advice or websites for kids who need to lose some lbs

DebbieGo52

Hi there

I am an overweight mum that has struggled with being over weight practically all my life, and now my eldest son who is nearly 9 is about 25 lbs overweight, how do I go about helping him get healthier and lose some weight without being a nag! He just seems to be hungry all day and of course just wants to play his tablet of the computer, lack of exercise is a problem for him.

Please help
Debbie

dakotababy

Enroll him in a sports team. If he refuses without good reason, take away the tablet/games. Have no crap food in the house, kids are impulsive and can struggle with moderation. Give him a "treat' once or twice a week.

Go out with him - go for family walks/hikes. Get him a dog if hes a loner.

zericaaaaa

I was the same way as a kid. my mom would always try to encourage me to lose weight, but I never wanted to. my advice would be to only keep good food in the house. if he sees you eating well everyday, it hopefully will become a habit for him! restrict his time with technology and take him out to a beautiful state park or somewhere fun where he can run around and get fresh air

UsernameisNick

If you take away his electronics make sure your fusebox is locked up tight. My parents tried that on me when I was small and I took out our homes power for a week out of spite :laugh:

Veil5577

You are the parent, you need to take the control here. Keep the junk food away from him and out of the house, and if he spends too much time playing video games take those away too.

Lelah77

I have a 10 yo and we go through similar battles... My daughter is limited to 2 hrs of electronics a WEEK. this includes internet access, DS, Wii, etc. (Not iPod because that is just for music.) I require a certain amount of outdoor time before electronics can be used (the amount of time depends on how much daylight we have left. Usually 20-45 minutes minimum.)
At first it was torture. Every two minutes she would ask: "How much longer." That is, until I enacted the "add 5 minutes" rule. Every time she bugged me I would add 5 minutes to her outdoor time. She now has a few staple activities including dribbling a soccer ball, riding her bike on the driveway, playing with chalk (less active, but outdoors), playing ball with the dog, or making up dances (I bought a $10 speaker she is allowed to take outside to listen to her music.) Stick to your guns and you can help him form some healthier habits as you do.
Oh, and don't discuss his being "overweight"... I have terrible memories of those conversations. We use terms like Healthy lifestyle, good portioning, balanced meals, more good stuff than bad stuff, etc. I try to never use judgmental terms (which was a very conscious effort!!!) My daughter packs her own lunch and I have strict requirements about how much of certain things must be included.
Overall, I don't want her on a diet or to be 'losing weight' I want her developing healthy habits so she can make smart decisions later in life. I also want to model those good choices. I don't want her to struggle to learn about it in her late 20s and 30s, like I did.

I'm sure you find something that works for you! Keep being a good, caring Mom!!!

Meerataila

I've read the suggestion to make the kid buy sit down playtime or TV time. One hour of sit down must equal one hour of active time. I think it was the much maligned Dr. Lustig. And he also considers juice a no-no for kids with weight problems. But he didn't say anything about fruit smoothies in a blender so far as I remember. So yummy and I bet your kid will love them.

tssomerville6113

If he is hungry all the time , He maybe lacking in vitamins and minerals. Try adding food that is high in those items and that should help the waiting to eat all the time. Also you can try to have pre-made snack ready for him to eat, that are healthy like veg. - try carrots, cucumber , apple slices, etc.

You can also try make things a game for him. Points system .... that he get rewarded with good treats in moderation. For example , for every half hour he plays outside he gets a 1 point , and at 10 points he get a small icecream or soda.

doctorregenerated

What is he eating that's making him heavy? Extra slices of pizza? Soda? Other sugary drinks? Ice cream? Find the problem and eliminate it from the house, even if it means other family members not having it either.

Jennloella

I have a 9 year old that got a little thick this last year while I was pregnant and on bed rest....I enrolled him in soccer and to get him prepped we began doing laps together every morning, then he does his toe taps on his soccer ball. Kids this age need 1800+ calories, so he IS hungry all day, so is mine. But, fast food is out, cookies are out, etc. I stock healthy snacks for him, he'll eat them if he's hungry, I make good meals and since I'm the mom I limit his screen time instead of letting him favor it over the backyard or bike. You don't have to nag him you just have to direct him. He's 9 he doesn't have much of a choice,you buy the food and you set the permissions for activities!

Jennloella

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Dietary-Recommendations-for-Healthy-Children_UCM_303886_Article.jsp

KatieKansan

I think I would put him in some activities or just get him interested in outdoor things like fishing, etc. Also, for me portion control was a big problem. Instead of buying prepackaged food I buy Ziploc bags and do it myself. That has really helped me a ton! Especially when it comes to chips and junk food. Hope this helps!!

TheFrugalFatass

Enroll him in a sports team. If he refuses without good reason, take away the tablet/games. Have no crap food in the house, kids are impulsive and can struggle with moderation. Give him a "treat' once or twice a week.

Go out with him - go for family walks/hikes. Get him a dog if hes a loner.

I second this advice.

TheFrugalFatass

If he is hungry all the time , He maybe lacking in vitamins and minerals. Try adding food that is high in those items and that should help the waiting to eat all the time. Also you can try to have pre-made snack ready for him to eat, that are healthy like veg. - try carrots, cucumber , apple slices, etc.

You can also try make things a game for him. Points system .... that he get rewarded with good treats in moderation. For example , for every half hour he plays outside he gets a 1 point , and at 10 points he get a small icecream or soda.

These are all great ideas, except for the food rewards. Once you start rewarding kids with food, they equate food with happiness. It's a binge eating disorder waiting to happen.

NH_1970

Get him a bike and take him out to the park while you walk. Get active with your kid if you can't afford a bike go for walks with goals in mind on what you're finding when you go for a walk and the first person to get the most gets the 'reward' which can be something from one of those 25 cent machines they have at the grocery store on exit. (or make something up just not food, food is not a reward, it is sustenance I've recently learned this)

Get a basketball and learn how to shoot baskets together, get a frisbee and wing it back and forth to each other. Get some jump ropes and challenge him to see who can do the most jumps in one minute.

My daughter is fit because I was like I am gonna be damned if my kid is going to grow up overweight like I did, and when she was younger I was active with her, now that she's older I am not - probably should have kept that up tho.

Things I did when she was younger just to wear off her excess energy and to keep her active was have a I'm going to time you while you run just the praise was enough for her and she loved running. We went for a lot of walks and to the park because I didn't have a lot of $

She got involved in running at school in 6th grade and has ran ever since.

NH_1970

oh also your doctor/pediatrician can give you info about growth spurts and appetite. For my daughter we always did a lot of after school snacks ready for consumption - celery and pb, popcorn, etc. she also learned to bake at an early age so she'd say what she wanted and I'd buy her healthy stuff to make, You could also involve him in meal planning and helping him prepare a meal, I did this with the kiddo and it helped her become more independent which they need.

keefmac

My 7 year old is the other way round, hates being indoors and would quite happily play football outside all day..

bkthandler

I think I would put him in some activities or just get him interested in outdoor things like fishing, etc. Also, for me portion control was a big problem. Instead of buying prepackaged food I buy Ziploc bags and do it myself. That has really helped me a ton! Especially when it comes to chips and junk food. Hope this helps!!

Fishing can be a great way for them to eat different foods. A good friend had a VERY picky eater but he would eat fish if he went fishing with his dad.

Kalikel

I wouldn't push him to lose. No reason to give the kid a complex.

Just get the junk food out of the house and tell him the family is going to be eating healthier. Teach him good eating habits.

He might lose some just from improving the diet. If not, it will come off as he grows.

He will grumble about it, but he's a kid. That's their job. Yours is to make them strong, healthy, confident little people so they turn into strong, healthy, confident adults.

If you have 30 seconds, here's the way: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=elnG1QynqsY

hearthwood

At his young age, he is not going to care what he looks like, nor will he care about the health consequences of being overweight,

So it's completely up to you as his mother, to take away the snacks, force him into a healthier diet, limit the electronics and get him into some sports programs. He going to give you some grief and tantrums, and he won't thank you until he is an adult.

But you have to do it, because you're the only one who can. Tough love, means you care more about him, than what he temporarily will think about you.