weightloss for children

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ladyjh578
ladyjh578 Posts: 207
in Health and Weight Loss
My daughter is only four and is already overweight. She has been for almost 1.5 yrs already. She starts school this year and I am fearful of how she will be treated by other kids in school. Does anyone have any ideas or heard of any weightloss programs for young children. I am not about to put her on a strict DIET because the big problem being....she doesn't eat badly at all. We don't have junk in the house she doesn't get more than 1 glass of juice a day and no chips, fruit snacks etc are ever in the house. She def doen't eat half the junk that most kids do. Her Dr. has already checked her thyroid twice..all is o.k.

I am just really stressing about this lately and I can't get it off my mind.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

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  • ladyjh578
    ladyjh578 Posts: 207
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    My daughter is only four and is already overweight. She has been for almost 1.5 yrs already. She starts school this year and I am fearful of how she will be treated by other kids in school. Does anyone have any ideas or heard of any weightloss programs for young children. I am not about to put her on a strict DIET because the big problem being....she doesn't eat badly at all. We don't have junk in the house she doesn't get more than 1 glass of juice a day and no chips, fruit snacks etc are ever in the house. She def doen't eat half the junk that most kids do. Her Dr. has already checked her thyroid twice..all is o.k.

    I am just really stressing about this lately and I can't get it off my mind.

    THANKS FOR YOUR HELP
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    As long as she is eating good food, I really would not worry too much.

    I would play with her a lot, to try to establish an active lifestyle for her. If her Dr. says she is healthy, she may be preparing for a growth spurt. Kids often get round, then long, etc. Maybe find a sport or activity she enjoys, such as soccer (lots of crazy running around and teamwork), dance or martial arts. All of those have programs even for tiny kids in most areas. I think establishing play/exercise is more important than worrying about what she eats.

    Whatever you do, (and it sounds like you're not doing this, but I have to say it) don't say things to her. My mother, who was always on a diet, started saying I was "heavy" (in retrospect, I'm not so sure I was) when I was very young. It really, truly messed me up.
  • abbychelle07
    abbychelle07 Posts: 656 Member
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    I agree. Keep making great food choices, and get active as a family! Try bike riding, walking to the park, or sports groups.

    And don't stress about it (or stress her out!) She still has confidence about her body, don't let her lose that yet. She might have a growth spurt around the corner. Preteens do that all the time. They look chubby, then sprout up.
  • rogers8702
    rogers8702 Posts: 533 Member
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    i dont have much advice on the diet thing but i do have a niece who is now 6 and her DR. put her on a "diet" at 3 which my whole family thought it was crazy and it didnt do anything but drive her mother nutz--anyway she and your daughter sound like the same situation is it is any help at all you just have to keep her active and doing what your doing LOVE HER TO PIECES like im sure you do and the other kids wont hurt her feelings as much if she knows she is beautiful maybe it wont matter as much, she will thin out im sure in time all kids are different but they are loved the same ya know

    good luck
  • sapphyre0702
    sapphyre0702 Posts: 68
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    I agree with all the above posts. While I haven't had children I did have a stringbean little sister. I was so aware of that, chances are your daughter notices it too and I think the best thing to focus on is being healthy. Other than that love her play with her and it will all work out just fine.

    Also, it is so great that you have a little girl that does eat so healthy (do in large part to you of course) and I'm sure some of her "stringbean" peers don't eat as healthy and that may be more damaging to them in the future, whereas your daughter seems to have a good head start on eating healthy already!
  • beautifulbay
    beautifulbay Posts: 159
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    Good food and lots of time outside. Does she have a bike to ride? Toys that require physical work is great! Rooler skates, scooters, bikes....anything that gets her attention!

    She may also just need to grow into it...up that is :bigsmile:

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