picture of 4 yr old of what the school calls "Obese"
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I am appalled. Your GD is nearly the same weight and height as my daughter. They are within the range according to the CDC. My daughter is a little taller and weighs 1.5 lbs less. She is in the 75th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. your GD is in the 50th percentile for height and the 90th percentile for weight. Some people even called her a little chubby. She is not even chubby. Talk about giving our little ones a complex... look my daughter adds weight stretches up and up, adds weight, and then stretches again it is called growing!! look all that matters, is that she eats well and that she is active. limit the tv and video games. she is fine. I am so upset that someone would call this baby obese!!!
I am so sorry!
BTW I am the director of a private preschool with over 300 children in my school. I would never have sent home this note without first knowing my facts and I would have only sent it home if there was a true concern.
Well according to most of the people posting here, regardless if you think it was a true concern or not, you have no business sending a note home with that concern to a parent because its not your business what is going on in the home, less you get sued, physically assaulted or ignored.0 -
i can't see the pic- i'm on a work computer and it won't let me. i'm sure your grandaughter's just perfect, and i'd take what the school says with a pinch of salt and never raise the issue again, unless it became an issue!
BUT i also think that it's great that schools are trying to play a role in the health and wellbeing of our kids. obviously all the people responding on here are conscious about health because it's a fitness site. i don't know if OPs daughter is on MFP, but nan is. how many parents out there feed their family crap food and have no idea about nutrition- heaps, and i know this because i work in healthcare and see it first hand regularly. if the schools are going to do this, there has to be a blanket rule about approaching every parent of a chubby kid and offering support and education. they don't know that OP already knows this stuff.
i think it's a positive thing that the education system is trying to educate the whole family- obesity is a huge issue (literally!!), with massive implications on health and finances. if you can stop a chubby kid from becoming a fat adult, isn't that a good thing? isn't prevention better than a cure?0 -
What?! She looks pretty tall to me and not obese. She is adorable.0
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I haven't read thru all 7 pages and am not going to.
I used to work as a school nurse. As part of the funding we received thru a grant for nursing positions, we had to do BMI checks on all students in certain grades. This involved doing a height/weight check and then going back and using the CDC calculator to determine the BMI for their age. They then had a letter sent home stating what the numbers indicate but that any concerns needed to be followed up with their primary physician.
I HATED doing this, because we always received the calls from the parents- "YOU'RE CALLING MY KID FAT!!!!???" No, I'm telling you what an evidence based forumla has indicated.
That being said- we knew that some kids were more muscular than others. I had high schoolers and I'd mention this to them when before we did the checks and did a nutrition talk. We'd show the drawing of two teen guys- one was 240lbs and just fat, and the other was a built muscled football player.
Keep in mind this is not something that the staff decided to do on a whim. It might have been part of the funding for their position or required from the school district.0 -
I think this is why BMI should stop being used. It doesn't take into account muscle mass or the fact that some kids grow faster than others. I know when I was in elementary school, I was tall for my age and then my growth slowed when I entered middle school.
BMI is useless in general, but that's just my opinion on the matter.0 -
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that little girl. Just make sure she makes healthy choices like all kids needs to do along with a massive dose of love and she will be perfect0
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I would sue them and I am Canadian!
Bunch of idiots at that school.
Sue them for what? The school nurse sending a note home to a parent concerned about their childs BMI and asking if the parents would like a home visit for nutritional counseling for which they can freely accept or decline?
agreed, sue them for what?? accept or decline. the end.0 -
What's her pediatrician think?
My oldest son gets the obese label through school as well.
My pediatrician asks every year if we got it, I say yes. She says rip it into shreds and burn it.
My son has been growing in weight and height at a steady even pace. He is a big boy as is his family. I have a very tall brother and male cousins. My husband's Dad and brother are super tall too.
She tracks his growth pretty regularly and says that he is just fine.
So, my 2 cents, if your doctor who you put your faith and trust in has no problem with how she is growing, then screw the stupid paper.0 -
I am appalled. Your GD is nearly the same weight and height as my daughter. They are within the range according to the CDC. My daughter is a little taller and weighs 1.5 lbs less. She is in the 75th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. your GD is in the 50th percentile for height and the 90th percentile for weight. Some people even called her a little chubby. She is not even chubby. Talk about giving our little ones a complex... look my daughter adds weight stretches up and up, adds weight, and then stretches again it is called growing!! look all that matters, is that she eats well and that she is active. limit the tv and video games. she is fine. I am so upset that someone would call this baby obese!!!
I am so sorry!
BTW I am the director of a private preschool with over 300 children in my school. I would never have sent home this note without first knowing my facts and I would have only sent it home if there was a true concern.
Well according to most of the people posting here, regardless if you think it was a true concern or not, you have no business sending a note home with that concern to a parent because its not your business what is going on in the home, less you get sued, physically assaulted or ignored.
My children do not attend public school for many reasons including the fact that public schools often over step parenting boundaries. However, the blanket of "its no ones's business what goes on at home" is false. I am required by law to notify certain information to authorities and parents. Yes it is my job as the parent to parent, and the schools job to educate. That being said any concerns should certainly be addressed. It's not what you say it is how you say. In this situation it sounds like a blanket response with no real concern was sent out. Private schools are often (not always) more sincere. We pay them to send our children and my dis enrollment cost them money. Therefore, they often approach such matters with delicacy and take each situation on a case by case. They have more personal relationships which means parents are often more accepting of concerns. It is a respect missing in public schools. If this parent chooses to ignore, it is her right. being sued doesn't scare me.0 -
What a beautiful little girl~!! I would be so angry! What kind of school is this? They are so ignorant.0
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I am astounded about all this stuff about weight. It is horrible. No wonder there is so much eating disorders. I taught for thirty years. This scares me. So many kids cut, if the schools dont lay off we will have a very sad society.0
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The educators need to go back to school, or maybe pull out a dictionary. She is totally normal!! Just like in Colorado, where my sister lives...they are trying out a pilot program on the grading scales...if you get 100% correct the highest grade you can get is a B ! Yes, you read it correctly. They have done away with 100%=A !!! I could not believe what she was telling me last week. Her kids are super smart and she might have to move them to another school system now. What is "average" ? What is "normal"? I sure hope that little girl does not know her school said she is fat! She is too young to understand this type of stupidity. She is super cute!0
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I don't understand all the people saying the little girl is going to have issues from being labeled 'obese'. Does anyone really believe that the school nurse told her to her face that she was fat or obese? My guess is that the child was given a letter in a sealed envelope to take home to her parents.
and what is the big deal? the parents get the letter and they either ignore it or they take the child to the pediatrician and get a professional opinion on whether or not the child has a problem.
Seriously, overreact much?0 -
Your granddaughter looks like a perfect, healthy 4 year old should!0
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She is NOT chubby....... I was always ridiculed as a child for being fat and look at me now!! I am the thinnest one in the family, other than my son that weighs 65 pounds.......0
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i think thats still baby fat..but technically speaking, i dont see anything wrong with her..i would raise so much hell with that place:mad:she is so cute maybe a lil chubby but not fat and def. not obese .0 -
The school is wrong and obviously do not have any common sense or eye balls. Stupidity is all I can say...because your granddaughter is adorable; she does not look obese or overweight. She has a glow to her skin; she looks healthy and happy. Just because some stupid calculator says someone is obese doesn't make it so...you have to use common sense and your own judgement...apparently they don't have any of that at her school (some how I'm not shocked). Calculators and charts are tools and guides...they aren't supposed to replace our common sense.0
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even if she were 3 feet instead of 3 feet 3 inches she is still in the healthy weight range regardless. wtf is wrong with that school, whoever sent you that letter is probably obese.0
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wow, she is not obese, not overweight, she is adorable. I think that the school is wrong and needs a more accurate way to determine what is "obese or overweight" I know people that according to charts, they are concerned obese, but it is due to huge muscles (they are body builders) and not fat. I would talk with the school and see exactly how they are qualified to make this determination. I do understand that with obesity being so huge in the US that is good that they are concerned about childrens health, but need a better way to determine this.0
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Here is my thing, at her age, she is almost certainly getting physical at the start of school year (here my son needed one for 3yr old preschool..4 yr old, and going into kindergarten...so as long as the doc doesnt say anyting on the physical giving this concern, then the school shouldnt have to be checking it..even for funding. if the state or whatever wants the info on the childs health, then submit the record from the doc...period!I haven't read thru all 7 pages and am not going to.
I used to work as a school nurse. As part of the funding we received thru a grant for nursing positions, we had to do BMI checks on all students in certain grades. This involved doing a height/weight check and then going back and using the CDC calculator to determine the BMI for their age. They then had a letter sent home stating what the numbers indicate but that any concerns needed to be followed up with their primary physician.
I HATED doing this, because we always received the calls from the parents- "YOU'RE CALLING MY KID FAT!!!!???" No, I'm telling you what an evidence based forumla has indicated.
That being said- we knew that some kids were more muscular than others. I had high schoolers and I'd mention this to them when before we did the checks and did a nutrition talk. We'd show the drawing of two teen guys- one was 240lbs and just fat, and the other was a built muscled football player.
Keep in mind this is not something that the staff decided to do on a whim. It might have been part of the funding for their position or required from the school district.0 -
She looks absolutely perfect to me.0
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My daughter turned 3 in July and looks about the same as your G-daughter.
The only advise I take is from her pediatrician. I could honestly care less what some fool with a 40 year old BMI formula thinks of my daughter.
Rip the letter up and tell them to not mention this again. I live in Florida and they do not send letters of this type home as the parents would burn the school down.
Teachers teach and parents parent (and my wife is a teacher so I know).....if the child is not under the care of a pediatrician, then that is cause for concern, but she looks like a normal developing child.0 -
As an aside, schools are now required by law to educate children and families about nutrition in regards to childhood obesity. You can thank the Obamas for that. If a child falls into the obese category schools must report it by law. Nutrition education is a must now. Schools are required to have a wellness committee. All these new regulations are in place to fight the obesity epidemic in this country.
Socialism at its finest. :huh:
Why do people insist on bringing their political views into posts?:grumble:
Because public schools bring their own political agenda and force it on the kids. And if you disagree, it's probably because you are either uninformed, not a parent, or left-leaning.0 -
As an aside, schools are now required by law to educate children and families about nutrition in regards to childhood obesity. You can thank the Obamas for that. If a child falls into the obese category schools must report it by law. Nutrition education is a must now. Schools are required to have a wellness committee. All these new regulations are in place to fight the obesity epidemic in this country.
Socialism at its finest. :huh:
Why do people insist on bringing their political views into posts?:grumble:
Because public schools bring their own political agenda and force it on the kids. And if you disagree, it's probably because you are either uninformed, not a parent, or left-leaning.
what's the problem with teaching kids about nutrition? it's clear that a lot of parents aren't doing a great job at it.0 -
Move her out of this school.
It's OK for a school to be concerned about a legitimate concern. But, the picture clearly shows a healthy weighted little girl. This pre-school is nuts to write you a letter on this subject, especially given your picture of a normal little girl. So, you read the letter and, likely, she is going to overhear it (kids overhear almost everything). Then, she has a powerful message given to her by an authority figure (her teachers) that her body image is bad. Little girls pick up on this stuff real quick. They play with Barbie dolls, and know that thin is in (and they are not). So sad.
Move her out of this school. I think it's a toxic environment. Who knows what else they do/say to the kids when you are not there.0 -
I suggest that you or her parents bring this up with the school administration immediately. She is NOT overweight or obese. She is healthy and looks very happy. If they will not listen to your concerns, go to the school board. Make sure you have a written complaint prepared and record any interactions with the school (just inform them you are doing so before you begin). This not appropriate for your granddaughter's health or safety.
ETA: Consider that if you ignore this that there are likely other children getting the same treatment and hopefully bringing it to light will help someone.
YES. This is exactly what I would say. I am a teacher and a parent and I would go to the administration or to the district if need be. That is outrageous!0 -
and its things like this that are gonna make her hate herself one day. lovely job school system.0
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They sent home a note saying she was" obese" and they wanted a home visit (not my home, her moms home) to disscuss nutrition to control her weight.
What the heck is wrong with our schools?? This blows my mind. If I were in your shoes, I would write a note back asking if you can go visit THEIR homes to discuss nutrition.0 -
My DD went through this in public school also and it's no big deal. They're weighed and measured and every child is sent home with a letter. There's no personal interpretation involved, just canned comments. My daughter was listed as being thin, her pediatrician was fine with her height and weight so there was no need to go any further. I agree with the posters that said many people don't have pediatricians and the schools try to fill that void. I live in a heavily migrant area and probably the only health feedback many of them get are from the school nurses. I really think some of you need to cut the public schools some slack. I know a couple of the nurses and they work their butts off trying to take care of all their tasks.0
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I'm really surprised by all of the defensiveness in these posts.
Fact: You can not determine whether someone is obese, overweight, underweight etc just by "looking at them". People over and under estimate the weight of people all the time. And if you are using the barometer of other kids you've seen to determine this, good luck with that. Kids don't have to look like mini-sumo wrestlers to actually be overweight or obese.
I think that people have issues with the term "obese" as it applies to kids, but this child's BMI is > 99% for age and by definition that is "obese". The word itself is so emotionally charged but the definition as used by the school is the correct definition.
I seriously doubt that the school or nurse told this child she was obese or fat and I don't see the harm in informing the parents about where she falls for her height and weight for her age. Her weight may not be a major issue right now but it could become an issue later if noone is paying attention. So all involved should take this as an FYI and make sure the kid is getting appropriate nutrition and exercise. That's all.
Perhaps I'm in the minority here, but I really don't get all the outrage.0
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