prevails in the UK.

"I know it is useful for the government to know but I don't want mine included in it anymore."

I think this says it all.

Yes it's useful for governments to have this data.

Yes, it's important for health services to be aware of children who are obese as there are widespread failures among parents to recognise obesity in their own children, and frequent opting out of weighing by individual parents undermines confidence in the entire system of health monitoring.

But I'm not interested in the welfare of children as a whole - I'm more interested in controlling what other people know about my child.

I just feel like I take responsibility myself. I look after my children, try and feed them pretty well, make sure they get exercise, etc. And if weighing children at school in addition to that personal responsibility is helpful to the NHS in terms of planning services, budgeting and building a picture of the nation's health, and the process has absolutely no negative impact on either my DC or me, which it doesn't, then why on earth not? Why make such a big deal out of it?

As I say, I'm leaving DP concerns out of that. It's the "because I take responsibility" thing that I don't get.

"Thank goodness freedom for the individual to opt out largely prevails in the UK."

Yes - lovely freedom.

And on current projections based on the rapid increase in childhood obesity, we can all enjoy this freedom while we look forward to a future where 1 in 4 adults will have diabetes by 2050.

But I'm not interested in the welfare of children as a whole

This is so sad :(

But having your child compulsorily weighed isn't going to stem the rise in childhood obesity and diabetes, mini. The compulsion would have to go much further than that.

Parents who are educated about and care enough about the dangers presented by obesity, are likely to take steps to improve matters of their own volition, surely? How far are you prepared to compel the others? Education is the way forward, not compulsion.

But I'm not interested in the welfare of children as a whole

This is so

Lucas, That's only mini's interpretation of what objectors are saying.

No-one has actually said that.

Oops, sorry, I misread :)

Making your child fat is child abuse IMO

"How can the government ever get to grips with the huge problem of child obesity if parents won't cooperate?"

But the government is giving out bad advice - take their Change4Life campaign, for instance, which suggests things like switching to "sugar free" versions of food when the current data shows that artificial sweeteners are actually part of the problem as they stimulate appetite.

As an aside, the Change4Life campaign is sponsored by Nestle and Danone but you won't find their logos on the literature - there's a deliberate muddying of the waters going on, not to mention the obvious conflict of interest. The government info is far from unbiased.

PastorOfMuppets, apparently they didn't want him to feel left out. And didn't understand why I was objecting afterwards. "it wasn't invasive!"

I wasn't impressed, to say the least.

I think it's sad that there are so many kids who are overweight. In dds class of 9/10 year olds a fair few are positively fat, they are not sporty or muscular, they are wobbly and have cellulite on their knees!