The government’s latest plans to start weigh-ins for children aged four upwards to tackle the rise in obesity has caused controversy. Here’s what babyworlders thought of the idea…
There’s no reason why a child should be fat
“I really don’t think it’s a good idea emphasising things like weight
to young children; I think all it’s going to do is make the child feel
very insecure and sensitive to the subject. I don’t think children should
be worrying about being overweight; that’s their parents’ problem. I never
talk about mummy being on a diet etc in front of my son or my daughter.
I think more information should be given out to parents before their child
gets fat, more healthy snacks should be given out at schools, and PE should
be done at least twice a week. There is no reason why a child should be
fat: chubby, maybe, as it’s all just baby fat.” HCov
I always found the nit nurse scary
“What a scary thought – I always found the nit nurse scary enough! Surely
it would be better left to the parents? Or maybe I’m assuming they are
all educated enough to know an overweight child should be encouraged to
exercise more and eat more fruit/veg. Maybe the money for this could be
used to buy fruit/healthy snacks for the classroom.” Spanner82
It’s very sad seeing kids like that
“I used to be a school cook and have seen my fair share of very overweight
children. I can’t believe that some kids are in the state they are. One
example was a six-year-old girl who had a packed lunch every day that
consisted of two packs of crisps and two chocolate bars and pop. Sometimes
she had a cheese string (obviously her mum thought this was nutritious),
some days a Dairylea Dunker. This six-year-old was fat, very fat. She
‘hated’ salad and veg and when she started to get free school dinners
we struggled to get her to eat a potato that wasn’t chipped. She refused
veg everyday and she was bullied mercilessly. Her parents were also very
overweight.
“I don’t know what good weighing this young girl at school would have
done, probably just made her be bullied all the more. And if the powers
that be realised that this little girl was so overweight would they have
any power to help her anyway? Her mum obviously could see she was fat
and chose to do nothing. Would a report home change that? I doubt it.
It’s very sad seeing kids like that.” Chelle
More exercise, less fatty foods should help
“I am against weigh-ins and don’t think they will achieve anything. An
overweight child is obviously overweight, if you see what I mean. As one
person pointed out, children who are chubby aged 4 can slim right down
later in life. Also, apparently participating in this will only be voluntarily,
not obligatory, so if parents don’t want their child weighed then they
don’t have to and similarly they can refuse to have a letter. And what
would they do with the letter: if they see their child is overweight but
aren’t doing anything about it then I don’t see how a letter will change
matters.
“It’s a really tricky one. I agree that food in schools should be improved
so kids only eat healthy meals and snacks. Also I think that PE should
be increased; when my mum was at school, they did 5-10 minutes of stretching
every day before lessons (though admittedly she hated it!). At my school
in Canada, we had PE at least twice a week and cross-country running 2-3
times a week in spring, summer and autumn. You could walk it if you wanted
but you had to do it. More exercise, less fatty foods should help balance
things out a bit, even if the kids are eating rubbish at home.” Sam
It will be a waste of time if it’s an opt-out scheme
“Why do we not welcome any attempt to get children fit and healthy? We
don’t object to our children having their teeth checked by the school
dentist, the results of any check-up is not shared with the class. I’m
sure that the ‘weigh-ins’ would simply be a medical and would be done
in private and not in front of everyone else. Also any letter that went
home would be private and confidential and if the kid is fat anyway it
will be bullied whether or not it was weighed in private. It will be a
waste of time if it is an opt-out scheme though. The parents of fat children
will simply not give permission for the medical.” Redgecko
Home life is the biggest factor”
“I’m not sure that weigh-ins will achieve very much. I think educating
the parents as to healthy eating would be a far better idea. I think we
are getting closer with Jamie Oliver’s initiative and this will go some
way to helping some children but the truth of it is that some parents
just don’t care and fill their kids full of rubbish to shut them up and
get an easy life.
“This is a topic quite close to my heart as my niece, who will be ten
next month, is very large (size 14 clothes). My sister divorced last year
and has been battling with her ex to encourage him to stop filling her
with sweets and fatty foods. Even when they were together, as soon as
my sister’s back was turned he would be off down to the shops with her
and let her have anything she wanted. Obviously she didn’t choose raw
carrot or fruit when chocolate, crisps and sweets were on offer. She gives
her healthy food but the amount she can put away is unbelievable. It’s
a case of too little too late really but she is trying. As with most children’s
issues, home life is the biggest factor in my opinion.” Caroline
There should be some education for parents
“I think that routine health screening for school-aged children is a
good idea and weight/height should be part of it. There also should be
some education for parents and advice on achieving a healthy balanced
diet and meal/snack suggestions. I’m not sure if it’ll really help, it’s
fairly obvious if a child is overweight.” Sue
It’s being left to the school again
“I think it’s a lame idea. You don’t need a set of scales to tell when
kids are overweight. It’s normally quite apparent just by looking at them
and again I feel that the onus is being left on the school to deal with
things which should be dealt with by parents at home.” Sandie
I don’t see anything wrong with it
“My children have been weighed at school as well as having their eyes
tested etc, although you do get a letter first which states that you can
opt your child out or be present when they do it if you so wish. I don’t
see anything wrong with it, it is done privately and if the parents choose
to go along then at least they get the chance to discuss any concerns.
I remember the nurse being quite shocked that Libby weighed nearly 3.5
stone when she had just turned 4 because there is not an ounce of fat
on her but then at a size 10 I can weigh between 11 and 11.5 stone and
I am not all that tall at 5′ 6, so I guess she takes after me, as does
Rhys who is bordering on 8 stone at the age of 9 (nearly 10).” Faye
We have been deluged with healthy eating leaflets
“Seems pointless: if a child is seriously overweight you don’t need to
weigh them to know it. The general principle is fair enough though. We
have been deluged with healthy eating leaflets from school and are not
allowed to send crisps, chocolate or sweets in lunchboxes. And now it’s
walk to school week too. OK, we get the message! I wish I could get my
son to put some weight on, he is six-and-a-half and only weighs 48lbs.
And he’s one of the tallest in his class as well.” Claire
Anything is worth a try
“Unfortunately, most parents of overweight children do not consider
their children to be overweight. Anything is worth a try to get them to
see reality staring at them. There’s a girl in my seven-year-old’s class
who weighs 40kg and is the same height of my son (133cm) who weighs only
24kg, so she’s almost double his weight for the same height.
“I have seen a report on TV about the system of healthy food, exercise
and regular health checks carried out on Finnish school children and was
really impressed. Finland has managed to reduce the levels of child obesity
since the inception of this system. I cannot see why any parent would
object to having their children getting free health checks, access to
healthy food and regular exercise.” Bernadette
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