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Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

DD pot belly and slightly overweight

16 replies

peppajay · 18/10/2014 08:30

My dd is 8 and I have noticed that she is putting weight on around her belly. I have to buy her tops and her coat age 10- 11 to cover it. She is a good eater and has always been big for her age. She was 8ib 10 when she was born. I weighed her the other day and she is 4st 12ib and she us 130cm tall and in the 86tg centile which she is just going into the overweight category. I have never had to watch my weight and being a little bigger than average on my family is not the normal. There has never been a baby above 6ib in my family I am small a size 10-12 and was aleAgs underweight as a child. My son is also very slight and at 6 is still in age 3-4 trousers so they don't fall down so have never dieted so this is all a bit new to me. However she eats a healthy diet she isn't a huge fruit eater though and admittedly she probably eats a couple of biscuits a day and a packet of crisps in her lunch box instead of fruit. She never used to like veg bit has got loads better and eats a good variety now. She has squash to drink and milk in the morning and a carton of juice in her lunchbox. I only ever give them small portions at meals and after their tea they have a pot of puréed fruit to make sure they have some fruit and if they have eaten their main meal they get a few smarties or buttons. She does love her cakes and biscuits but I don't let her eat them all day she has a big appetite and is always hungry and between meals she eats raisins, breadsticks or rice cakes with the occasional biscuit or cake whereas I could cake all day and not put a pound on she obviously does. My son eats more a less the same as her although he doesn't moan that he is hungry like she does all the time di he doesn't eat much between meals and he drinks milk or water as doesn't like squash or juice and he is tiny. Both ate extremely active and they swim once a week and go to a dance and movement session on a sat morning we walk or scoot to school every day and I don't drive so we walk everywhere. They rarely watch Tv or a DVD as they are so active they are barely still. I mentioned to her yesterday about eating a bit healthier maybe trying some different fruit to eat when she is hungry and she now she reckons she is fat and I have given her a complex. Never ever had to deal with anything weight related before so a bit confused. Otherwise she is very healthy and fit so maybe I am over reacting. Any advice would be appreciated I don't want to just ignore it but likewise I don't want her to deal with weight issues later on in life. Thanks

OP posts:
headlesslambrini · 18/10/2014 08:35

My DD often has a little pot belly right before a growth spurt. It could be something like this. Growth spurt usually occurs within a week of the belly appearing.

If you are worried then make an appt with the practice nurse at your GPs and they will be able to monitor and give advice.

BiggerYellowTaxi · 18/10/2014 08:43

Maybe try giving her more at mealtimes and less snacks. Try different snacks like veg sticks and hummus or cheese, something with protein and fat which will be more satiating. I was always slightly overweight as a child and yes, I've had weight issues all my life. I was also always really active as a child but less so in my teens which is when my weight crept up. I think if you can try to keep junk food to a minimum for the whole family then that can help. I think singling her out is problematic but you can cut out the treats for everyone and make it more occasional. Try introducing one change at a time.

quietlysuggests · 18/10/2014 08:53

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JugglingChaotically · 18/10/2014 08:55

I agree with BYT - try larger healthy meals.
I'd also drop all juice. It's full of sugar. Squash too.Milk and water and save juice for a treat.
Fruit is a good snack eg an apple. not peeled. Carrot sticks, houmous, whole meal toast as snacks?
Cakes and cookies we have as treats as pudding at end of meals but only occasionally.

Likely a growth spurt about to happen though ....
Good luck!

YourHandInMyHand · 18/10/2014 08:56

Make some changes. No crisps, biscuits, squash, on a daily basis.

JugglingChaotically · 18/10/2014 09:33

Had missed daily crisps - ditch those too. Occasional treat/hols also.
It sounds draconian but DDs have school lunches so crisps as treat of packed lunch on treats - maybe twice a term, juice only if out for meals (rare!) and cookies as occasional/cake as pudding or treat after vast amounts of exercise when they need the sugar hit to keep going in addition to something more substantial inc nuts (diff I know)
Cereals are mostly porridge, wheetabix, etc.

Coco pops if we are on hols - then they can have what they like from hotel but amazingly they don't often!
Our downfall is icecream - we do frozen yog as compromise but offers have icecream for play dates!
Crumbs I sound awful. Sorry!

donkir · 18/10/2014 11:09

I agree with previous posts. Although she eats a healthy diet as main meals I wouldn't be giving biscuits, crisps or chocolate buttons everyday. These would be weekend treats in our household. We also make our own vegetable crisps.
When she's complaining she's hungry are you offering drinks first as we can confuse being thirsty with hunger.

butterbeerfloat · 18/10/2014 11:30

Everyone is giving good advice on the food front so I just wanted to add, I was a "plump" sort of child, (my mum liked to call it puppy fat but looking back at pictures, it was just fat !)
Anyway please please don't single her out and make any impression that she is the one who needs to lose the weight.
you as a family should eat healthier, as already said above, and as long as she's eating good food and snacking on carrot sticks etc she will not be overweight. The junk type extras are not giving her the nutrition she needs to develop so she will be getting hungry again because her body still needs the nutrients even though she has eaten food IYSWIM

Get fitter and healthier but together - it's great that you and your son are slight and don't have this problem, but please do everything you can not to let that come across to your DD because it really will damage the way she sees herself and her relationship with food. Also she hasn't been buying the crisps and biscuits herself, this isn't her fault so please make sure she is never made to feel guilty or ashamed for being fat.

BiggerYellowTaxi · 18/10/2014 11:54

Great post butterbeer. My DB was very slim and would eat loads of junk but only picked at his meals. I always wanted what he had but then I also ate my meals so probably actually consumed twice as many calories as him Blush. I really wish my parents had reduced the amount of junk in our house -biscuits and crisps every day are unnecessary.

sunflower49 · 18/10/2014 12:05

I have to say please don't mention anything about her weight to her . I am not assuming you will do , but just in case. If you're deciding to eat healthier it should be all of you, and not focusing on her or what she looks like-an 8 year old shouldn't be self-conscious.

Stop giving her crap, make meals more healthy and more filling. Juice is full of sugar. Low-sugar squash is okay. More protein more fat, fewer carbs/sugar but again, ALL of you. Not just her and don't make this an issue. She's only 8, a few small changes and it'll drop off, but if she develops a complex it could stay with her for life and she could end up with much more serious problems as a result.

Gen35 · 18/10/2014 12:14

I really agree about taking a family approach to being healthier, I think it is vital for her self esteem. My mum decided I was fat at 9 and rather than take all the rubbish foods out the house and cook healthier things she berated my lack of control for eating too much. Please also don't let on you've never had a problem like this or compare her to your son in a negative way, you actually want to be doing the opposite and making her feel that everyone has to keep a close eye on eating healthily. I don't mean to cause offends but my thin over critical mum ruined my self esteem for years, I'm sure this isn't you though.

Artandco · 18/10/2014 12:15

Yep it seems a lot of rubbish in a day, squash all day, crisps in lunch, biscuits and snacks half day, smarties or choc every day after dinner..

That's more than mine have in about a month.

Ditch the squash, it's terrible for teeth anyway
Ditch the choc rewards for eating dinner. Why do they need purée desert, and then another desert of chocolate?
Ditch all snacks apart from a fruit snack mid afternoon

pebblestack · 18/10/2014 12:19

I know what you mean - it's hard when you can scoff biscuits all day without gaining a pound, but someone else in the family does need to watch what you eat.

With your DD, it sounds like she's eating too often, and too much sugar. Give her water with meals, not squash or juice. And she doesn't need endless snacks if she's eating 3 balanced meals. Stop buying biscuits etc. No one needs several biscuits and a packet of crisps a day.

peppajay · 18/10/2014 19:31

Thanks for all your messages. I honestly didn't realise her lunchbox was so bad seems to be the same as most other children (i am an MSA at the school) some kids have nothing but junk so i was thinking because she has some fruit and yogurt it was quite healthy, the only rules the school stipulates is no pure chocolate bars and no fizzy drinks. She used to have water at lunchtime but since the school doesnt offer water now due to spillages all the kids seem to take a. Carton of juice ( my son has never drunk juice or squash so he has a small bottle of min water so I have told her she needs to have the same!!)we have been shopping today and are going to swap crisps for bread sticks and instead of a biscuit she is going to have a cereal bar. She has shreddies or weetabix for breakfast and a banana for morning snack when she was hungry this afternoon she had 2 rice cakes and she had shepherds pie for tea with a small little fun size bar for pudding as she has had no biscuits or crisps all day and i font want to stop everything all at once. It is quite interesting as my son never snacks he has 4 weetabix for breakfast and goes right through till lunch he rarely has biscuits as he never seems hungry between meals so I think it is the snacking and juice that has made her that little bit bigger! Hopefully will see results soon have said nothing to her about her weight but she did ask me today am I stopping biscs coz she is fat I just said no we just are going to eat healthy snacks if she is hungry. We eat healthy meals and are very active as a family so is down to the snacking habits she has and because she never took to fruit when she was a toddler it was easier just to give biscuits and because no one in my family has never had any weight issues I didn't realise these type of snacks could do any harm. Smile

OP posts:
JustALittleBitLost · 18/10/2014 19:35

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Well done.

Just to say that a cereal bar isn't really any better than a biscuit though - they are packed with sugar.

Artandco · 18/10/2014 20:22

I would say the same, a cereal bar is probably worse than a biscuit, full of sugar

Many don't get full on basic carbs like shreddies. Could you try giving her protein with breakfast? Ie scrambled egg on toast, or Greek yogurt with fruit etc

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