what do you do when you notice your child is getting *whispers* chubby?

[MadEyeMisdee]

i am so dd1 was always so slim. no idea what she weighs currently. buty have noticed her belly is getting bigger, little rolls of fat on her chest, legs are chunkier etc. she is average height for a 7yr old, always followed averages. but was a picky eater.

no with a combination of eating on the run for a while, too much cr*p, and her getting lazy and not being as energentic(i hate saying this about my child, i really do, feels awful) i think she has creaked on the weight slowly.

what can i do? i dont want to put her on a diet. but need to change these habits which we have all slipped into, and somehow get dd1 back to how she should be, without giving her a complex or making her think she is fat.

Summer holidays soon, and have planned lots of woodland walks, zoo trips, parks etc.

cant go out much atm due to not having another carers hours, so taking her swimming after school etc is out.

DH is feeling guilty as well.

please help me

exactly MTJ, i dont want to mention it to her.

but she needs age 7 in length tousers and is age 8 for her waist.

just doing summer hols clothes shopping, am getting her lots of skirts and cropped trousers, so she doesnt notice that her trousers are too long in length.

feeling so awful

Well first off don't stress or panic over a a little bit of 'puppy fat', she is only 7.

But I think just slowly and gently re-introduce bike rides and walks etc etc. Maybe look at enrolling her in a trampoling class or doing some dance classes. Nothing heavy just a fun class that she'll enjoy and she'll benefit from in terms of exercise.

And don't buy anything unhealthy. If you have to have food on the run then pack little tupperware boxes of chicken strips, cucumber, cheese, toms, mini ryvitas, fruit etc.

Don't feel guilty and 'littl;e rolls of fat' on a 7 yr old are nothing to worry about.

what can i do for puds? just fruit/fruit salads?? am useless at puddings.

i am wodenring if she possibly going to have a growth spurt in height again and thin out.

am hoping that PCT agrees to our 7hours a day + emergency standby hours.

she is extremely supple, and wants to do gym classes, but havent found anything that fits in with our carers hours we currently have.

We do yogurt with fruit a lot for pudding.
Or frozen yog instead of ice cream.

How about greek yoghurt or fromage frais with fresh fruit in (bit more exciting for a 7 year old than just fruit). Even custard made with skimmed milk....how about bananas and custard.

I don't do puddings at all. They are offered fruit or a yoghurt and have never done anything different.

Somewhere on MN there is a receipe for a no sugar banana loaf.

How about making knickerbockerglorys your way, so just fruit and a tiny bit of jelly and you could add a teeny bit of squirty cream n top with some hundreds and thousands?

Probably due another spurt soon, concentrate on activity not diet (appart from cutting down on the snacks if any), as you say don't ever mention that word. Spend lots of time walking with her and playing out and about.

We have a National Trust place near us that do activity sessions for families nearly everyday and involve 1 1/2 hour walking usually, and as they are doing things so the kids don't even realise how far they have walked.

she wont touch yoghurt.

which is a pain.

maybe i should try different yoghurts?

i know in the grand scheme of thin gs its not that bad, could be worse etc, but i remember being teased badly at school for being 'fat' (i wasnt, i was just taller an d bigger than most of the class) and dont want dd1 to go through that. but i dont want dd1 to have the bad relationship with food that i do.

Oh Misdee, please, please don't feel awful. I know you struggle with your own weight (dont' we all ) but plaese don't panic either. because my ds has a very sweet tooth very persistent, very stubborn, and very inactive by nature (aspergers/dyspraxia) it's a battle to keep him off sweets and keep him moving. I find it tends to go in phases. I do try to persuade him to bounce on his trampoline, cut back on fat (eg cheese) and ice cream etc and hope he will grow!
I think you just need to cut back a bit on sweets and cheese, semi-skimmed, and as much walking, bouncing, playing as she'll do and you can manage. But don't beat yourself up. You have such a difficult life.

walk more instead of using the car
whole family should start eating healthier, do not single out your dd
just cutting out crappy processed food and upping the exercise a bit should be enough - no radical action! and remember kids need to eat more fat then adults do - don't put her on a low fat diet.

ICE POPS!!! They are the key Great for puddings and treats!

We do yogurts for puds too or a small chocolate moose/ mouse (oh I don't know) at Granny's.
I tend not to have biscuits in the house too or crisps, or I would eat them all in one night.

Also, my stepdaughter went through really chubby phases around 7/8/9 - you should see her now! Size 8 (sometimes a UK six in Gap) and really willowy and gorgeous !
She grew upwards rather fast and decided to eat a healthy diet all by herself.

Children don't need a lot of cheese though. They just don't.

Oh yes ice poles, mine don't realy lke adult yogurts and still like the ones with no bits in and fromage frais.

don't feel guilty and don't tell her anything.
make ice lollies yourself (orange juice and banana; strawberry etc) for pudding?

bear in mind that children's growth often goes in spurts so they tend to get plumper and then shoot up and slim out. I'm sure if you're eating healthily and encouraging exercise it will sort itself out.

thank you.

i have some ice lolly moulds about, will dig those out and do some made with fruit juice for puddings.

yes i do struggle with my own weight, was 6stone overweight at one point. now just 4st overweight.

dh is on high protein diet, and does eat vast amounts of cr*p (due to his heart failure making him use more calories just bby sitting around), so have spoke to him about it, and he has said he will follow the whole family healthy eating.

Just thinking of al lthe cr*p we can cut out and replace with healthy stuff.

Also make sure she has a good and healthy breakfast. So porridge, weatabix, both with semi skimmed milk. Wholemeal toast. Fruit.

No snacks unless they are fruit or a smoothie.

Just don't buy anything other than healthy stuff and the whole family eats this way. (just kee a tiny stash of grown up chocolate somewhere for you!)

When you are at home and having fun set up little mini races / obstacles etc in the garden to run around. When you go up to brush teeth at night pretend to race her up the stairs. Get a boogie babies DVd and do little dance things with her. In fact turn your own sounds up loud and have fun dancing round the house with her.

Now the summer hols are here it's a good time to get back into walkign and swimming etc.

Above all DON'T FEEL BAD. It's only a little belly she has and she's 7, it really isn't anything to be stressed about.

Big love to you btw, x

misdee try giving her a starter 20 mins before her lunch/dinner of some veggies eg raw carrot sticks, cucumber etc. This will fill her up a bit and give her more veg.

Also re the yoghurt, dd didn't like it either until one day she tried plain and now loves it! worth a go. Also get the yoghurt sticks and freeze them, usually a success. I also make ice lollies from smoothies which she adores.

i wish i had stairs thomcat,

she loves swimming, but i cant take all 3 dd's by myself (stupid county rules on swimming adult:non swimmers ratios).

a lot of our summer activities hinge on PCT agreeing to increasing hours.

Frozen fromage frais tubes are great

Also, a little low fat cheddar grated on pasta etc