How do you talk to a 6 year old about weight without it becoming a 'thing'. My dd is a 'bigger' girl, she is one of the youngest in her class but one of the tallest and is definitely 'strong'; she came home from school the day saying she wanted to loose weight because she was too heavy. It broke my heart! She is not overweight, we are very active and are out every day cycling, playing sports and in the summer swimming etc, climbing trees...but she IS bigger than most of her peers at school. I know in the past boys have called her fat.
How do I go about discussing weight and food without it becoming a negative conversation?
Thanks so much in advance x
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.
Child mental health
6 year old struggling with her size
34 replies
meandpip · 28/04/2021 11:30
OP posts:
meandpip ·
28/04/2021 11:54
@InvincibleInvisibility
DS was 7 when I found him crying in the shower cos he doesn't want to be fat. He's in the healthy range of BMI but we live in an area with seriously skinny kids (some of their mums are worried cos they're underweight) and he was getting bullied.
We emphasized health and strength. We also cut down slowly on portions and snacks. We praise DS for his strength e.g. he can do push ups one handed and has great stamina for walking and cycling.
We have discussed healthy food and Ive also said that your body NEEDS food but a good balance of different food and that its not good just to stop eating.
We emphasized health and strength. We also cut down slowly on portions and snacks. We praise DS for his strength e.g. he can do push ups one handed and has great stamina for walking and cycling.
We have discussed healthy food and Ive also said that your body NEEDS food but a good balance of different food and that its not good just to stop eating.
I'm so sorry, that must've been heartbreaking.
It's definitely something that needs to be discussed but it's finding the balance and not wanting to demonise foods.
That's a great idea about discussing what she is able to do, it's just so sad that this all starts so young, even when you feel you've done everything you can to avoid it happening.
OP posts:
meandpip ·
28/04/2021 11:59
@TheVeryHungryTortoise
I know that this may sound rude, but I promise that it comes from a sincere place. If your daughter is larger than everyone else at school and is also acknowledging her size are you sure that she isn't overweight? Being active and being overweight aren't mutually exclusive. I was a very active child, lots of sport and dance classes but I was overweight and knew it. My Mum gave me portions of food that were too large for my age and many unnecessary snacks for "energy". I don't blame her, it wasn't malicious and her own idea of normal weight and portions is skewed-as it is for many people nowadays. Body confidence is great and incredibly important, but we need to encourage the younger generation to also look after themselves and keep to healthy weights.
It's a tough problem to approach, my Mum did absolutely and I still ended up with disordered eating and anorexia in my teenage years that I am still struggling with at the age of 27. Maybe small alterations to diet and portion size that the whole family can adopt so that she doesn't notice that it's for her benefit.
It's a tough problem to approach, my Mum did absolutely and I still ended up with disordered eating and anorexia in my teenage years that I am still struggling with at the age of 27. Maybe small alterations to diet and portion size that the whole family can adopt so that she doesn't notice that it's for her benefit.
It's not rude at all, topics like this can be very triggering but they need to be discussed. You are right, I am wondering if she does have too much food...not passing the blame on but when she goes to her father's for the weekend it is always very food orientated, they get pizza and macdonalds etc. I limit the takeaways and cook her fresh food but she does have a big appetite. I'm going to call the docs and get her weighed and checked over. I was the same growing up and ended up with 17 years of disordered eating, I don't want the same to happen to her. You honesty and openess is appreciated
OP posts:
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.