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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to expect my permission to be asked before teacher weighs the whole class

71 replies

nametaken · 31/01/2008 20:33

dd was weighed at school today along with everyone else in year 6 - no warnings - no permission slips to sign - nothing.

Now, all my dcs are the correct weight for their height but I take offence at this.

Number 1 for this governments constant interference in the minutaie of family life

Number 2 for school not asking my permission.

Honestly I feel like one of those cartoon characters with steam coming from their ears. If this useless government really wants to tackle childhood obesity why the effing hell don't they

make the streets safer
lower car speed limits
increase pedestrian only zones round housing estates
add more sport to the curriculum

or any number of other things.

OK - is it just me moaning or would you be incensed.

And what happens if your dc isn't within the guidelines for weight/height ratios. Oh dear me you GET A LETTER TELLING YOU OFF.

Lovely.

OP posts:

ChorusLine · 01/02/2008 14:17

I was weighed once in class and i was the heaviest girl and it was on the blackboard - it was sooooo embarrassing people went on about it for ages.....takes me back

OrmIrian · 01/02/2008 14:18

Oh...just read thread. Obviously someone did find it humilating. As if they needed to weigh him to know he was overweight. Poor child.

duchesse · 01/02/2008 14:19

Depends if they're using for maths work in statistics or just to single out the fatties. Actually, either way is fine by me. Obesity is a very large problem and it is unacceptable for people not to notice that their 10 yr old is 11 stone. It is health screen like many others. And yes it is going to happen in all schools now.

brimfull · 01/02/2008 14:21

Don't disagree with them being weighed but it should be done individually without the whole class watching.

Bloody insensitive bastards.

duchesse · 01/02/2008 14:22

Having read through the thread now, I have to agree that it would be much better done by a school nurse in private, and the results sent home in a sealed envelope.

greyskythinker · 01/02/2008 15:00

YANBU

maryz · 02/02/2008 00:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RosaLuxOnTheBrightSideOfLife · 02/02/2008 00:23

My DD1 is in Year 6 and some of her classmates (who are not overweight) are already talking about diets and not wanting to be seen in public in their swimsuits. IMO it is completely wrong to weigh children of that age in front of their classmates - fine if it is in private, but parents ought to be informed it is happening. Anyone who thinks it is OK obviously has never experienced the sort of unpleasant teasing that 11-year-olds can dish out and the misery that it can cause to the children at the receiving end. And people wonder how eating disorders start.

discoverlife · 02/02/2008 00:27

I mentioned to the school nurse at a meeting that was worried about DS1's weight, and they said no he's fine. its just puppy fat.
Funny how the pendulum swings.

Vacua · 02/02/2008 00:34

not remotely unreasonable

I'd be fuming, one child with anorexia is enough for me to be going on with

Ineedacleaner · 02/02/2008 08:12

Have a read through this document

I have a big issue with the government taking this data and the way they store it etc. They don't HAVE to ask your permission as the secretery of state has appeared to give it as it is helth information etc etc.

cory · 02/02/2008 21:45

When I was at school (long time ago!), the school nurse would do a health review of every child once a year: height, weight, eyesight, the lot. Parental permission was not asked- but then again, it did take place in private, that seems to be the main point. I think it is perfectly reasonable for a school to want to know if some of the pupils have problems e.g. with eyesight or hearing, and let's face it, there are parents who simply bury their heads in the sand about health issues.

OrmIrian · 04/02/2008 11:55

I remember being weighed in the school gym. A long queue of girls waiting to stand on the scales. I don't remember any comment being made about whether you were overweight or not but if you were presumably your parents were informed. And let's face it, it's fairly clear who was likely to be . It was utterly awful and even those of us who weren't fat hated it. There must have been complaints because from then on we were summoned to the school nurse to be weighed.

But I had an eye-opener yesterday. Went to a pool in the next town for a session where they get inflatable stuff out to play on. And there were loads of teenagers and pre-teens. And my god there were some big children. In fact the majority of them were. The slim children stood out. I've always felt that levels of overweight DCs weren't really that high as looking at the clothed children in the school playground only a few were obviously very big...but unclothed it's quite a different matter. Quite shocking.

pixiella · 04/02/2008 12:04

sorry what's wrong with weighing children??

why do you need to sign a permission slip...?

im sorry im not trying to be rude i just genuinely don't understand!

when i was in primary school i remember doing science projects when we would measure our height and weight and foot length and handspan and all that sort of thing, just so we could learn about measuring...

pixiella · 04/02/2008 12:11

ok iv just read the thread - now i understand...

i actually remember being really embaressed being weighed in year 6 and secondary school....i wasn't skinny but i wasn't overweight i just developed hips and a bum before all the other girls so everyone would say 'oh my god are you really 6 and a half stone??' or whatever.

probably why im so sensitive about my weight now

5'7" and 10 stone.

i've always been the curviest in my class...bloody size 6 weirdos with no hips : (

aaaaaaaah it's all flooding back....why did you have to bring it up??? WHY>>>>!!!!?

Mercy · 04/02/2008 12:14

Pixiella, sorry you had a hard time at school but there's no need to call people who are a size 6 weirdos. Insenstivity can work both ways.

evenhope · 04/02/2008 12:31

Well Govt guidelines say

"Schools will need to identify a suitable place on site where measurements can be undertaken to ensure privacy and dignity of the individual child throughout the process. A separate room or a screened-off area must be provided. This is essential to reduce the risk of stigmatisation and should help reduce levels of opting out"

Seems to cover everything you've all been concerned about, so I can't see the problem. Every time my children have been weighed in front of me I've had to ask what is says because you can't see the measurement as a spectator. Unless the school is writing up a list of everyone's weight and putting it on public display then YABU.

There are some horribly fat children around (those on medication excepted) who always seem to be eating. I wonder why the parents can't see that their child is terribly overweight and do something about it- but they don't. And it takes some doing to make a very young child who is naturally slim fat.

bluenosesaint · 04/02/2008 12:50

Mmmm ...i think if they're weighing them in a seperate room and using the weights of the children anonymously for statistics then there is no problem. Something needs to be done about the growing problem of obesity and collecting statistics is obviously vital to this ...

However, to 'name and shame' the children is downright cruel and totally unacceptable. If this is the case, then no, YANBU.

I am one (of many on here it seems) to have their weight publically displayed and although i wasn't overweight, I was at the larger end of 'normal' and was absolutley mortified! Can still feel the burn of my cheeks now ...

Poor little boy - how heartless

pixiella · 04/02/2008 13:16

sorry mercy but i was talking about my friends (and almost all the other girls in my school) who were and still are size 6 weirdos.. there's nothing 'weird' about being a size 6 - im just bitter lol.

i guess i just find it weird and a little unfair how some women can stay as skinny as they were when they were 12 all the way through life. : (

and the other reason why my size 6-8 friends were weirdos in school is that they always used to complain like 'oh my god my bum is so big' 'oh my god im so fat' and im sitting there, a size 10 at 12 years old wanting to crawl inside myself and die !

ok it wasn't that bad but i still feel bitter that i was the only one out of my friends at school who seemed to have saddle bags and cellulite since i was 12 !

i mean im not overweight and never have been but compared to my friends i looked large! (big hips, pear shape - you know the deal.)

sorry if it sounded insensitive but it's just jealously really.

Bellavita · 04/02/2008 13:20

We had a letter about this a couple of weeks back asking for consent. You had to send the consent back only if it was to be done.

My son said he did not want to be weighed and measured.

Judy1234 · 04/02/2008 13:28

Depends how it's done. The have always in schools done things like measure the height of a class mate or how long is your foot but I suppose weight is such a more sensitive issue. Should be done in private. I'm not sure legally they need consent to weigh a child in a school but it would seem to be sensible to get it - a note home saying if you don't agree let us know.

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