What is the height & weight of your DS('s)

[ElaineFromLondon]

I have three boys

A 12 yr old who is 4ft11 and 154lbs
A 9 yr old who is 4ft3 and 79lb
And a 3yr old who is 34 inches tall and 55lbs*

I'm looking for some perspective on their heights/weights so I know how they compare with other kids.

*I am aware that this is unusually heavy.

SolomanDaisy- Yes, that's what I mean.

OldBeanbagz- My 3 year old and 9 year old eat about the same amount of food. 12 yr old eats considerably more, and I dread to think of how much he'll eat with his friends when I'm not there.

Does your 3 year old use a side plate sized plate?

By the sounds of it he may be overeating as well as not being active. This is something you need to address.

Maybe start by looking at all their diets and see if it's something you can improve. Do they snack between meals, eat big portions? What do they eat on a typical day?

All three of them snack between meals and their portions are always quite big. I'm going to look at what they eat today.

55lb is 24kg so your 3 year old weighs as much as some peoples' 9 year olds on here.

If his weight is stopping him moving then you need to address his diet urgently until he is able to move more easily, surely? I'm not an expert but that's what would make sense to me.

I get that it's harder to (though not impossible) to keep a healthy diet for your 12 year old but you are in total control of what your 3yo eats.

What support are the Doctors giving you on addressing this and getting him to a healthy weight?

What snacks do they typically choose?

Re: portion sizes, my 2 (5 and 2) ARENT great eaters but they eat (and are full on) a handful of pasta each with some sauce.

Keep an honest food diary for a couple of days. Ask the boys to run through all the lovely things they eat at others houses too. Write it as an on going log then post it here and we can help

Often when children are overweight, they get taller much earlier and hit puberty much earlier.

Your last post is all you need to see why there is a problem then. Now you need to look at taking control of things. Don't make drastic changes but do make small changes in what they eat and how much. Make sure there is plenty of protien and filling foods an keep the amount of 'empty' foods to a minimum

I have 4 - two of which are similar ages to yours

DS aged 3 has a great appetite and is about 35lbs

DS aged 12 is slim and active

Your 12 year old weighs MORE than my 5'10" 40 year old husband.

And just a little bit less than my 6'2" husband.

Almost 4 year old is 38.5 inches and 33lbs

Not a clue what the others weigh

I would have a food makeover and get everyone to concentrate on being healthy rather then loosing weight.

So throw out crisps, chocolate, biscuits, cake, sweets, pizza, processed foods. If your kids generally help them selves to snacks, make them ask permission first.

Make snacks things like veg sticks with humus or cheese and an apple. Nuts with dark 90% chocolate. The protein will be more filling then lots of crappy carbs. In fact we are all meant to have a palm size of protein at every meal including breakfast.

Look on line for correct portion size. The 12 year old should be the only one with a large adult size plate. Let them fill up on veg if they are still hungry after a meal. Keep puddings simple - so plain yogurt with berries served in a tiny dessert.

Learn to read labels. Look on the back for the % of sugar per 100g. Under 8% is low, under about 20% is medium and over 20% sugar per 100g is bad.

Get them choosing savoury meals and cook them together

Get them hooked on sport. Rugby is great for bigger chaps

Their activity levels must be incredibly low. DS1 and DS2 eat tonnes but are slim because they are always doing something active.

Just wanted to add that i know you must feel quite stuck now but actually acknowledging there is a problem, reflecting upon what's happening and planning for change is one huge step in its self.

Someone said to me recently that it takes 24 days to create a new habit. So really it will be a months slog making lots if little changes but maybe there's a way of making it positive? Maybe you could call November 'healthy November' and get all the kids active and eating well

They've had their breakfast now, so here's what they had

DS 12: 2 slices of toast w/peanut butter, cereal*, orange juice

DS 9: 1 slice of toast w/peanut butter, cereal*, glass of milk

DS 3: 2 slices of toast with butter, apple juice

*Shreddies

Surely they needed the toast or the cereal not both? And how much shreddies? How big was the portion and what kind of milk did they have with it?

a medium sized bowl full of shreddies, with semi skimmed milk

Ds2 age 12 148cm 5 stone/31kg

Ds3 age 9 145cm 4 and a half stone 29kg.

Dd age 3 105cm tall. 2 and a half stone/16kg.

Ds2 is scrawny looking and ds3 is very slim we struggle with trousers need adjustable waists etc.

Dd is normal build still has a bit if a toddler belly but is slimming down as she grows.

Ds3 is tall for his age, ds2 is short but due a growth spurt.

What is medium sized though? I think it nay be worth weighing the cereal out to see tbh. I suspect portion sizes are part of the problem. How active are the boys? Do they do sport or walk/scooter/bike etc. How active would you say they are on a typical day?

Fir example the madthings scooter or bike two miles to School and then home again, swum once a week ans do martial arts, plus we have climbing frame and trampoline in the garden, they are generally pretty active.

In a healthy child you should be able to see their ribs and collar bone etc.

Ok so your eldest is the same height as my ds2 yet weighs more than double the amount.

Look you clearly realise there is an issue and your poor ds3 with his broken leg must have been a nightmare. But now you know there is an issue you can tackle it. Have you been referred to a dietician?

I don't think we can comment on breakfast alone. My four yr old will often eat two or three breakfasts but very little dinner. You need to look at a few days really.