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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 :-)

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.

omg what a load of crap shes gorgeous, so cute and a perfect little size not chubby in the slighest.