If you could clearly see a child's ribs

[SkyWalker95]

Bit of a strange question but if you saw a preschool age child running around the park/beach and you could very clearly see their rib cage and some other clearly defined bones, what would you do/say/think. Or would you not even think about it/care?

Just to clarify I did mean clearly see the individual ribs and spine parts

I'm far from skinny and my ribs are visible!

Ds2 looks pretty robustvat average bmi but his ribs are visible. He lost a lot of weight when he was poorly, a few months back and his spine looked knobbly. So even if a child was very skinny, you can't assume it's a permanent problem or doesn't have an underlying reason that is nothing to do with neglect.

My DS (5) eats constantly, he never stops. You can see his ribs and hip bones. He's at a healthy weight for his height, his doctor doesn't seem to have an issue with his appearance whenever he has cause to see him either. I'd think it was extremely weird if anyone said anything to me about it, probably laugh in their face too.

I've just checked on my health weight 8 year old and her individual ribs can clearly be seen. As can the knobs on her spine when she bends over. But I don't know the child you're referring to so it's difficult to tell from your description if it's cause for concern.

DS1 is only 5 but very skinny and you can see all of his ribs. He's perfectly healthy and eats well. He is also very energetic and constantly in the go.

Um, you can see my DS's spine too... plus his rather boney knees and shoulders if that helps...

As everyone else has said, perfectly normal, and if they are "running around" then obviously plenty of energy too. Nothing to see here.

Absolutely normal, desired even.

You get a better idea if you look at their face, are their cheeks "childlike" - round - when they smile, or are they sunken and hollow with their whole face looking more skull-like than others.

Honestly I'd be relieved to see a normal weight child. Moved house at the weekend and about 90% of the kids I've seen around here are clearly overweight. (Very small sample size - I've only seen about 10!)

My toddler 21mo ds doesn't even have a pot belly. Never has done. In 2-3yrs clothes for length but can still fit into waist bands that are 6-9mo... I can see his ribs and his nibbles on his spine. He's just a bit of a bean pole and I can't see it changing anytime soon!

You're supposed to be able to see ribs. My ribs are quite visible and I'm a healthy BMI. I think we've lost sight of what normal bodies look like.

I dragged my super skinny ds to the docs worrying he was way too thin. The doc said I'm used to seeing unhealthy bigger kids and people have lost all sense of what is normal! He said its far better to be on the skinny side!

My son is very thin, ribs and spine visible, his arms look like they will snap, no fat at all. His cheeks how are chubby and he eats loads, just burns it all off. He's 11 and has always been this way, my kids are skinny, but they eat loads.

You can't really judge based on appearance. You need a full picture which you might not ever get.

Completely normal and desirable in a pre pubesant child. Why?

Why OP, is it your kid and you were judged or do you want to do the judging?

As has been said you're supposed to see bones.

Ds is 6 and you can see his individual ribs, bumps or his spine and his shoulder blades are like knives. He's very well fed but is constantly moving with a fast metabolism.

I can count my 2 DS's ribs and vertebrae they are perfectly healthy.

I've just been in Spain on holiday and bought my ds some medicine. On the dose chart his age correlates to his weight for the first time ever. Here he is 8 and weighs 22kg which is underweight according to us. I think we have got so used to children being slightly over weight or obese we can't see "normal"

My dd is 2 and very petite. She has the toddler pot belly and slight chub on her arms, legs and cheeks. But you can clearly see all her ribs and vertebrae.
I thought it was normal.

All my dc's ribs are visible. Heck, my ribs, spine, collarbone and hips stick out. Neither my dc or me are emaciated.

My 4yo is quite tall and slim (16.5kg) and you can see his ribs and spine.
He's always ben in the 50th centile so according to his red book he's "average".
Why are you worried?

It really depends. You can see my DCs ribs quite easily but there is a big difference from them to a child that is very, very skinny and look gaunt.

You'll have to give more detail

Completely normal in the absence of any other info that would be relevant.
Like others said though, slightly overweight is becoming the norm sadly here.