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?

Totally normal. If you're worried, ask gp to weigh and measure or do it yourself and chart it in a centile chart like on here; www.rcpch.ac.uk/growthcharts/

I measure one of my children due to ongoing health issues and I expect to see ribs for a long time coming! But overall health is important so if they're eating, ans running around then that's a good sign.

My 5.5 yr old is pretty much skin and bone but he never stops and his weight has never been raised as a concern. His sister is less skin and bone but can still see her ribs and spine.

Don't get me started...ds (6) had his weight checked at school and when the bmi letters came out he was the about a quarter way in to healthy but loads of his friends were classed as very overweight. I know bmi is really hit and miss and I don't always agree with it but in this case I wouldn't dream of saying to those mums I agreed their kids were larger but they were all outraged and used my boy as an example of how ludicrous it was as 'how could he be healthy when you he has such skinny legs' etc . Lots of kids seem bigger nowadays, riles me when people start to single out the others.

I completely understand how you feel. Even the grandparents make 'innocent' comments to my son and he takes them to heart and it bothers him so much. I stress to them all the time never to use the word skinny. I think boys struggle with this more as they think being big = being strong (although my daughter hates it too). My son who is 9, loves sport and has the most amazing stamina! He is aware of his size and tries to cover his arms and stuff when out playing football which breaks my heart

Unfortunately people will think and say things....... I try not to worry about what others think and try to have a good comeback to any unwanted remarks (people need to know it's the same as calling someone fat). The hardest thing is trying to make sure that he knows he's perfectly normal.

My ds is skin, bones and muscle with very very little body fat. He has recently started to fill out a bit but was 6th centile for all of primary and most of secondary. You can see all his major bones very clearly.

He's never been ill but he does get cold pretty easily, and tends to wear many layers of clothes, partly to disguise how thin he is from his mates. We did Taekwondo together for quite a few years and he is surprisingly powerful (long legs and fast) which has given him inner confidence I think, as he can easily take down much bigger people should he really wish to.

I found that doing a martial art is great for body confidence so might be something to think about perhaps (plus the uniforms tend to be big and baggy unlike most sports, so no concern about showing stick thin arms or legs).

DS2 is very skinny, he always has been. You can see his ribs and spine when he's not got a top on, and he's got very long legs and a long body (he's taller than his sister who is nearly a year older). What's ironic is that he's my least picky eater!! DS1 is like me, solid bordering on chunky (he's not overweight) and DD is petite but solid. All 3 bairns have completely different body shapes, and all eat well.

Totally normal. My toddler is a mini me (although I'm not skinny anymore!) and I hated it as I grew up. Because I'm tall it shows even more but I was so fed up off comments (there wasn't loads but even a few stick) I didn't wear a skirt for ages and opted for trousers so I didn't have my skinny legs on display! I am mindful of never letting my DD feel anything less than normal.

SkyWalker I have a similar struggle. My DS was born at 27 weeks, so has always been not normal size". He is now almost 4, and perfectly healthy... but super skinny and a little taller than average. I worry what people think. His legs are thin but very sturdy. His shoulders bird like. He can be a bit hit and miss with eating, which makes me worry more. When I talk with my friends about it, they are not bothered. And refer to the fact that I was very underweight with a similar build and a terrible eater... but had too much energy! But it is difficult not to worry. And to reinforce positive body confidence around him.

I've had that child who looked unhealthily thin. I fed him healthy meals etc but he just wasn't very big and was on a low percentile line since a few weeks old. Still isn't the best eater but i try my hardest. I worried so much at the time about him. However he was/is healthy and full of energy. Just slim and whenever he was ill it would drop off him like it would with most children but he'd look even thinner and 'under weight' until he piled the weight back on. (Took longer than most children too) The thought now that others would be/been judging me/him worries me again because I was worried enough about it as it was. Now I know that's his build and he is growing and healthy I don't worry. Still only on the 9th percentile but is full of energy and growing. So I probably wouldn't think anything. So please try not to worry what others think. Clearly you care about your child and if you thought there was a problem would take them to be seen. It's hard not to worry i know. It plagued my thoughts many a days and nights.