picture of 4 yr old of what the school calls "Obese"

julesboots

Wow, you're taking this waaaay to personally. You're creating a lot of unnecessary emotions here. (I refer to this as drama)

Just say "Thanks, but we're on top of things, and see the pediatrician regularly."

The end.

niki87lewis

I wouldn't worry! My 3 yr old is about 3ft8 and 50lb and really not fat at all, just solid!

glennstoudt

Many things are not what they seem. Irrespective of whether she is obese or not (she is not of course), it is unlikely that the school administration is just trying to "help". One thought is that they may receive funding (or more of it) if they have a certain percentage or number of "obese" children to run some other or additional intrusive program. They may be able to save money by rationalizing their meals programs to one thing or another by classifying the children as such. My personal opinion is that it is just another assault of the worst kind on freedoms, and labels for children. Horrid.
I don't know the particulars, but if you dig there is almost always money involved.

julesboots

:noway: I would be filing a law suit against the school.

With what as grounds? Your registered nurse made a suggestion, and I don't want to comply? Nobody is forcing anything here. The parent doesn't have to do anything except say "no thanks."

julesboots

Many things are not what they seem. Irrespective of whether she is obese or not (she is not of course), it is unlikely that the school administration is just trying to "help". One thought is that they may receive funding (or more of it) if they have a certain percentage or number of "obese" children to run some other or additional intrusive program. They may be able to save money by rationalizing their meals programs to one thing or another by classifying the children as such. My personal opinion is that it is just another assault of the worst kind on freedoms, and labels for children. Horrid.
I don't know the particulars, but if you dig there is almost always money involved.

This is totally false.

idream2bgwen

That is absurd! She is adorable and I think she looks great. If her pediatrician says she is on track and healthy then let them pry away. Is she eating healthy foods? I assume so. Good luck! I don't think it will be a problem though...

Josie_lifting_cats

My son is tall - wears size 7 at 4 years old. He weighs like 48 pounds. My doctor says he's perfect, and his BMI is always around 18. He's not fat. However, I get grief from a lot of lower level health providers - they look at his weight only and say "he's obese.". They have charts to compare height/weight. My son is the size of a 7 year old, that's all there is to it. Don't stress too much over it, just make sure she's not eating a ton of junk.

leeanneowens

Did they seriously call her obese? Has the person sending out the letter actually even met this child? She is a beautiful little girl and her size looks perfect to me.

glennstoudt

And the reason you are certain that you know that this is totally false or not even possible is..........

cookn_mama

:noway: I would be filing a law suit against the school.

Me Too!!!! How dare they say that!!! She is adorable.

IsMollyReallyHungry

The CDC BMI calculator that the school uses would classify her as Obese. This is really frustrating since obviously she is not "obese". I have the same problem with my daughter. She is tall and solid. She is also thin. She has to where size 10 pants at 7 1/2 because of her height, even though her waist is only a 7/8. People always comment on how thin she is, yet when we go to the doctor she is called "obese".

I ignore them.

I was also a person who for my size weighted more than my friends, even when we wore the same size. I think she probably just has a genetically solid frame, that most kids don't have.

That is the same reason the BMI system is a very outdated system. I do believe bone structure counts meaning if you are big boned or small boned. Many tall large frame people are solid ano fat when their body fat is measured are considered obese because of the number on the scale and the BMI. I am not saying to discount the BMI altogether, I am just stating it is the only tool that should be used to label health and obesity.

Interesting that anyone would say this child is obese.

FlaxMilk

Unless the school told her she was obese or talked to her about her food or weight, I don't see how she is being subjected to anything or will develop an eating disorder out of this. Clearly if there was a problem, the school would want the parents to deal with it, not tell the littler girl, "Gee you're so obese, do something about that, will you?" You don't strip search kids to take their body fat. You pop them on a scale and take their height and weight. Your little girl does look healthy from what you posted.

You should post the letter if you want to discuss this. You keep saying the school "wanted" a home visit. Did they offer one or try to insist on one? Big difference. If a school tried to force one on me, I'd be furious. If they asked, I'd say no thanks.

amandavictoria80

My daughter is six years old and weights 52lbs. Her body is perfect and consists mostly of muscle.
Basically, if they say your grand-daughter is fat, so is my daughter.

If I were you, I would post a video on YouTube about it.
That is just ridiculous and I'd want as many people to know about it as possible.

No kidding I see so many young girls who having extreme eating disorders, are skin and bones and think they look fat.

Society is so ugly!

bmiller211

I was just wondering why no one is outraged at the fact that the school is even doing tests on kids without permission? Our kids couldn't even take advil without a note from parents!! who do they think they are?? Why is it that just because they are educators they automatically know everything!! leave kids to parents!!!:grumble: :explode:

amandavictoria80

Things are obviously just black and white for many people.

yourenotmine

Maybe I don't understand, but why does this matter at all? I mean, I understand why it upset you, but I don't understand why you'd have to do anything about it. Can you just decline the home visit and ignore them? Or will something else come of it if you don't? She's a cute kid, looks healthy enough, so who cares what the school thinks?

LoFury

Instead of saying check her height and weight how about opening your eyes and look at the picture! This child is not obese nor overweight. I could understand if maybe she had a pot belly but she doesn't even have that! What the school did wasn't helpful. No matter what the scale says she LOOKS fine and healthy. If it were my child's school they would seriously have an earful. There's trying to help families teach their children proper nutrition and just being rude and plain stupid. Not every person looks the same with different amounts of weight on their body why the hell should children? Who cares what the scale says children DO have muscle mass and clearly this child does to you can see it in her arms just by looking at the picture. Your grandchild is fine and her parents seem to be doing a damn fine job of raising her. And I'm sorry but the nurse at her school sounds like an idiot because weight and height aren't everything, opening your eyes and looking at the child tells you if they seem healthy or not simple as that!

FlaxMilk

I was just wondering why no one is outraged at the fact that the school is even doing tests on kids without permission? Our kids couldn't even take advil without a note from parents!! who do they think they are?? Why is it that just because they are educators they automatically know everything!! leave kids to parents!!!:grumble: :explode:

Usually this is covered in the details when parents sign kids up. They can opt out if they want. Schools have been doing height/weight, vision/hearing screenings for decades, at least. It used to be considered a helpful service. Kids still can't take medicines without notes from the doctors and parents.

I think eating disorders are contributed to by societal pressures and unrealistic expectations, but I also think they develop from a massive misunderstanding of how to maintain a healthy weight. We have such an all or nothing approach to weight management and health. If this little girl were at risk of developing a weight problem, it would be nice to be alert now, when the parents could stop it without the little girl being any the wiser.

OP, can you post the letter? Without identifying information, of course.

Natihilator

That is pretty disgusting what the school did. I HOPE that she herself was not told directly that she was "obese", so that she doesn't develop a complex or have thoughts negative about herself at four years old :grumble:

haroon_awan

She's adorable!

FlaxMilk

Things are obviously just black and white for many people.

I think so! Lawsuits being suggested for a school offering a parent a convenience service that she could decline. This child clearly will develop an eating disorder, because the school obviously told her she is obese and at four she knows exactly what that meant.

And now I have "Ya got trouble" from the Music Man stuck in my head. :explode:

onyxgirl17

This is pretty ridiculous tbqh, she's a beautiful little girl, and if she's active, she has a good amount of muscle. There is nothing wrong with a child having strong muscles and strong bones.

The school is so so wrong in this instance.

KeriA

I am kind of disturbed by this post. This is a little girl and already she is being subjected to heightened sensitivity about her looks.

There is something terribly wrong with an education system that uses a BMI scale for children.

I think the best thing for kids is to teach them about making healthy choices, and living a life making as many healthy choices as possible. This also forces us as parents and mentors to get out and make those choices with our kids. Getting a healthy dose of activity, eating good foods and knowing that it is ok to indulge once in awhile while we discipline ourselves not to do it all the time.

If the school wants to promote good health, then it should provide good sports and recreation programs that encourage kids to be kids and learn the joy of teamwork, play and discovery.

Do this, and she will grow up healthy in mind and body.

I totally agree. My mother told me I looked fat when I was wearing size 5 pants. Just not what we need to do to our daughters and granddaughters. Now add the school to this equation!!!

dakitten2

f i think she looks like a cutie patootie 4 year old that is healthy and not malnourished. I did go to a website called keepkidshealthy.com and entered her stats.

This is what the site said NOT ME:

A 4 year old (female) child who is 44.0 pounds and 3 feet and 3 inches tall, has a body mass index of 20.4, which is above the 95th percentile and is considered to be overweight.

I would really like to know what they think her weight should be. Nothing like a school teaching a 4 year old that she is too fat for this world. We can thank the fashion designers of the world for their female portrayal that anything above a size 6 (adult) is plus-size.

I'd also ask the school to provide you with the nutrition information for the foods that they are feeding your child everyday! If they have the right to access children's weight etc, then you are certainly entitled to the nutritional values she is receiving while in school.

I call BS!

andybhoy72

Her BMI is 20.3. That is perfect. Not obese, or even overweight. What did her school say exactly?

Actually, it isn't. The BMI calculation is different for children - it takes into account the age of the child - I just checked on a bmi site using the supplied details. It came up as obese and in the 99th percentile.

I hate the BMI - she looks like a perfectly lovely healthy little girl. She's tall for her age (I think?) and I guess the BMI places morefocus on weight and age for the under 18's.

The BMI is old fashioned and out of date imo.

kiachu

There were many responses to my post that the school says my granddaughter is too fat. Here is a picture of her. Granted she is not a skinny little girl but I do not believe this is "Obese" (thier word). She weighs 44 pounds. But I think it is because she is solid and not fat. I checked her height myself and she is 3 foot 3 inches without shoes.

She is perfectly fine and adorable. Just make sure it is brought to the attention of her pediatrician just for a second opinion. Thank the school for their concern but no home visit is required unless her parents would like to get some nutritional advice for free. If they persist then you escalate it.

Don't listen to all these harpies going on and on about the government and taxes and eating disorders or $$$uing the school district or whatever nonsense. These are the same people that would be shocked and outrage if a school ignored a child that abused, or being starved, I'm mean what business is it of a school if a child is getting skinnier and skinner because their parents choose to feed them an all fruit, fat free, liquid diet ?

These people spend a lot of time with out children and they should raise concerns with parents. Believe it or not it is their job also to have our childrens' well-being in mind(now if they are right about it or not is debatable) and they can be held liable if they have observed and choose to ignore a physical or educational concern with a child that might be occurring in the home.

Kejlina

Baby fat. As long as she's active and eats all the food groups, what does it matter? It'll probably fall off in a growth spurt.

I think instead of focusing on "how big is the child", schools should be focused on "how active is the child". Get her into dance or gymnastics or karate or hockey or baseball or SOMETHING so that she learns how to feel comfortable and strong in her body. That's the healthier approach than getting hung up on numbers, in my opinion.

Edited to add: She is adorable, by the way.

HaleyAlli

In whose book is that beautiful child obese?!?!? Don't let those labels mess up her life! Tell her she's gorgeous!

vim_n_vigor

Her BMI is 20.3. That is perfect. Not obese, or even overweight. What did her school say exactly?

Actually, it isn't. The BMI calculation is different for children - it takes into account the age of the child - I just checked on a bmi site using the supplied details. It came up as obese and in the 99th percentile.

I hate the BMI - she looks like a perfectly lovely healthy little girl. She's tall for her age (I think?) and I guess the BMI places morefocus on weight and age for the under 18's.

The BMI is old fashioned and out of date imo.

For children it is strictly percentiles. Something like 95-99% of children her age would weigh less than her. I didn't check the numbers, but I would guess that a significant number would be shorter than her as well. They aren't saying overweight compared to her height, it is overweight for her peers. The school guidelines likely don't allow them to make that distinction when doing the screening. A good pediatrician would filter that out of the equation though and would be more interested at her growing at a consistent rate over time both height and weight.

smc1277

You have an adorable grand-daughter and I'm sorry you're dealing with this nonsense.

Aside: I bet the principal or the nurse are both more obese than this child. Just sayin.

Either that or they were obese at one time, lost a bunch of weight and now like to throw that word around every chance they get.....I have seen it happen....swear!