To be horrified that fit bits for kids are considered normal?

[gobbyone]

I find the whole idea of having my body voluntarily monitored and having the data fed into an app owned by God knows who, a bit bizarre anyway. But each to their own. Doctors instructions aside, obviously.

But for children? Why? Isn't this going to feed into mental health problems?

Genuinely horrified.

Kids are often motivated by beating their previous "score" (speed etc) and knowing statistics about their body like blood pressure. I think it's cool when gadgets map your route on google maps etc

Of course it's influenced my views- it means I can see (and have lived) the extreme end of this.

This mode of thinking, measuring your body or performance obsessively is exactly how anorexia works. It's not about being thin, it's about control. The number on the scales the number on the app...

Horrible

gobbyone whilst I can see that, with the greatest of respect - most people don’t think like that. I appreciate it was horrible for you and is a trigger, but for the vast majority who do not suffer from this horrible illness, it just isn’t even on their radar let alone being a trigger. I’m glad you are well again now

Exactly gobby the extreme end.

For most people, there's nothing extreme about this - see pikapikachu's comments, which I agree with.

I know for people who have disordered thoughts around food / exercise they can be problematic. Thing is if it isn't this, there'll be something else that will enable that thinking - people have suffered for anorexia forever.

But just to add - I haven't got one myself, even though I exercise a lot and it would be useful.

I can be a bit obsessive about food / exercise, not anything hugely to worry about but I know sometimes it's not great. So I avoided getting it as I thought, like you say, it might encourage me to be more so.

Actually, I now think I will get one as I don't think it will have that affect on me, having watched how others use it and will help with my exercise goals. But I do see where you are at, a little, as I paused to consider this first.

YABU i love being able to see my steps and activities.

I think its great for kids to learn how much exercise is needed to hrlp them stay healthy. Set up correctly it can encourage an apprioate level of activity

I'm not sorry I went through it by the way- made me who I am.

However, eating disorders have a high fatality rate. Why the bloody hell are we encouraging them?

If child is fat, get them moving and improve the food.

Don't get them measuring shit.

I really don't believe a Fitbit will encourage kids to have eating disorders. My dd uses hers to check her sleep, her steps and the time. She loves when she reaches her step target and that's basically the point of it. If her steps are low one day she has a bit of a boogie or a walk to increase them. That's a good thing in my opinion.

I’m with you OP because even now as an adult I can feel myself getting obsessive about how many steps I’ve done. As a teenager it would have been a nightmare. But I have a similar background to you and people who don’t will not understand why it’s an issue.

They are recommended for people with eating disorders.

They are same as most other things.

Depends on how they are used. Because it may have been bad for you doesnt mean it's bad for everyone.

Some kids become obsessive over computer games. For lots of kids, they are just used for fun.

I'm not sure what I think about this. My SD (10) is a bit overweight (letter from school) and her mum and dad decided not to say anything to her about it for obvious reasons. She wanted a Fitbit and it's been great as she's exercising and walking so much more than she ever was before off her own back. There's no counting calories or anything like that involved in the kids' one she has though - are others different? But I can totally see where the OP is coming from. It's when you're young that the seeds of an eating disorder can be sown and "measuring" anything could feed into that potentially. I can see both sides here.

Horrified? Blimey.

I was hospitalised with an Eating Disorder and I have no issues with my son having one. He loves seeing the numbers go up, he’s autistic so it really appeals to him

Not once have I mentioned losing weight or burning calories. But getting moving is healthy and will make you feel great.

I don't see the problem at all. My dd is a healthy and active 8 year old and loves to see how many steps she's taken each day. She has little competitions with herself to beat her record but equally on slower lazy day, enjoys seeing how few she can do.
I have no issue with her understanding how active she is.
Of course for anyone with MH issues there could be a problem but same could be said for almost anything!

Quite a few children have them at the upper end of primary. If my teenage child wanted one (he’s into fitness) then fine. But I was amazed by the thread saying a 6 year old has one.

I'm a recover(ing) anorexic. I would have loved one of these as a teenager. It probably would have been the death of me.

That'll be why you're 'horrified' then.

To most kids it'll just be a fun way of measuring their fitness. Kids generally do love a gadget.

And if it does so happen to help in some small way, to prevent them ending up amongst the 32% of children who are overweight or obese by the time they finish primary school, then even better.

My son's Fitbit Ace doesn't track calories burnt or heart rate, just sleep (in less detail than my Alta), activity and steps. It's good because it encourages him to get away from his console and get his steps up. It's only positive as far as I'm concerned.

For the majority it poses no issues. It’s the same with a lot of things, alcohol etc. But if you have a disposition towards being obsessive about weight then yes, it will be a problem.

It’s not about the gadget, the gadget doesn’t cause eating disorders, it’s the persons relationship with it.

I am an alcoholic. I cannot drink moderately. Do I have an issue with people drinking? No. Just because I can’t manage alcohol doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing and I feel it’s horrific. Not all people who drink are alcoholics. Not all people children who have a Fitbit will go on to be obsessive about their weight.

I don’t have a similar background to you OP and I agree with you.

A healthy lifestyle (I.e a healthy balanced diet + the needed amount of exercise) should be the basic foundation for every child regardless of what they’re wearing on their wrist. Fitbit doesn’t encourage a variety of different types of exercise, it doesn’t encourage a nutritionally balanced diet either and it certainly doesn’t show children how to achieve these, which is the skill they need to be healthy in later life. I see the danger as being ‘Fitbit tells me how healthy and fit I am by the number of steps I do’ which isn’t even a fraction of the correct bigger picture. It’s the same as using scales as indication of how fit and healthy you are, which is something woefully common amongst adults, although I have seen that attitude taken with Fitbit too since they’ve become popular.

In short, I really think it’s just another branch of the dieting industry.

My grandchildren have them - they compete with each other to see how many steps they do every day. Nothing weird about that.

My friend who is single, used hers for tracking her sleep , and it showed that she had severe sleep apnoea ( having no partner, she had nobody to tell her she snored badly). Her doctor said she could have died if she hadn't picked up on it. Her Fitbit was a life saver - nothing terrible about that.

At my sons school (primary) the headmaster has banned them because he heard some of the girls with them talking about calories.

My son has one because he his on the large size and although very sporty and active, at home will sit and stay on a screen. His fitness tracker motivates him to move, because he is competitive!!

So it's swings and roundabouts I guess.

Personally I have far more issues with these companies having very personal data about you, but there are numerous articles and experts who have expressed concern about the impact of fitness tracking apps on mental health.
time.com/5066561/health-data-tracking-obsession/

www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/food-junkie/201509/your-fitbit-is-ruining-your-relationship-your-body

I think it’s sad if any child needs one to encourage them to move, because clearly there is some sort of failure on the parents/caters part do do that properly but I’m glad they exist for those that do need it and haven’t got the parental input to help them.

I also think removal of screens would do the same job.

My eldest has one. She's really sporty and wanted to know how many steps she was doing. 2h of exercise a day and 20000 steps it turns out.

Kids are overweight because they don't move about enough and eat shit food

I have 3DC, the eldest and youngest are both a healthy weight, DD1 was 31st percentile last time her consultant checked. My middle child is slightly overweight (this is something that has happened recently, up to the last 6 months she was a healthy weight. She doesn't eat shit food and has always exercised, but we've now realised she does routinely ask for seconds of the same food her health weight siblings eat. So we are now clamping down on snacks and seconds to try and prevent this being a long term thing. It is difficult to treat one child differently though, the others can eat what they want and naturally self regulate. We don't have soft drinks or biscuits or cakes or sweets in the house routinely.

It's a 'toy/game' to them where the goal is being active. Sure it's a lot less interactive but I wouldn't say a having Fitbit is so different to when Wii fit/Wii sports were popular. If anything it's better if they're getting outside.
Remember that exercise isnt just about losing weight, it's about strength, endurance and overall health.

My boys (9 and 12) both have them - we compete as a family to do the most steps. The kids app doesn't monitor calories, we don't link exercise to losing weight - just to being fitter and healthier. They are a good thing!