Anyone concerned with their child's weight/height thing from the school nurse?

[FatGirlThin]

I just got dd's back. She is under the 2nd percentile for height (not surprising, I'm only 5ft) but is about the 80th percentile for weight. She's always been a 'solid' little girl but I wouldn't describe her as fat. Usually she has maybe 2 or 3 biscuits a week so I'm not filling her up with junk. I'm overweight and I'm now feeling very worried that she is too or will be. She has school dinners and tea usually consists of something like a sandwich or egg and soldiers or beans on toast with a piece of fruit and a yoghurt for afters.

Can anyone advise/reassure me? Thanks.

Please don't panic. My DS was told that he was overweight but they wouldn't take into account that he was tall for his age.

You need to remember they are doing this 2nd Percentile based on what they see as the "average/perfect" child - this child does not exsist!!!!!

As long as your child is healthy, eating good things well and getting some exercise you can't do more than that. Is she happy? I imagine so.
If you are at all worried and think she could lose weight but not a lot then take up something fun with her like swimming or extra walks now the weather is getting nicer, but i'm sure you're doing a wonderful job please do not worry.

Also remember that all children go through growth spurts etc at different times and she maybe building up to one soon. I have a friend who's daughter hasn't grown since she was 5 and is now nearly 8. The weight has increased though.

Smile

How old is she?

Was this done last term?

She is almost six. I think it was done last term.

What a lovely post wishing wells, thank you She is healthy,eating good things and does get some exercise. I think exercise is the one lacking area as she is a bright little girl and spends most of her time reading, writing and drawing. She does love running around too though and now the weather is better I think we will all be outdoors now. She is very happy and honestly I do not think she looks fat, she is also definitely overdue a growth spurt - poor little thing is desperate for new school shoes but she just can't seem to grow out of her old ones!

the gosh site has a bmi calculator so you could check that here

I have to disagree with wishing and say that you should be concerned childhood obesity is a problem and the centile cahrts are based on data not the perfect child so yes your child is at the bottom of the scale for height and near the top for weight

have you looked at her portion sizes as I think that has been found to be an area where parents aren't necessarily as aware of wht the right portion should be

Ok, so I've just checked again and I'd put her weight in the wrong place on the chart she's actually just below the 50th percentile on the weight. On that GOSH site though she is deemed as 'overweight' . I don't know what to think really.
Where can I go for advice (I'd rather talk to someone than just read stuff on a website iykwim). I'm so upset, I've always been so careful about what I both my dc to eat because I don't want them to be overweight. Maybe it is the portion size?

can you talk to the school nursing service about it or you could see the gp and ask for a referral to a dietician?
portion sizes are an issue in a lot of cases you probably need to look at the balance of fruit/veg versus carbs fat
the gosh site does have some good advice about it on there
looking at her exercise levels may also help
I think the most important thing though is that you have been made aware of it and you are motivated to do something

According to the gosh BMI calculator she needs to lose 300g to be 'not' overweight or grow 2cm! That has made me panic slightly less. She does still have a very babyish figure. I think I will give the school nurse a ring though and have a word. I'm so damn careful though, I was so sure I wasn't giving her too much

try not to be too upset 300g is very little I'm sure if you just keep an eye and get her weighed again she may have a growth spurt and do the extra 2cms
I think we can project our own body issues onto the children my ds1 is very skinny but I still worry about his fat intake etc
ds2 on the other hand is very sturdy and on the 98th centile for height and weight he worries me a bit but he is a toddler so I will have to see what happens when he has grown a bit older

I'm sorry I was not trying to give the impression that childhood obesity was not important. I was trying to reassure the OP that every child is different and each needs to be looked at in that way. Also if we go over the top ( I mean really OTT) when they are that young we can turn what might be a chance to learn more about them selves into Obssesion instead. I have a friend who for a while has been slightly overweight (she was 13 - family friend) her mother went on and on at her and now she's underweight and still losing weight because of her mother going OTT.

I know it's serious I have no wish for my children to follow me and become overweight but i'm trying to teach them this by eating healthy and exercising, answering their questions but not getting too hung up on it.

The thing about growth charts is not necessarily what centile a child is on, but the balance between the height and weight. If a child is on the 2nd or 9th centiles for height and weight, or the 91st-99.6th for both then you wouldn't be concerned.

The concern is when there is a significant difference between the centiles for height and weight - usually a difference of 2 or more centiles would require intervention.

We don't recommend that young children lose weight, what we advise is that parents work at maintaining the current weigth whilst they continue to grow, therefore growing into their weight and so reducing the disparity between height and weight.

The school nurse should be able to advise you, and may be able to send you some bumph to look at. IME many parents overestimate portion sizes - what the child is eating is essentially fine, there tends to be just too much of it.

Wishing - I absolutely agree with you there. My mum is overweight, has been as long as I can remember and she has always made comments about my weight and since I was a teenager it's been an issue for me. I REALLY don't want that to happen to dd. I'm not going to mention the weight thing to her AT ALL. If I make any changes I will just reduce portions without saying anything. She is very clued up on healthy eating from school and we back it up at home but through example rather than going on about it.

I recently reduced portion sizes for both my children. I have no way of knowing from the centiles if they are overweight or not as both came back 99+ for height and weight (that's actually what was written on the charty) so it told me nothing except the fact that they are generally big.

Look at her and make your own judgement then don't do anything drastic, just make little changes. Mine have not even noticed that a change has been made.