Plus sized clothing for kids

[m4rdybum]

Not sure if this has been covered yet - not seen it but apologies if it has!

See the article here

It makes me sad that we live in a world where we need plus sized clothes for kids. I was hideously obese as a child - I had to see a dietician when I was 10 and was in size 18-20 clothes - and this was down to the fact that I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted.

I genuinely believe this has dramatically affected my relationship with food nowadays, and I blame my parents and grandparents.

When do we start cracking down on kids having more than just puppy fat?

I genuinely believe this has dramatically affected my relationship with food nowadays, and I blame my parents and grandparents.

Just to confirm though, I blame most of excess weight now on my own piggish ways. I know I could definitely chose a salad over a burger but choose note to. But in terms of my relationship with food, it's definitely been affected detrimentally by my younger years!

I actually think lots of organisations are trying to crack down/address this but it's difficult. Firstly parents don't always see what's in front of them when it comes to their own children. Then there is the issue of food poverty. And not everyone takes well-meaning advice from health visitors and the like. Not to mention marketing campaigns aimed at children.

What about the kids who need it due to being overweight due to medical reasons? They expected to run around naked?
Think it's a great idea.

Yes, but they still need clothes to wear. How do you propose 'cracking down'? Obesity is such a complex subject, a myriad of issues could be contributing towards a child being obese. Should they be denied properly fitting clothes too, whilst dealing with all this?

I won't click on the link just yet, as I'm on my phone and can't preview it.

If you were a size 18 at 10 years old, you surely had a medical issue though?

'Plus size' clothes for children can't be a thing, there are not that many children so overweight that they can't just go up a couple of sizes.

And those that are must have pretty severe issues. I just can't see a viable market for oversized kids clothing.

I was chuffed with this revelation! I have disabled DS who is not overweight but does still wear a nappy aged 8. The extra chubber room should perfectly accommodate a nappy!!!! I also hope the expect the kids to have fat legs too... He wears AFOS which are leg splints !!!

All children need clothes to wear so it's good they can buy them.

Many might need extra room to hide nappies/back braces etc and not he tall enough for bigger sizes

One thing I would wonder about though is if being able to buy an age 5 plus size it kind of may hide the fact a bit
I mean there's something wrong (medical issues aside) if you are buying kids clothes several sizes bigger to fit a child and would this kind of make the problem.seem.kess of they are in the "right size" or maybe just 1 or two sizes bigger...

Either way kids need clothes and giving them a choice is no bad thing

Makes me sad too, I was also fat as a child (in size women's 10 clothes at age 7, not tall at all). And it was because of being fed pizza and crisps etc as a child and then never really making good choices as I got older, because I didn't know what a good choice was. I tried all the daddy diets and I was fat until 22 ish. As an adult I've managed to re-educate myself and learn to have a healthy relationship with food. I eat actual food, have treats (pizza and crisps) but they are treats and not an every day food. I asked my mum once why she had fed me all this stuff as a child and she said she didn't know it would make me fat! She is slim and always has been so maybe that's true. It makes me sad that all we need is educating (as parents) what to feed our kids and what not to (and what to feed ourselves in some cases), not just sitting back and accepting being fat from an early age like it's healthy and ok, because it's just not.

'Cracking down on kids' doesn't need to involve stopping them wearing clothes that fit.

Obviously they are good for kids with disabilities to accommodate nappies/back braces etc, but that is the minority. If it's simply because a child is fat due to parents feeding them the wrong stuff, then 'kids plus size' is not the answer.

I actually think lots of organisations are trying to crack down/address

Yes, I agree with you on this - like Change 4 Life etc. Which is great. But don't you think think it's so slow paced, it feels like there isn't any change? Although granted, there's a lot more that's changed since when I was younger.

If you were a size 18 at 10 years old, you surely had a medical issue though?

I can fully confirm I had no medical issues and was just F A T. Although I complete understand that there are medical issues - a lot of children are just fat. Like I was.

I was allowed to take a 'picnic' up to bed with me when staying at a DGP's house. This picnic was after my tea and would involve a can of fizzy drink, two packets of crisps, two chocolate bars, and often a full box of those praline seashells or chocolate biscuits. This would be every weekend, followed up by a mixing bowl of cornflakes with about 2 tablespoons of sugar. No wonder I had the shits every weekend.

Again, there are many children who are not suffering medical problems, but instead suffering (albeit minor) neglect from parents who let them eat crap.

Yes, but they still need clothes to wear.

Yes, I suppose I understand that. Still a shame though.

Obviously they are good for kids with disabilities to accommodate nappies/back braces etc, but that is the minority. If it's simply because a child is fat due to parents feeding them the wrong stuff, then 'kids plus size' is not the answer.

This ^

Just to re-iterate, I am not looking to say children with disabilities shouldn't be provided for. I am solely focussing on the need for plus size kids clothes of plus size kids who are overfed.

i havent read the link but i think its good they will have clothing that fits properly and is still aimed at children rather than needing adult clothing. and great for people who's children are overweight due to medical issues.

however yes as a society we need more awareness surrounding childhood obesity. the lunches i see in the preschool I work at are at times shocking - some lunches are bigger than mine and the amount of processed food. we need to crack down on the constant snacking and also more parents should be made aware of what a portion is. how many children are eating adult sized meals? and advice needs to be consistent across the board.

Child obesity is a very complex issue which as a society we're constantly trying (albeit unsuccessfully) to address. In the meantime I'm fully in favour of shops responding to a need. Who knows, maybe it could help in the long run. Overweight kids finally get to wear cool clothes, which reduces their feeling of being different, which reduces their tendency to comfort eat.

I echo what some people have said before, that there are lots of reasons for childhood obesity, not necessarily poor parenting or neglect. And there is obviously a market for plus-sized children's clothing, so without it, there will be kids who are already struggling enough, having to struggle some more to find clothes that fit properly.

Of course it's sad, and of course, parents should give their children a healthy attitude to food and their bodies and the importance of nutrition. But it's not always cut and dried "this kid's fat because he/she eats too much rubbish" there can be a really complex sociological or physiological background to their size/shape.

Was this the article about the company that are now selling wide AND slim fit? The whole article ranted about how bad it was that plus size was introduced yet skimmed over the fact they were also introducing a slim fit. 🙄

I think some parents jyst don't see it, or at least don't want to acknowledge it.
A FB acquaintance of mine was told her DD was morbidly obese in P7, she posted a photo on FB saying the school nurse was wrong and had a load of idiotic replies saying her Dd was just a growing girl, the prettiest girl they'd ever seen, at least she wasnt a skeleton, with lots of Huns scattered about of course.
Said child is now in S5, even bigger, as are her two younger sisters.

My child is in a plus size skirt and to be honest, it's not because she's plus size, she really isn't, she has a sensory problem with the way clothes fit and after trying many different styles of skirt, we found the plus size one fitted her and she was comfortable in it. So please don't judge us parents who are buying plus size uniform, it may be for many reasons you know nothing about.

Does anyone really give a shit?

I'm in Liverpool, we've been hardest hit by the Cuts and now have housing issues, for the first time ever, because of the Bedroom Tax.

Child poverty is on the increase.

Our Councils are having to look at selling off our parks. There have been three outdoor projects, that were hugely popular with "underprivileged" families, that have had to be axed.

Schools are having to shelve Sports events, extra curricular activities and even the schools for the disabled have had to cut down on the activity type holidays that they used to offer.

I welcome the clothing for children with medical issues etc, though.

Before anyone says poverty has nothing to do with it. Obesity is on the rise in poorer areas in France, Spain and Italy.

It is only in India, were being fat is becoming a income status symbol.

YANBU, people who buy plus-size clothes for children should have to provide photo ID/proof of address when making the purchase. Then a social worker could visit to assess the situation, find out whether there is a legitimate reason (medical conditions for example) and if not slap an improvement programme upon the parent(s)/guardian(s). The cost of a visit by social services should be added to the cost of the clothes. It should also be illegal to buy the clothes for someone else (other than your children, obviously) in order to circumvent the inspection, and be backed up by the threat of a custodial sentence.

Childhood obesity is an increasing problem and needs to be attacked from all angles. Programmes like healthier school lunches, bans on junk food adverts etc, come to nothing if the child is allowed to eat whatever they want at home.

Unfortunately fat children are at increased risk of becoming fat adults, and it really is a form of child abuse to indulge them to the extent of them becoming obese. Overfeeding is just as damaging as underfeeding, and most people on here would agree that underfeeding is cruel.

The clothes in next are already huge. I hope a slim fit is introduced as it's proving more and more difficult to find clothes to fit skinny kids. Our perception of normal weight is way off. Kids should be on th skinny side.

Brave, but if the plus size fits her is she not plus size? How would a skirt stay up if it didn't fit? A jumper in plus size would just be big on a smaller child but wouldn't a skirt or trousers fall down?

So I get a visit from a social worker because my disabled child needs bigger clothes to fit over his nappies. This is after having lost my child's social worker because it is now regarded as being too expensive for even severely disabled children to have one.

All the body positive nonsense these days doesn't help. 'Body shaming' is seen as worse than filling your child full of unhealthy shite.

There's nothing positive about being obese and that's a cold hard fact.

Isn't this better than just increasing the size of the regular measurements?
Chubby kids will have clothes that fit, and aren't super long on them, but also the fact the clothes that fit are from the plus size section might be a wake up call to parents, who often don't realise their kids are overweight.