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AIBU?

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Original poster

Plus sized clothing for kids

135 replies

m4rdybum · 18/09/2017 16:47

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? Hmm

OP posts:
Spikeyball · 18/09/2017 17:30

My child has a skinny waist but needs space in the bottom area for a nappy. You can adjust the waist to make it small on plus size.

SandBlue · 18/09/2017 17:33

No wonder I struggle with trousers for my 8 year old. He has the same size waist that Next cut for their 3 year olds Shock

nocutsnobuttsnococonuts · 18/09/2017 17:33

chelle If they were to enforce that only the children would suffer - they would be squeezed jnto ill fitting clothes to escape the visit. not to mention how humiliating that would be for children to have to show ID because they are overweight.

i totally agree though that it should be tackled but going in threatening is not the way, we as a society need re-educating on healthy attitudes towards food and body image. from portion control, what is healthy and also what is seen online or tv is not always real.

skyzumarubble · 18/09/2017 17:36

I would hazard a guess that the actual proportion of kids that need plus size clothing for medical reason is minimal and of course they should be able to find clothes to fit.

I was horrendously overweight as a child - due to a combination of reasons (comfort eating, genuinely not understanding the link between fat and food, being allowed what I wanted when I wanted it).

I worked hard to lose that weight and now have massive issues that I will not let get run off on my children.

I actually struggle to get clothes that fit mine as they are tall and skinny and past age 5 in girls you don't get adjustable waists.

Having plus size ranges imo enforces the idea it's ok to be obese and it simply isn't.

Mominatrix · 18/09/2017 17:37

I do care. An obese child will be an obese adult with all the health consequences and stigmas associated with that.

I sympathise with the fact that those most vulnerable have been hurt greatest by the budget cuts, but lets set that aside.

20% of the difference in the obesity rates between the poorest and the richest were attributes to maternal smoking, high maternal BMI, late bedtimes, not being active at least 3 times a week, and lower fruit consumption. These do not require money to address and would lead to a big decrease in the likelihood of obesity in the child from a poor background.

ConcreteUnderpants · 18/09/2017 17:39

ChelleDawg2020 -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

Are you serious??!
Beats the yellow star my grandparents had to wear, I guess.

paxillin · 18/09/2017 17:46

How is this different from M&S, JL or ASDA "slim fit" and "wide fit" or whatever they are called? I don't think making an overweight child wear either clothes too tight or clothes way too long helps them lose weight.

Original poster
m4rdybum · 18/09/2017 17:50

Yeah to be fair @Chelle I don't think getting the social worker round is the best use of resources. They already do a shit job for those desperately in need.

Surely a scheme like Weight Watchers or Slimming World but parent/child focussed and also not on limiting but on choosing different things would be beneficial?

I was put on Weight Watchers at 10 following dietician. As it was all adults and mainly women there doing whatever they could to lose weight trying to be healthier, I don't think it worked well. But if it was fellow kids? Probably.

OP posts:
SusannahL · 18/09/2017 17:55

This is absolutely NOT a complex issue at all. Children are fat because they eat too much or are fed too much by equally overweight parents.
It's a mixture of greed and inactivity, and of course the longer this situation continues, more and more youngsters will become fat and gradually it will seem to be the 'norm'

I was reading the other day that GPs are reluctant to suggest that patients need to lose weight as they don't want to upset/offend them!
Incredible.

Until people take responsibility for this and start to feel ashamed of their size nothing will change.

Meanwhile the poor NHS is having to pick up the pieces of all the size related illnesses being obese causes.

CheshireChat · 18/09/2017 18:36

I agree about better maintained and simply more parks.

Also, people sometimes don't realise that junk food can be pretty much the only affordable 'treat' on a low budget so that comes into play as well.

So no parks in the area, sport activities are pricey and require transport which is even more money.

Money definitely plays a part.

HelenaDove · 18/09/2017 18:44

OP How old are you You were 10 years old in what year?

Mominatrix · 18/09/2017 18:45

Apples and bananas are not expensive.

How about walking to parks?

Money also has nothing to do with going to bed on time or not smoking whilst pregnant.

Original poster
m4rdybum · 18/09/2017 18:50

OP How old are you You were 10 years old in what year?

I was 10 in 2002.

OP posts:
HelenaDove · 18/09/2017 18:52

Ah I thought you might be older.

Ttbb · 18/09/2017 19:00

When I was a (very fat) child I worse adult clothing because I was too big for children's clothing. I'm glad that they didn't have kids clothes in my size because that would have normalised it whereas not being able to wear kids clothes like my peers finally made me realise just how fat I was.!

HelenaDove · 18/09/2017 19:07

Some of the children from Grenfell who have been living in hotels for the past three months have been living on takeaways for all that time because food isnt being included on the bill.

misshelena · 18/09/2017 19:12

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.

Wow OP! They did you wrong! I feel bad saying that... I am sure your mom and grandparents loved you... I am sure that you know that already.

misshelena · 18/09/2017 19:23

This is absolutely NOT a complex issue at all. Children are fat because they eat too much or are fed too much by equally overweight parents.
It's a mixture of greed and inactivity

I agree with you Susannah. But, have you seen those adverts?! Do you know that if you drink a can of Coke, you'll become the most popular kid in school? Or that those chocobombs you call breakfast are "part of this complete breakfast"? Or that you can get 2x as many french fries with just 10 cents more? imagine how hard it is for kids to resist them. But yes, at the end of the day, it's comes down to eating too much.

CardsforKittens · 18/09/2017 19:28

I suspect that reasons for childhood obesity might be more complex than is generally recognised. My daughter was a normal weight until she was 10. That was when the homophobic bullying started and she started comfort eating. She has ASD so dealing with the bullying, the eating and the everyday difficulties from the ASD became a massive task. She's now in her late teens and losing weight but it's going to take a long time. The school tried to help re the bullying but kids who were bullying her were very good at covering their tracks (as NT kids targeting kids with ASD tend to be). So for us it really wasn't as simple as offering exclusively healthy food. I wish it had been. And I wish I'd been able to buy her plus size clothes. Anyway, I expect that, as usual, people who know will understand...

flownthecoopkiwi · 18/09/2017 19:34

It seems to be available in a number of shops, sainsburys do a plus size school uniform and h&m kids clothes too.
Not sure how i feel about it as acplus sized adult. I do know i don't want my children to need to wear them.

Witsender · 18/09/2017 20:07

I wish they did longer length stuff tbh. Neither of mine are excessively tall but finding trousers that aren't too short, but don't fall off round the waist is a right pain.

CheshireChat · 18/09/2017 20:13

Whilst apples and bananas aren't that expensive, neither are they a treat aka something nice you only get every once in a while.

Not all areas have parks within walking distance, the very deprived area I lived in before, didn't.

I do agree that we need to minimise childhood obesity, but I disagree that by shaming either the parents or the children is the right approach.

Girty999 · 18/09/2017 20:19

I have to buy 'comfort fit' my boys have my bum and legs and I think school uniform should be appropriate and take into consideration children spend time sitting on the floor etc, school uniform shouldn't involve hipsters skinny fit etc

BurnTheBlackSuit · 18/09/2017 20:22

Does a child needing plus sized clothing automatically mean they are overweight though? Anymore than neeeding slim fit doesn't mean the child is underweight. There is quite a range of healthy body sizes and shapes, especially for children.

OhWifey · 18/09/2017 20:25

Notwithstanding the debate intended by you OP, I genuinely want to thank you for the link. I have an obese child due to medical needs and not being able to easily clothe her is heartbreaking for me. I'm looking forward to trying this range now.

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