8 year old lockdown weight gain

[Littleblackdress04]

Aibu to ask for some help. DD 8 has put on quite a lot of weight during lockdown- I have tried to be as active as possible but she normally does a lot of school activities etc and I weighed her earlier & she’s def above what she should be height to weight.

How should I gently approach getting healthy? I don’t buy any sweet stuff at home now bar yoghurts whereas at the start, I think we were eating out of boredom too.

It’s not helped by me working full time at home so it’s hard to get out- we don’t have a big garden. She’s also VERY clingy since this has happened so won’t even go out in the back yard on her own currently to do skipping or anything.

I am really worried - what strategy/approach should I take?

So she thinks she's keeping you company!

How far is the bike ride? According to my watch, bike rides burn depressingly few calories- unless you do about 20 miles.

Ds won't exercise for the sake of exercise, but will do walks and rides.

Also isn’t the advice not to get kids to lose weight but to grow into their weight?

great that you have identified the issue and are looking to change.

food wise - drop snacks
have 3 or 4 meals a day, don't deny sweets/chrisps but serve it as part of a meal

exercise - look at c25k, could you do that together with her? I did that with my preteen and teen dc. was great fun for them showing me up!

can she ride a bike?

evenif you are working full time, you need to set an example. make time for exercise, even if it's just half an hour walk round the block.

Yes my 6yo DD is the same, she still has a healthy BMI but only just and I was looking at photos of before lockdown and I can see a difference. My DH who is normally very strict with treats seems to have lost the plot. I have had a word and thought we were in agreement but I caught him giving her a 500kcal dessert last night! He is also obsessed with her clearing her plate but gives massive portions of certain meals.

I do know where the problems are so hopefully we can address it but I think it is hard because the changes in the right direction are so slow and I don’t want to give her a complex by weighing her regularly. We are getting out and about and exercising but there are so many clubs and sports she is missing.

Am a bit surprised by the pp.suggesting that two bananas in a day is too much but not referring to the Cornetto? To me crisps and a Cornetto in a day is too much for a child who tends to overweight. She'll also be fussier if she's able to have really substantial snacks during the day. I'd cut those and keep to fruit for snacks, or maybe something like a boiled egg, which will her up with less energy and also be less appetising if she's not truly hungry.

I have an 8 year old DD and a nearly 6 yo DS. They have both eaten atrociously since lockdown started - loads of biscuits, sweets, ice lollies etc, although they've had normal healthy meals as well (and some bad meals like Heinz tomato soup). DS has always been thin as a rake - you can see every rib, at the back as well, and he hasn't got a 6 pack, he's got an 8 pack. DD has actually slimmed down - she was never overweight, but she carried a little more around her tummy than DS. She's now showing abs definition too. I put it down to more running around - they eat a lot, yes, but they also spend hours on the trampoline when it's not raining and we go for long walks 3/4 days a week. There's a lot of screentime in there too, though, as DH and I are both working at home. I don't know why they haven't put on weight - DH and I have! I do think they've both grown a lot in height - maybe pre-lockdown DD was just due a growth spurt.

Anyway, OP, I just wanted to reassure you that your daughter's diet sounds better than my DD's.

@Stuckforthefourthtime

I would avoid 2 bananas anyway a day, they are really high in potassium.
I’ve got a heart condition and didn’t realise about bananas and ate 2 then ended up in hospital as my heart shot up to 230 bpm and wouldn’t come down! That was also due to my condition but the doctor there said 2 bananas is too much in one day! And I ate them thinking I was being healthy!

Even people without heart conditions can get heart palps from too much potassium

Also, being slim doesn’t automatically mean you’re healthy. If you eat junk but are slim that doesn’t mean you’re healthy

Portion size matters a lot e.g. how many weetabix, how much mash etc but i do think it's quite a high carb diet and if she's not moving much she won't be burning that off. There's also hidden sugar in things like weetabix and if apple snacks are dried fruit they'll be high too. Also high fat in cheese and crisps, and potentially butter in the mash? I wouldn't mention it to her but i'd keep the snacks down and try to swap some of the fruit for veg e.g. carrot & cucumber sticks.

TBH, I wouldn't worry about it too much. It'll come off again when she goes back to school. Plus it maybe that she's just storing up some reserves for an imminent grown spurt. Plus, at 8, some girls are getting to that age where they get a bit pudgy. It's hormonal.

But handle it carefully with your daughter!

I remember being about that age, and going swimming with a friend and her mum. When we were showering afterwards, the mum poked me in the belly, and said something like "Oooh, a bit chubby there!" I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it, but that comment has stuck with me for the better part of 30 years! And what was extra-weird, was that her daughter was a LOT pudgier than I was!

I would casually and quietly "run out of" or "run low on" anything that she gets the excess calories from. If you've removed the "sweets and crisps" type snacks, it must be something.

Eg buttered toast (buy a brand of bread and spread she's not that keen on). Ditto cereal - only have a boring brand in. Etc. If you do need to have a stock of something she eats a volume of, keep it out of sight. The more repeat packets of something waiting in the cupboard in sight, the more they ask for it. If there's only one open packet they are more economical with it.

I don't think she needs to hear it about her weight and as a parent you can gradually change whatever is causing the issue without actually telling her about it. Meanwhile, if she likes dance or gym or anything like that, there's lots of free videos to watch on Youtube etc rather than the standard "PE for kids" videos.

I’d focus on eating healthily and getting exercise when possible for now.

When life gets back to normal so will her weight.

Lots of sports clubs here are planning on running holiday camps asap, sign her up to some activity day to give things a boost.

I would be much more worried at the fitness implications that are implied than the weight gain - if an 8 year old was successfully self regulating weight via their normal exercise then stopped, I doubt it's a huge increase in eating from lockdown, the lack of exercise is likely much more real, and would have further problems that are not simply solved by reducing calories so as to return to a normal weight.

I'd say the important thing is returning to normal fitness, which will likely return to normal weight as an aside unless some metabolic disorder has begun to kick in preventing that.

When you say as active as possible - are you managing remotely similar to the normal activity levels - for lots people, that was near impossible during lockdown, even meeting the government minimal guidelines of 60 minutes a day plus three strength sessions a week was difficult for the most locked down part. But if you were previously more active than the minimum then it was very hard to maintain - and that change would lead to weight gain for sure.

My 9yo is the same. He's always aired on the near overweight side - quite stocky build etc but kept under control with a ton of activity at school, swimming lessons, climbing and walking. Lockdown and comfort / boredom eating haven't been kind to him and he's now about half a stone above the top of healthy....feel terrible.

He's autistic so has a lot of rigidity and behaviour patterns with food which don't help. We're concentrating on him not gaining more over the next few months and hoping it evens out as he shoots up around a cm per month.

We've casually 'run out' of things and swapped a few meals around. He's doing ringfit on the switch for 45 mins daily as he's hooked (ASD routines are quite good for doing things daily) and he's back at school so I'm not going to worry and mention anything to him.

Go for cycle ride, go for a walk, play ball in the park. Do a Joe wix workout. Have 3 meals a day and a piece of fruit or 1 plain biscuits in between. Draw hopscotch in your garden if you can. or create a mini work out together. Make it fun, do it together and don,t mention weight gain.

You don’t need to do anything drastic just make small changes. Slightly small portions, slightly more excessive, slightly fewer or smaller treats. Look at this as long term thing.

Ugg too many typos
Slightly more exercise Etc

Most active kids will have gained weight- my previously borderline underweight 7 year old is now an average weight...
His school is back since about 3 weeks, and his weight is stable. Keep an eye on it, and increase exercise unobtrusively

I would definitely make it all about staying healthy and fit and wouldn't mention weight at all. I think the poster who said that children should just be encouraged to grow into their current weight is spot on. There's no need for any drastic changes - just try to make some swaps (which needn't be mentioned at all) and encourage more activity.

@MyOwnSummer my experience is very similar except I only ever recovered 'enough' to have a functional professional life and unfortunately have relapsed this year, what with the pandemic and everything. However, the past ten years of research has shown that anorexia is strongly neurobiological: contrary to the opinions of many mother-blaming psychiatrists, you can't actually give your child anorexia. Nonetheless, you can certainly harm their self-esteem and relationship with food, so I agree that great care needs to be taken. How about instead of making it about her specifically, you start a 'family fitness project' where you talk about healthy eating and exercise - don't mention weight loss, talk about getting strong and gaining energy, and get everyone involved. Talk about eating 'more' fruit and vegetables rather than cutting things out, but surreptitiously replace more calorie-dense foods with low-sugar fruit and veg.

If lots of adults have gained weight during lockdown, it’s not surprising that some children have as many will be much more sedentary than normal especially if parents are working (mine have far too much tv on my working days). Can you look at holiday clubs to get more activity in or start building play into your day now that the playgrounds are open?

I took mine to the playground today for the first time and it was an utter joy to see them running around. It makes you realise that the daily walk was no substitute for active play.

Same here!

My DS, pre lockdown, was swimming three times a week! Since that all stopped and he finds the park going. He has put on weight!

My 7 year old definitely put on weight during lockdown. He is now back at school (and has been for about 6 weeks) and the weight has literally just fallen straight back off him. I wouldn't worry too much.

Any tips or experience on hangry 8 yo? Think this is problem here she gets so cross when hungry if I'm trying to prepare food when she hungry gets stressful gets so worked up and often ends up eating while waiting.
I would expect at 8 be better able manage waiting for meals. Back to a sweet child when fed