Is your 3 year old still chubby?

[Worriedaboutchildweight]

To preface this, I am very conscious about not talking about weight in front of my daughter and model healthy eating habits around her. We eat together as a family as often as possible. I cook from scratch and processed foods are minimal in our house. I am very tall and skinny. Dad is tall and slim. Both our adult bmis are below 21. We both exercise regularly.

Measured and weighed today (she is 3.5) and her bmi is on the edge of overweight. You can see her ribs but she looks like she still has baby chub. I noticed that lots of other children have slimmed out a lot but she still had a toddler rounded tummy, chubby cheeks and hands. I'm not sure how I could possibly change her diet except to completely cut out the odd biscuit which I don't think models moderation. She only likes water so doesn't drink any calories.

Should I be trying to do anything? Or will she naturally slim down over time? I noticed she generally gets chubbier before a growth spurt so this could happen.

Dd1 loomed chubby until 4, dd2 has never looked chubby. However dd never measured as overweight, and her centiles were usually in line with each other. If your dd is actually weighing more than recommended, rather than going on looks alone, i woukd definitely try and be really really objective - is it portion size for instance rather than the types of food.

That's what I'm worried about - if I'm being deluded! I don't think her portion sizes are ridiculous at all but also try to work on the basis of I decide what she has and she decides how much.

Todays she had:
Porridge and half a banana (full fat milk)
2 biscuits which they give out at a group we go to
Omelette and sourdough toast and cucumber (didn't eat much omelette)
Oat cake with peanut butter (just one)
Quarter of a tuna steak, some sweet potato, some green beans
A mini milk (Saturday pudding)

Given that menu i'd be inclined to say it's likely to be toddler chub rather than diet, sounds really healthy

Toddler chub probably.
is she active ?

Thanks. I'm totally confident that we eat healthily as a family. I guess sometimes snacks can creep in (grandparents.....etc) more often than I'd like. I think I need to keep a close eye on her snacks and make sure she does enough activity, but not worry too much. I have to say she is not really into biking / scooting so not as active as some kids which could be an issue.

Today she's done 45 mins of dancing and 45 mins running around the park (plus obviously all her general playing around the house). But she's not a child who wants to be outside all the time.

What centile was she and what is she now?

DD has tracked 75th for weight and 50th for height since weaning. She sometimes looks skinny and tall and then chubbier again depending on spurts.

Doesn’t sound like she eats too much, mine eats tons more than that (but she is a big foodie).
I don’t think chubby cheeks and hands tell you much. Rolls of fat at 3.5 on arms and legs would. I have a very large friend (morbidly obese) with a very large young child (there’s no way to sugar coat it-fat). They definitely have food issues. But the whole family does.

Thanks. Definitely no rolls of fat on arms or legs! She's never going to petite as we are both so tall but we are very slim.

As a baby she was generally 91st for both height and weight....eek! checking now she's 87th for weight and 65th for height. Maybe just due a height growth spurt? I would be v surprised if she remained on the 60th due to our heights and wider family.

Sounds exactly like my DS but he’s a bit younger (just 3). It’s hard not to be concerned, isn’t it? When you look on NHS start4life et al, all the advice is eat together as a family at a table (check), no TV on (check), base meals around a healthy carb with a source of protein and fruit/vegetables (check), follow portion advice (check) and limit/exclude junk food (check, as much is within my power). I had a massive freak out to my husband a few weeks back about it, but we’ve come to the conclusion that at the moment, there isn’t much else we can do. We checked with nursery and they are in agreement that he isn’t worryingly out of proportion for a pre schooler. So for the time being, we’re just going to carry on and see what happens.

DS sound like your DD in that he’s happy to run around in the park/soft play etc for hours and we enforce this at least daily, but he’s not fussed at all about walking/scooting/biking places. I suppose that will be our next go to if he’s still measuring too big in say a years time. For interest, was your DD late with her gross motor skills? DS was at the far end of ‘normal’ and I do wonder if that plays a part.

NHS advises at 3 hours of activity a day. I would up her veg and fruit as she isn’t getting the minimum 5 portions a day.

Yes I take the point about activity and am aware of it (she can be lazy with walking) but she's constantly bouncing in that 3 year way, not sitting still at all. I would say she generally does eat per day and a good variety through the week. She was also offered cauliflower but didn't eat it...

@VivaVivaa she walked at 14 months so slightly late I guess? I am extremely physically uncoordinated and bookish so trying not to pass that on!

@Sucessinthenewyear it does say the 3 hours of activity can include general playing and moving. I agree about the fruit and veg though, it may help to switch snacks to those at least once a day? But generally, it sounds like you're doing all the right things and it will probably even out!

At that age I found mine would go through a phase of chubby then a growth spurt then a phase of chubby then a growth spurt.

She's grand, just keeping going as you are.

Same. We call it sqwunching and stretching. She's stretching at the moment, but a couple of months ago she was decidedly in a sqwunch. A bit like an accordion!

My dd was still lovely and chubby at 3. She began to slim out around 5/6. She’s nearly 10 now and is a right skinny Minnie

DS is sadly off the charts at the bottom end for BMI/weight. And his diet is absolutely appalling compared to your daughter’s. (His dietician just wants us to feed him whatever we can get in so it’s basically just plain carbs/sugar)

However, lots of his friends at nursery are a little bit chubby. I do think it is fairly normal at this stage!

Op, she's 3 and sounds fine! You're doing a fab job, try not to worry too much, you don't want her picking up on your anxiety. Also, there's nothing wrong with being bookish, not everyone can be sporty, we're all different!

I think she is still very young OP. It sounds like you are conscious and eat healthily as a family (puts me to shame) and I would continue to focus on that. With a diet like that, she will not be overweight. They all grow at different rates. My eldest lost his toddler roundness after he started school so was 5ish. My youngest lost it at about 18mnths but was then extremely skinny and that was stressful too.

Congratulate yourself on providing healthy foods and habits for your family. Remember that parenting is a marathon not a sprint. Ensuring healthy eating habits, for life, as well as a healthy body image is far more important than what centile she is at when she is 3. I normally am pretty blunt when parents ask for my input as childhood obesity is a matter very close to my heart. But you sound very balanced. Continue to focus on the right things and enjoy and encourage an active lifestyle. That bit was easy for me as I have two very active boys but I can certainly improve on their diet.

Thanks for all the advice and kind words. (Sorry about my horrendous typos!)

I think she does need just a little more activity so will try to build that in and be conscious of portions but I am happy with what we eat as a family. Neither me not DH eat much fruit (just veg really) so it doesn't often occur to me as a snack - will try to do that as that's what they give at pre-school.

She sounds absolutely fine, healthy and normal.

It's normal for toddlers to have some fat stores as they are growing so quickly plus using lots of energy.

I wouldn't worry at all.

My now 7 year old had toddler chub until around 4/5 and he's really slim now with his weight on the 25th percentile. His height used to be 25th percentile but now it's 75th so he's grown loads. They tend to have a spurt and lose their chub, I miss him being a bit squidgy.

Really common to get a bit of pudge at 3. My kids all went through phases of being short and round and long and thin, because they are set to be very tall they needed those pudgy stages to get to their height.

No, DD is slim - she doesn’t have rolls/baby fat any more. If concerned I would call your HV - in the kindest way dont listen to people on here talking about ‘puppy fat’, if she is overweight or heading that way then it’ll be much easier to pull it back now. But she may well not be!

@Cuppasoupmonster that's the thing, she has no rolls at all except for chubby cheeks. Shes not 'scrawny' like some kids but there's no obviously fat areas. Her toddler tummy is still that (solid) rounded tummy. Her diet is pretty good, hence my confusion around what I would be supposed to do to get her weight down.

My son was on the 90th centile when he was born. Myself and DH both super slim.
He was a chubby chubster until he was about 4 years old and now there's nothing of him. I don't think you need to worry.