school says granddaughter too fat

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nanainkent
nanainkent Posts: 350 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My 4 year old granddaughter came home from school with a letter from the school nurse saying she was" obese". She wanted a home visit to discuss proper nutriction and calorie control.

This child weighs 44 pounds is 3 foot tall. She has no protruding stomach, her butt is normal looking. She has normal looking arms, no excess chub, her face is thin and her neck is thin. She wears normal size childrens clothing sizes with ease. She looks like a normal size little girl with no weight issue. (believe me we watch closely for the kids to not go down our road). But this little girl is solid, she doesn't look it but pick her up and you feel it.

The school is basing their opinion on the scale and not the body. What do you think of this?
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Replies

  • janehlansing
    janehlansing Posts: 54
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    You just suck it up and ignore it. You know her better than they do. I will post a pic of my son who is considered obese by normal measuremnet.s


    Jane
  • jrbb03092
    jrbb03092 Posts: 198 Member
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    What does your granddaughter's family doctor or pediatrician say?

    Using the figures you gave, according to the CDC Healthy Weight BMI Percentile Calculator for Child and Teen English Version, your granddaughter weighs more than 99% of the girls her age and height.

    http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx
  • axialmeow
    axialmeow Posts: 382 Member
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    Ignore it. They mean well. Skip the "home visit".
  • TrinityTrinityTrinity
    TrinityTrinityTrinity Posts: 53 Member
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    I'm a teacher and I've never heard of this.

    Why are they weighing her? I'd call the principal and inquire about this and ask for some sort of rule or law that says the nurse can screen kids for that. Really, schools around me can't screen for ANYTHING unless the parents sign for it. And sending a letter home about obesity is a screening.
  • LPCoder
    LPCoder Posts: 404 Member
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    I have a niece who is so solid, you would think she were made of metal if you solely based on weight. She is solid muscle with appropriate fat layer for a girl her age. She is also very tall, the tallest in her school, athletic, intelligent and a brickhouse! She is not fat, and she has always been high on the charts from birth. He doctor told her mom to make sure she keeps using her muscles and everything will continue to be fine!
  • ILoveFroggies
    ILoveFroggies Posts: 120 Member
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    That's horrendous, ugh. Is there a way to lodge a complaint? It's so harmful for weight related criticisms of this nature to be made to a young, young child who is still growing. :/
  • kathleennf
    kathleennf Posts: 606 Member
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    I think you should tell the school that you will go by your (the child's) pediatrician's recommendations, and have the child checked by her pediatrician, letting the pediatrician know what the school said. While it's true that there is a lot of variability and that the family knows the child better than the school, the flip side is as we all know obesity is a huge (no pun intended) and growing health problem in our society and the problem begins for most people in early childhood. So- it's best to be sure. Check with the pediatrician.
  • BlondeEyedBeauty89
    BlondeEyedBeauty89 Posts: 2
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    That's horrible! I would just ignore it.
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
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    Ugh. Horrible. Schools should not be trying to police weight like that AT ALL.
  • skinny_cigarettes
    skinny_cigarettes Posts: 49
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    I think you should tell the school that you will go by your (the child's) pediatrician's recommendations, and have the child checked by her pediatrician, letting the pediatrician know what the school said. While it's true that there is a lot of variability and that the family knows the child better than the school, the flip side is as we all know obesity is a huge (no pun intended) and growing health problem in our society and the problem begins for most people in early childhood. So- it's best to be sure. Check with the pediatrician.

    agreed
  • leiloob
    leiloob Posts: 49 Member
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    I'm having the opposite problem my 11 year old is only 59 pounds.....I worry about her....but my pediatrician says she is fine! She runs cross country and I think that keeps her thin. My 6 year old daughter is already close to 50 pounds....but she is tall for her age and is a competitive cheerleader so she is really muscular. With that being said all kids grow diffrently and as long as she is within normal limits I wouldn't worry to much!!!
  • msshiraz
    msshiraz Posts: 327 Member
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    I'd send them a thank you for your concern "note". I would also include, "I appreciate your concern for the kids health. Of course you must also be doing this with all of your teachers and staff, right?"..............Oh no wait, that would be discrimination and illegal- yet its ok to send a note for a child.

    Not against the schools supporting fit kids- but this is not the way to achieve it- also, tear down a childs self worth and moral, it can take years to recover. Schools get off your lazy butts and fix the nutrition issues in cafeteria, and then get off your butts and get these kids moving in school (this OP has nothing to do with your little one).

    I teach Zumbatomic- this kids version of Zumba. Its fun, silly and a great program. There are programs to get kids more fit if that is a problem- but, the pot calling the kettle obese........is crap!!
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
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    44 lbs is a lot for someone only 3 feet tall.. Is she active?
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
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    I would say no thanks to the home visit but take the letter and granddaughter to her own doctor for discussion.
  • shirleygirl910
    shirleygirl910 Posts: 503 Member
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    I think you should tell the school that you will go by your (the child's) pediatrician's recommendations, and have the child checked by her pediatrician, letting the pediatrician know what the school said. While it's true that there is a lot of variability and that the family knows the child better than the school, the flip side is as we all know obesity is a huge (no pun intended) and growing health problem in our society and the problem begins for most people in early childhood. So- it's best to be sure. Check with the pediatrician.

    What about teaching the kids nutrition and looking at the school lunch program.
  • mollyelizabeth24
    mollyelizabeth24 Posts: 1
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    I think you should tell the school that you will go by your (the child's) pediatrician's recommendations, and have the child checked by her pediatrician, letting the pediatrician know what the school said. While it's true that there is a lot of variability and that the family knows the child better than the school, the flip side is as we all know obesity is a huge (no pun intended) and growing health problem in our society and the problem begins for most people in early childhood. So- it's best to be sure. Check with the pediatrician.

    I think this response was well put. It is also very difficult to objectively judge things like healthy weight in people that we love.

    For those who think this is out of line for a school nurse -- schools screen children for eyesight and vision problems, and check them for lice; how is this so different?
  • fraser112
    fraser112 Posts: 405
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    Ugh. Horrible. Schools should not be trying to police weight like that AT ALL.

    Someone must god knows the parents wont half the time. My mum always thought i was just a big growing boy but i was pretty over weight and payed the price as all over weight children will.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    What does your granddaughter's family doctor or pediatrician say?

    Using the figures you gave, according to the CDC Healthy Weight BMI Percentile Calculator for Child and Teen English Version, your granddaughter weighs more than 99% of the girls her age and height.

    http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx
    This. What does her doc say?
  • freddykid
    freddykid Posts: 265 Member
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    Since Mass passed this I have not heard about it being implemented. This is a load of crap and the BMI scale is horribly inaccurate. I expect to get a similar one for my daughter if they are rolling this out. According to this BMI calculator, she is in the 97th percentile and Obese. Let me get a letter from the school calling my daughter obese and see how quick I jump down their throat. My daughter is taller than all the other kids and by no means even chubby. I would say send some nasty mail to the Deval Patrick to tell them to butt out.

    http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx
  • jrbb03092
    jrbb03092 Posts: 198 Member
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    Since Mass passed this I have not heard about it being implemented. This is a load of crap and the BMI scale is horribly inaccurate. I expect to get a similar one for my daughter if they are rolling this out. According to this BMI calculator, she is in the 97th percentile and Obese. Let me get a letter from the school calling my daughter obese and see how quick I jump down their throat. My daughter is taller than all the other kids and by no means even chubby. I would say send some nasty mail to the Deval Patrick to tell them to butt out.

    http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx

    Why in the world would you jump down their throats? Childhood obesity is becoming an epidemic in North America. Yes, the BMI scale can be horribly inaccurate but it can also be an indicator that something may be wrong. For some families, such a note might be the wake-up call they need.

    If your daughter is not obese and her doctor is happy with her weight, etc, then it's not an issue for you. In that case, say thanks for the note, but our pediatrician/family doctor is on top of things and we're happy with our daughter's development.

    Please don't shoot down a program that's aimed at helping when estimates are that this generation of kids will be the first to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.

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