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

1246711

Replies

  • christyallgood
    christyallgood Posts: 79 Member
    Your granddaughter looks perfect to me!! She is not over weight or obese at all. She looks like a healthy little girl! My daughter will be 4 in January. Her current height is 42 inches and she weighs 49 pounds. Yes I know she is a big girl and has a little tummy, but i don't think she looks fat. At a checkup with her doc in June, I asked about her size. she is in the 99% for weight and 95% for height. I was told she is the size of a 5.5 year old. But she also told me that her weight is fine. She is active and keeps up with the other kids and that is all that seemed to matter to the doc. All kids and adults are built differently. I sure hope your daughter has a talk with the school and this all goes well. I hope I don"t have to deal with this sort of crap with my daughter.
  • andybhoy72
    andybhoy72 Posts: 11 Member
    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 used a different site (uk nhs site) which may be different - it gave a very similar result (99th) but said that the BMI is converted to a centile for kids - maybe the US does things differently and still uses a figure.

    Either way, there's nowt wrong with her!
  • kiachu
    kiachu Posts: 409 Member
    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: :angry:

    They have been doing these test on kids since before I was born. They are called health screenings, weight, height, posture, dental, vision, head lice, etc. And you used to take fitness test in PE. You can opt in or out.

    Did I miss something? Did the nurse sit the child down and tell her she was a fat slob or something? Don't understand the faux outrage.
  • ksloop00
    ksloop00 Posts: 144
    Why are people on here saying she's chubby? Kids should not be labeled as anything but BEAUTIFUL!
  • I think she's adorable and the jerks at that school can kiss your *kitten*. What idiots....
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    I think it's all pretty silly, she looks healthy to me! Also, she's SO CUTE!!

    I have three stepsons. The older two were always skinny, even when they were little. The youngest was chubby by comparison (but not really) and when he hit his first growth spurt (he's about to turn 13), he grew out of it. I wouldn't worry about it all unless her pediatrician disagrees.
  • michelejoann
    michelejoann Posts: 295 Member
    I think she's an adorable little girl!

    And I think it's terrible how there have to be "labels" at such a young age.

    Why can't they let kids just be kids?
  • Aww, she's adorable. There seems to be nothing wrong with her in my eyes!
  • 0Karina0
    0Karina0 Posts: 131 Member
    She is probably all muscle, dont listen to the school, she is adorable! :D

    Also OMG POMERANIAN <333
  • TheFitHooker
    TheFitHooker Posts: 3,357 Member
    I am sorry but she is not even chubby, she is perfectly healthy looking. SMH***
  • charm_quark
    charm_quark Posts: 315 Member
    1.
    why are we labeling children?????

    2.
    I would be filing a law suit against the school.

    What the????? ok, judging from my 7 year old god-daughter, who is an overweight girl your grand-daughter is at normal.
    But that's not the point. How did they get this result. Did they just weigh her? I think the best thing is her mother to go and have a discussion with the doctor of the school.
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    Oh good Lord....that child is most certainly NOT obese!!!

    Have they never seen Honey Boo Boo?????

    2qx7rlt.jpg
  • twostepsforward
    twostepsforward Posts: 113 Member
    Perfectly healthy lovely little girl.

    The system is so infuriating at times. Don't they realise that ridiculous comments could have a negative effect in the long term?
  • nadiaez
    nadiaez Posts: 132 Member
    Oh my god, she is beautiful and looks really healthy.....I wouldn't even consider her slightly overweight never mind obese.....what is going on in this world?
  • tpittsley77
    tpittsley77 Posts: 607 Member
    My daughter is also 4 and the same weight as this little girl. She is also 44 inches (3'8"). At her height she is in the 95% for height and weight. Because her height and weight are both that high in the charts, it evens out and takes out the obese factor. The child mentioned in thepost is much shorter tho.

    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.
  • likearadiowave
    likearadiowave Posts: 445 Member
    she looks fine to me.

    What, are they setting up 4 year olds for dieting and eating disorders now?
  • hedgiie
    hedgiie Posts: 1,226 Member
    we have to realize that the public keeps on making these stereotypes since many years ago. which is proven to be wrong most of the time so don't get affected and do support your cute daughter's moral.
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    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.

    121124-110455.jpg

    They've clearly not taken her height into account. I'd question the school nurse is actually a nurse.

    I apologise for assuming you were just another protective parent.
  • hedgiie
    hedgiie Posts: 1,226 Member
    we have to realize that the public keeps on making these stereotypes since many years ago. which is proven to be wrong most of the time so don't get affected and do support your cute daughter's moral.

    i mean many types of stereotypes, these obese thing is just one among the many.
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    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:
  • serena569
    serena569 Posts: 427 Member
    at 3 foot 3, she's tall...my daughter is tall for her age too...

    so what did they do? plunk her on a scale and say *kitten*, she's 44 pounds that's obese...and not even take her height into account?

    that's what it sounds like to me.

    my daughter is 5'3 in a classroom full of kids that are a head shorter than her at LEAST....

    if they put her on a scale she would be obese too...

    jus sayin.

    I think they didn't take her height into account. If height and weight correlate it's fine. She certainly doesn't look fat or even chubby to be honest.

    My 3 year old son is taller than that though and around 35lbs. I'll probably get told he's too skinny when he's at school!

    I was told all the time my daughter is too skinny. Every time I turned around, somebody wanted to diagnose her with an eating disorder. (She's 5'1" and weighs 106) It makes me so angry that people always want to put a label on children. I don't care if it's obese, anorexic, etc. When you start labeling them, they start living up to these labels.
  • elemkc
    elemkc Posts: 43 Member
    Oh good grief, I thought it was hilarious when they did the BMI for my son's school and the "school nurse" was CLEARLY obese. How can you teach about nutrition when you don't even live a healthy lifestyle?!?! Anyway, I think your sweet granddaughter looks fantastic and PERFECT!! If her doctor is not concerned, then I wouldn't be either.
  • That is not the school's job, to be diagnosing a child as being "obese", and prescribing dietary changes for weight loss. That is a doctor's job and a dietician's job. They are not medical professionals. They are practicing medicine without a license. Sure a school nurse can measure height, weight, and determine a BMI, but that's where it stops. If a child is thought to need help with weight issues, they can inform the parent, and refer them to a medical professional. They have no business prescribing weight loss programs in children. Your daughter/granddaughter looks fine. I'd go ahead with a letter of complaint.

    That being said, I have seen toddlers, preschoolers, and young children so fat/morbidly obese, they could barely walk and use their arms and legs. They have trouble breathing, and can't even play at recess or fit behind a desk at school. I believe that is child abuse. When you have a five year old that weighs over 100 pounds, that child needs to be taken away from the home if the parents, who are often times morbidly obese themselves, because they are leading that child to an early death. I was a teacher for many years. It broke my heart to see kids come into kindergarten who were so fat, they couldn't even function. And the parents didn't even admit there was a problem! Very sad for those kids. By the time some of them got to middle school, they were already 100 pounds overweight. When you start off in life that heavy, you will not just "grow into" your height. Morbid obesity can become a handicapping condition and lead to a host of chronic medical diseases. We must work with the ones who need help, and stop the over-intervention in the cases where there is obviously no need for it.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    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:

    I wouldn't blame it on the Obama's entirely. I remember in grade school lining up at school to get a whole physical. That included our height, weight, physical exam, and check for head lice. Every year we lined up in the gym and the results were sent home to our parents. That was long before his political career started.
  • And we wonder why girls are growing up with self esteem issues and body issues! I think if you can afford it (maybe through the ymca where its affordable) get this child involved in some physical activity she enjoys, whether it's a sport like gymnastics or dance classes. You can teach her at home about healthy eating and exercise and tell the school to butt out before they take her down a road that is more damaging to her psychologically than it is helpful. She isn't a fat kid but since you describe her as solid it isnt a bad idea to work toward building lean muscle through something like gymnastics.

    I think the kid looks like a happy, healthy, normal child. Don't let anyone make this kid feel like she has weight issues. You can monitor her diet without her even knowing it.

    I personally wish I could go back to the weight when I was actually at a healthy weight but yet people around me were acting as if I were fat. Because it made me feel fat and then depressed and had low self-esteem and it snowballs. And soon I wasn't at a healthy weight anymore. Too bad we can't all go back and talk to our inner child and explain what we've learned. Look out for this child, not just physically but emotionally. That being said, if I could go back and prevent myself from ever getting fat in the first place I would start very young. Nutrition and exercise. Teach those good habits now, don't wait!

    EXCELLENT post! I can only hope that your little granddaughter has no clue what is going on with the school. Ridiculous. The school is going to do more damage than good. I would turn them away at the door ... I guess someone is trying to justify their job existence at the price of a child's psychological wellbeing. IDIOTS! The child looks 'solid', happy and healthy ... kids need a little 'meat' on them for growing UP. I would take her to her doctor and get his/her opinion, and have it for the 'school' visit, then tell them to lay off the kid.
  • fizzletto
    fizzletto Posts: 252 Member
    To me, she looks to be on the chubby side, but certainly not 'obese', and not something that I would say wouldn't go away naturally as she grows up. 'Puppy fat' as they call it. I would not worry about it.
  • Ridiculous, bit of puppy fat maybe, but def not obese in my eyes!
    Looks like an average kid to me, but she IS gorgeous!! very cute little smile :-)
  • kiachu
    kiachu Posts: 409 Member
    at 3 foot 3, she's tall...my daughter is tall for her age too...

    so what did they do? plunk her on a scale and say *kitten*, she's 44 pounds that's obese...and not even take her height into account?

    that's what it sounds like to me.

    my daughter is 5'3 in a classroom full of kids that are a head shorter than her at LEAST....

    if they put her on a scale she would be obese too...

    jus sayin.

    I think they didn't take her height into account. If height and weight correlate it's fine. She certainly doesn't look fat or even chubby to be honest.

    My 3 year old son is taller than that though and around 35lbs. I'll probably get told he's too skinny when he's at school!

    I was told all the time my daughter is too skinny. Every time I turned around, somebody wanted to diagnose her with an eating disorder. (She's 5'1" and weighs 106) It makes me so angry that people always want to put a label on children. I don't care if it's obese, anorexic, etc. When you start labeling them, they start living up to these labels.

    Labels are part of life. Political Correctness would dictate that no one should be labled, human nature contradicts that. But kids have been labeled and will continued to be labled by their parents, peers, authority figures, and themselves. As parents it behooves us to not ignore this basic fact of life or wish it away and give our children the foundation, tools, and mental fortitude to deal with any type of labeling.

    You just don't want them labeled on paper and that is why the parents of this child need to take action and take that school note to her doctor, get a written opinion from him/her and have the put on file with the school.

    My daughter has always been thin, she was in the 3rd percentile in weight and the lower middle for height. She has spent time completely off the growth chart for weight. So this came up through her 6 years with family, friends, daycares, school, other doctors etc. I took everyone's concerns with grace and thankfulness and continue to do so but reiterate that she is developmentally fine and I am working with her doctor on the issue and all is well.

    I didn't fly into a rage and threaten to sue the daycare or beat someone up.
  • hazelovesfood
    hazelovesfood Posts: 454 Member
    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.

    121124-110455.jpg

    omg what a load of crap shes gorgeous, so cute and a perfect little size not chubby in the slighest.:smile:
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,472 Member
    I think it's not always made clear that children count as overweight or obese depending on what BMI centile they're at (at least, that's how it works in my part of the world. I'm not sure if it applies everywhere). There's a misunderstanding that "obese" means "fat", which it doesn't in this case.

    If her BMI is on the 99th centile then she IS obese according to the charts. There seem to be loads of children who have a BMI around that centile but who don't look at all overweight.