This is why I refuse to have my children weighed at school

[coldtits]

www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7464888/Boy-of-five-labelled-obese-and-given-heart-disease-war ning.html

DS2 (3yrs) starts school in September, and I'm rather looking forward to the walk to and from school twice each day (for me). DS isn't overweight - he's actually very thin - but I definitely am, and it's perfect enforced exercise for me! I am dreadful about doing it on my own - but this is just the thing to make me do it. There's no decent area to park anywhere near the school, so no point even trying to drive there. I'm sure the physical activity won't hurt him either, although he is one of those "never stop moving" kids. Wears me out just watching him sometimes.

Switch off the telly and let them go out to play in the street with other children. I know that is just not possible for a lot of children but it is possible for many who are currently at home looking a a screen. I think the idea of structured exercise while very good is not the answer its moving more in your everyday life (must switch the computer off and move away).

Worryingly, I didn't think the boy in the in the Telegraph picture looked fat.

Sorry I think this is hilarious - labelling this child would make him have an eating disorder - they didn't stick a sticker on the boy, they wrote to the mother who had every right to ignore the letter and not mention it to her kid if she had such an issue with it - labelling a 5 year old cannot be done in a letter unless they have a sterling grasp of the english language being able to read and understand what the letter says.

I don't think so, Riven. I think reasons for overeating -- whether it is what you eat or how much - are far more complex than sheer ignorance. And, therefore, I wonder what the value of this letter is. Is it actually going to inform anyone of something they don't already know. And, if not, then I would suggest it is not a program which delivers much value.

I'd rather see the school teaching children to cook so they might understand what is actually in their food. And, offering a balanced diet at lunch time. If someone sent me that letter (I'm am very persnickety about diet and very supportive of competitive sports) I'd laugh at them and tell them why I feel they are not qualified to judge on the matter.

I think the letter is valuable, as one poster on this thread has said. It's hard to be objective about your own children, especially if you work and don't do the school run so don't have direct comparisons.

I think schools are damned if they do and damned if they don't. This woman has made things worse by plastering her child over the paper (you can imagine the photographer - 'look sad son, imagine your dog has just died').

for the life of me i don't understand why this is done in school time. another example fo the govt taking over parenting through the school system.

school should be for academia.

and that kid aint fat

Riven you are so right about walking.

A pal of DD's lives about 10 mins walk from school but usually comes by car. We live 10 mins walk in a different direction. When we went round there for a party once the dad was amazed to hear that we had walked.

i can only speak from personal experience of living in two different parts of the country 300 miles apart.

but my children have never been weighed and measured at anywhere else than a doctors.

i wasn't weighed at school

anyway - not the point i am making, even if its been going on since adam had a paperround, its wrong IMO

Well, my kids all weighed themselves last night.

Ds1 who is nearly 9, and average height, weighs 4 stone 1. He is slightly built, and thin.

Dd who will be 7 in August, very tall for her age, and broad shoulders, but slim, is also 4 stone 1. She is nearly the same height as ds1, but a more solid build, but very fit and slim.

Both these 2 are older than the boy in the article, who is reception age. Ds1 is Y4, dd is Y2.

Ds2 who will start reception in September, and is nearly 4, so the most similar in age to the boy in question is 2 stone 6 - ie over a stone and a half lighter. He is small, but doesn't seem overly 'thin'.

So from my kids' weights, I reckon the boy is quite a heavy boy - I was surprised how much the difference between ds2 and this boy was, and also that dd (who I think of as being quite solid) weighed less, despite being nearly 2 years older. She is also very tall, so it isn't a height thing.

(To add, a stone and a half on top when you only weigh 2 stone 6 is VERY significant I think).

I'm getting confused now between whether kids are heavy or whether they are fat. So it is possible to be heavy and thus weigh a lot as a primary school dc and yet not look fat. That boy to me really doesn't look fat at all. Neither did the little girl in another article we had on MN where she was weraing ugg boots and jeans.

I have seen some dc out and about who are most definitely fat, they have soft flabby faces and bodies and you can see it at first glance.

So if you look trim as a child but weigh a lot, that is also unhealthy?

can't help thinking it makes more sense to see whether they are flexible, strong, have stamina uless it is the kind of obeseness that leaps to the eye

Just weighed DS (6 in a few weeks) and he is 3 stone, he is average height in his class and he thinks the boy looks fat. I was 4 and a half stone when I started secondary school, I was a midget though! It seems very heavy to me

The schools could do far more to encourage a healthfu population bu:

1. Not offering apudding after every single meal
2. Not having cake sales -- at least no so often
3. Encouraging competitive (and non competitive) sports for all children.
4. Teaching children how to cook so they can understand what is actually in their food.
5. And here is one for my school, how about not having McDonalds as a summer fete sponsor.

Any one of these things would be more worthy of the funding than all these letters. And would also produce less waste for our recycling / landfill.

I opt out

these dc growing up not knowing how to cook, without sport an integral part of their life and overweight, do you see them taking the responsibility when the time comes for keeping their own dc fit and thin though?

There is a warning on the side of a cigarette pack informing the purchaser of dangers of cancer and a variety of other ill effects of smoking. But, people sitll smoke. They know it's bad for them. They do it anyway. I can't imagine people are going to get these letters and say, "Oh shit, I thought we were skinny. We better ramp up the veg and go for a run."

I just don't think a letter home is going to have that kind of succcess rate.

Whatever these letters cost, the money would be better directing to teching children what is healthful -- a message many of them will never get at home even if you send 20 letters.