Kids... and weight issues..

Kitteh

Resident geek
I guess this kind of shocks me.. but..

Im looking after four kids.. well.. two.. but their friends are over.. from age 8 - 10.. And they're talking about their weight/sizes.. i guess it kind of disturbs me.. None of them are "fat".. and they're telling me how one of my nephews friend is on a diet.. Well the actual friend who is 9 i think.. but its how frank they're talking about it.. i guess its good that they aren't affected (in a negative way)..
Im not sure what i'm trying to say.. i guess it just wasnt something i was expecting them to talk about..

What do you guys think about it??

x x
 
I know what you mean hun I find it quite disturbing that children so young have such an awareness of their body image. There was a programme on the TV the other night with Robert Winston looking at just this sort of thing. When I was that young I was more interested in playing hopskotch!

Gxx
 
Its weird isnt it.. the "thinnest" one said.. "i know im the thinnest one here.. but im younger then everyone here.. and i dont care if im fat or thin. as long as im happy..".. hes 8.. and i gotta say.. i think thats nice..

x x
 
Cat, my eight year old for the last few years has stood and looked at herself in the mirror and squidged her tummy saying oh i think i need to go to weightwatchers (I used to be a WW member) I have always just treated it by saying 'youre a growing girl and you will go pudgy then tall, its your body's way of letting you grow taller' kind of thing, but i must confess that it concerned me though i didnt let her know.
Now she has started prancing about like a catwalk model walking a total straight line and is fashion mad (she doesn't get that off me!). I try to be matter of fact about it, but the truth is you cant turn on the tv or listen to the radio without being bombarded with boob jobs, perfect bodies, diet products etc.....
it worries me a little as i think children should be children playing and having fun not worrying about media pressure about dieting and stuff.
Shame but its the world we live in. Just shows that things impact upon our kids eh?

GEORGIE - you look STUNNING in that dress absolutely gorgeous! Well done you must be so amazingly proud.
When i started CD 12 weeks ago, i showed my pal your photos. If only I could get an ounce of what you feel like, i think i could succeed!

ah well both, thats my twopennorth!

Mikki xxx
 
oh and Cat, i have two girls here 8 and 12 if you're up for entertaining! four or five years should do it!

LOL

Mikki xxx
 
hehe.. bring them over.. its like a kids play area in here anyways.. lol.. :D:D

These honestly are really great kids.. i cannot say that enough.. sometimes they wind me the hell up.. but thats just them being kids.. and thats ok..

I looove the littlest one.. he sings paramore with me.. and panic and the disco.. lol.. and loves hannah montana as much as me.. Awesome stuff..

I guess the matter of fact way of speak about weight.. as opposed to taking the mick out of people with weight issues..

x x
 
I know what you mean Cat and I think I would have been surprised too tonight by the conversation.

I know I am always aware of my DD's (she's 10) attitude to body and weight and it was an issue in her class about a year ago when one of her friends said she was "getting weighed with mummy every morning so that she didn't get fat and no one would like her!!" This friend then proceeded to ask all the girls on the class what their weight was!!:sigh::mad:

My DD has moved schools now as some of you know. Not for that issue alone but it was a part of the atmosphere and the bullying slant that was going on with girls at the time and they were 9!!!


Lacey
 
Its a strange issue isnt it :confused:

They force the "healthy eating" down the kids throats at schools nowadays...in my childrens school only water is allowed in there lunch boxes, only "healthy snacks" at break times etc etc...

my son came out with this comment last week... (he is 7)

"mommy i dont want these sausages"

me: "why?"

"because they are full of fat, and bad for you!!"

:banghead:

how far do you take it?? kids should be kids!!:devilangel:

we had to ban the word "diet" from our house....when my daughter decided she was going to go on a diet like mommy...she is only tiny, weighing little over 2 stone...and she is 5!!!:eek:
 
its a strange concept.. i mean.. what age is it acceptable for a child to be put on diet? i mean.. should a child be put on a diet.. so many questions.. i understand that england has a problem with weight issues.. but how far should we/do we take it????

x x x
 
its a strange concept.. i mean.. what age is it acceptable for a child to be put on diet? i mean.. should a child be put on a diet..

I don't believe that a child should ever be put on a diet. Many should change their diet though ;)
 
Well said KD.

I absolutely cringe when I see parents bringing their kids to SW with them as I don't think it is a healthy environment for them. They shouldn't be aware of weight issues and diets until they are at an age where they are making food choices for themselves, they certainly shouldn't be in a room full of people talking about how much weight has or hasn't been lost and what people are or aren't eating
 
I watched the too fat to toddle prog the other night and found it really alarming. One little boy was well under two and what I would call a typical toddler, well covered but just right and he was labelled obese because his BMI was too high! Really ridiculous. Another child was 5 years and 6.5stone and her mother was shocked to discover that her child's weight problem was due to her overfeeding. She was mentioning pre-dinner and pre-bedtime snacks! What for? Why should a child need a bedtime snack, it's only going to sleep. Also her portions were adult size.
I am worried about the weight obsession that is going on; people are more obsessed than ever and fatter than ever, so somethings not working out! Children should have healthy, well balanced meals with the occasional treat and in an ideal world be steered away from the body obsessed media. I can't help but worry that a program like that is a breeding ground for potential eating disorders. Children don't need to be told they are fat, they just need their food tweaking and their activity increased.
 
Hmmm... this has me wondering, is this actually a body issue or fad thats going around with children or just another way of feeling grown up?

My younger cousins always say, "I think I'm going to go on a diet" then five minutes later they reconsider as soon as I start cooking the supernoodles:D Its very sweet really, but when they say it, its in a manner that you'd hear coming from an Ally McBeal or Sex and the City character. It does generally make me think they may just be quoting the television, but not meaning it.

Is it not possible that its just another thing 8-12 year old girls use to feel more grown-up just like handbags, pierced ears and mobile phones?
This is what interests me in the bullying side of it - does a girl get bullied because she is fat, or just not as thin as the other girls (ie is she getting bullied because her handbag isn't as expensive?).

Just a little theory I thought I'd throw in.
I only say it because I've never seen an actual diet or anorexia symptom occur in anyone under the age of 12 who was a healthy weight.
 
My girls are around my CD ladies (& men) all the time. Although it is not that relevant at the moment (the eldest is only 3 1/2) we do talk about healthy food & unhealthy food & how it is nice to have the things that are unhealthy in small amounts only as they are not good for our body, can make us fat & make our heart work harder etc (I do talk grown up to her & she understands a lot)

She will ask for something healthy or ask if it is too early to have something sweet. I hope she will grow up understanding all about food & moderation etc.

As a child we would not say she was on a diet (if she needed to change her shape) we would simply change what she ate without her knowing why and increase her activity levels.

Nicky
 
I agree with healthy eating for children.. deff.. but as many of you have said.. i dont think the lable "diet" is a correct thing to use.. I think a lot of children thinking they need to be on a diet is a lot to do with telly, and magazines, and the general such like..
When i was studying psychology there was a case of an island which had no access to telly, magazines or anything like that.. there were a very very very low percentage of anorexia.. if any.. and then when the island developed more.. got access to telly, internet, etc.. the cases of anorexia increased..
It worries me to the core of my stomach when i see little 6 year olds in high heels and tans, and have gotten their nails done.. i understand that some girls are girly.. but i mean.. its growing up before their time..
Hope i havnt been too contraversial or upset anyone.. sorry..
 
Don't be sorry Kitteh, you are making very valid points. I was looking at clothes for my grand-daughter recently and was alarmed at just how much of it is minature grown up stuff. She is about to be 3 - not 13, I don't want her to know what 'boob tube' is or wear inappropriate stuff. I don't think children get to be children for long enough. It's an issue we should all care about!
 
hear hear Barb!

I remember a few years ago going into find clothes for my then 5 year old. There were little off the shoulder numbers and glitzy bits and pieces - what happened to jeans and Tee's (ok, so it would probably need to be pink jeans ;))

Its alarming how the manufacturers have made mini-me's out of our children. But by the same token, people are obviously buying it or they wouldnt be making it......

Differences in opinion i guess, and respect for that, it wouldn't do for us all to be the same!

Mikki x
 
There was a woman in Bristol who blamed the media for her 11 year old being 13 stone. She said that there was pressure for her to take her daughter to McDonalds! Excuse me... From who? The daughter? YOU are the parent so you say whether she eats there or not. She also said that she would go there on her own. Where does she get the money from? She's not old enough to work so the parent gives the child the money.

It was the poorest excuse I have ever seen and it makes me mad. I gained my weight when I started making my own choices so there is no one else to blame but myself. I don't know how I would feel about my parents if they had given me bad foods and made me fat.
 
I hate children in adults stuff, & for me that is clothes, makeup, nailvarnish & I even dislike ears pierced (I am going to make mine wait a long time but I hate it when you see babies & toddlers with them done - I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me on this one)

Another pet hate is young children drinking fizzy drinks - our eldest (3 1/2) knows these are grown up drinks which she is not allowed, the most she gets is a sip if we are at a party! We went to a childrens birthday party & one Dad poured fizzy (got for parents) for his Daughter which confused all the others no end although I was pleased all the other parents were saying the same as me!

Nicky
 
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