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AIBU?

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Original poster

school nurse letter

495 replies

devonshiredumpling · 14/02/2015 18:42

got a letter this morning rom the schoolnurse service to say that after being weighed my dd has been catergorised as severely overweight. we also got a leaflet saying that her diet could be better (she has at least seven portion of friut and veg) we also need to increase her activity level but since moving to the country we cannot get her out of the garden and off her bike ,she is tall for her age at 122.8 cm and she weighs 29.9kg but you cannot see any fat on her she is five .any help would be good aibu to feel peeved about this (she is five and half)

OP posts:
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6
Pipbin · 15/02/2015 00:10

So your child broke his arm and in serious pain and they just left them to cry in a corner for half an hour and carried on with the lesson?
'Looks like a nasty break this, shall I take him to A&E? Nah, fuck it, I'll just carry on with this maths lesson'.

Janethegirl · 15/02/2015 00:10

I have never had any issues with the school Rhonda as many parents in this area feel the same.

Janethegirl · 15/02/2015 00:12

I'm not interested in heights, weights etc it's all crap

Pipbin · 15/02/2015 00:12

Why not change school then? I'm sure most parents here would do that if they felt the school had done what you believe happened.

sleeponeday · 15/02/2015 00:12

DS is above your dd's height btw, OP. He weighs half a stone less. And he is what I regard as a bit chubby, in all honesty. I'd have a GP visit and a chat about what is happening, so if it's good then you know, and if you need to take a few steps then you can do that, too.

You may be totally right and she's fine, but I would get her looked at to make sure. Can't do any harm, can it? And if she's starting to pile on a bit more than is ideal you can sort it out at this early stage, which is what these checks are for.

bumbleymummy · 15/02/2015 00:12

Jane - only GPs? I thought nurses were ok too?

SuburbanRhonda · 15/02/2015 00:12

What, you mean there's more than one of you?

That really is a terrifying thought.

Bunbaker · 15/02/2015 00:12

"But Jane why on earth would school be 'arsed' to take your dc to hospital?

After all they are only there to educate not for medical service and you would hate the 'two to cross'"

Touché Only1

"School is school. Health checks are GPs province."

Health checks are the province of the NHS who come into schools to carry out some health checks. The school doesn't do them. Given the limited resources of GPs these days it is arguable that not all health checks are the GPs province.

Why are you being so obtuse?

zoemaguire · 15/02/2015 00:13

I'm glad I'm not a school teacher, I'd have great difficulty staying professional Rhonda! Are there many parents like Jane? I hope not. I've never encountered such obstinate lack of engagement with reason in real life!

babygiraffe86 · 15/02/2015 00:14

Fair play, each to their own - I am intrigued though Jane, do you have to wait for gp appointments in your area? I personally know that taking half a day off work to take dc's to the gp for a statistical weight check when it could have been done in school would really annoy me. Some of us don't have that luxury I'm afraid.

SuburbanRhonda · 15/02/2015 00:15

No, I'm not a teacher, zoe, I just work with parents! I've never met anyone like jane IRL, thankfully Grin

Pipbin · 15/02/2015 00:15

It's the tin foil hat Bun. It's there to stop 'them' reading your thoughts but it can sometimes make thinking slightly difficult.

Janethegirl · 15/02/2015 00:16

I'm happy with my position with dcs health and education so I'm going to bed.
Fed up with you lot misinterpreting my views.

Lucelulu · 15/02/2015 00:16

Enjoying Jane! But for her kids sake hope she doesn't decide to home educate.

WildRunner · 15/02/2015 00:16

But when DS needed to go to A&E you held the school responsible for accompanying him? And rage that your DD had to take him (not you)?! Can't have it both ways.

coolaschmoola · 15/02/2015 00:17

'the school couldn't be arsed to take ds to A&E....'

Or, more likely, they decided it was in his best interests to have a (clearly available) family member take him. Which is sensible due to family members knowing more answers to the standard A&E questions not to mention the DPA restrictions and consent requirements. But that would wreck your stupid conspiracy theory....

Back to the op.... My dd is 102cm tall (she's a rather tall 3yo) and weighs HALF as much as your dd. She's not skinny. I can't see how a child who is 20cm taller but double the weight isn't overweight.

BigRedBall · 15/02/2015 00:18

Let me put this into perspective: I'm 55kg and I'm a grown woman who's given birth to 3 children.

30kg for a 5 year old is horribly overweight! Please do something about this and stop over feeding your child. 7 portions of fruit and veg? Are they mammoth sized portions? Confused.

Pipbin · 15/02/2015 00:20

Luce. I might be for the best. I have had a parent like her. I used to call her over every cough, sniffle and scrape as she would complain otherwise. It took time away from the other children.

Pipbin · 15/02/2015 00:22

Not to mention, Cool that it would have meant having two members of staff out of the school (too risky to have just one staff member) and taking the child there in a private car that they wouldn't be insured to do.

CaptainHolt · 15/02/2015 00:37

I'm not interested in heights, weights etc it's all crap

It was height and weight checks that flagged up my ds's liver condition, which most likely would have quietly killed him if we hadn't known. The only reason he survived if because other people allowed their children to take part in the programme so we had growth charts to compare him too. I understand that you don't care, as it's my ds, not yours, but I'm within my rights to think that you are completely misunderstanding the national child measuring programme.

Lucked · 15/02/2015 00:46

Hi OP. The letter was sent to alert you to a problem and it seems that it may be one which you hadn't realised or considered important.

Firstly check the measurements, if they are right then you can't just keep doing what you are doing. Secondly check the rest if the family but even if the rest of you are a normal weight I would make any diet or lifestyle changes as family wide as possible.

As an aside threads about overweight children almost always start with "they are tall for their age...". Overweight children do tend to be tall for their age as excess fat makes growth hormone but her final height as an adult will still be whatever her genetic destiny determines (which may or may not be tall). Sometimes people assume they are heavier because they are taller when it is the opposite which is true.

Try and have a rational think about what these results mean for your dds health. I hope you have been reassured that the school don't know theses results.

Verbena37 · 15/02/2015 00:46

Fightorflight.....regardless of Op's child's weight, not entirely sure you should be advising her to stop giving lovely, healthy fibrous carbs such as carrots or bananas.

One banana as a snack and carrot sticks are perfect for a child. If the Op's Dd does need to alter her diet, less cheese, processed carbs and sugar is the way to go.

I'm totally shocked at the bluntness that people have replied to an obviously worried mum. The GP (Anyoneforturps) was lovely and very helpful but many others just blurted out 'that is WELL overweight' type sentences that weren't helpful in any way whatsoever. I'm sure we aren't all dieticians.

A little sensitivity is needed. No wonder the OP hasn't replied!! Her dd is only 5, bless her.

DarylDixonsDarlin · 15/02/2015 00:55

devonshire didn't ask for dietary advice or suggestions tho verbena, she asked was she BU to feel peeved about this (the letter) and people have answered, some more gently than others, admittedly!

LaLyra · 15/02/2015 01:39

Just as well you don't live where I do Jane. Health centre burns down - only building with space to house the doctor and nurses temporarily? The school/community centre campus

Everything under one roof...

Pipbin · 15/02/2015 01:42

I think home ed would be the only option there Lalyra. Only school if wearing a tin foil hat and one of those space blankets like you get at the end of a marathon.

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