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

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.

Your granddaughter is beautiful. From the picture, she looks very healthy. The school has no business doing any home visit. If it were me, I'd be finding a lawyer.

A lawyer?? That's crazy talk. It's one thing to disagree with a professional's OPINION, but quite another to seek legal action. Good lord.

Instead of a lawyer, I'd spend the money on a visit to a qualified dietician. If there really is an issue with the child's health, it's better to address it sooner rather than later.

It's not a matter of "legal action," but a matter of protecting your family from *THEIR* actions. Seeking a lawyer would provide me with an opportunity to fully understand and exercise my rights as a parent. Lest we forget, lawyers also exist to provide counsel, not just to "act" in court. (And many of them will provide a consultation for free, especially in a situation such as this.)

Maybe instead of lawyering up immediately over nothing you could go to your child's pediatrician and ask them if the schools concerns are off base, then go to the school and put the doctors opinion on the record with them and opt of any further health screenings. They might say "OK, sign this" and leave you alone.

People lawyer up immediately when they are upset about something because they want to take legal action, most likely to $ue, which is the expressed action of many in this thread.

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.

Your granddaughter is beautiful. From the picture, she looks very healthy. The school has no business doing any home visit. If it were me, I'd be finding a lawyer.

A lawyer?? That's crazy talk. It's one thing to disagree with a professional's OPINION, but quite another to seek legal action. Good lord.

Instead of a lawyer, I'd spend the money on a visit to a qualified dietician. If there really is an issue with the child's health, it's better to address it sooner rather than later.

It's not a matter of "legal action," but a matter of protecting your family from *THEIR* actions. Seeking a lawyer would provide me with an opportunity to fully understand and exercise my rights as a parent. Lest we forget, lawyers also exist to provide counsel, not just to "act" in court.

You've never worked in education have you? The hands of most school officials are so tied that they can barely offer kleenex to a student with a cold for fear of litigation. Again, foremost is the issue of the child's health and well being. Which is why, if there's any sort of a question about her health, I would seek a second opinion. Just as my mother took me to the eye doctor in the fourth grade when a routine exam at school indicated that I might need glasses.

You are speaking about actions taken in school. Once they visit the home, the rules change. Something as simple as a dirty dish in the sink can be an excuse to make a phone call and remove the child from the home. The child would then be "touched" and "questioned" by someone with a badge and someone with a clipboard.

ETA: I'll bet that the school didn't offer to visit your home over the eye exam.

they offered a home visit, you don't have to accept it.

yeah, I'm sure organizations have so much time and money that they can remove a child from a home because there's a dirty dish in the sink. Look at the conditions some kids are living in and nothing can be done. Paranoid much?

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.

Your granddaughter is beautiful. From the picture, she looks very healthy. The school has no business doing any home visit. If it were me, I'd be finding a lawyer.

A lawyer?? That's crazy talk. It's one thing to disagree with a professional's OPINION, but quite another to seek legal action. Good lord.

Instead of a lawyer, I'd spend the money on a visit to a qualified dietician. If there really is an issue with the child's health, it's better to address it sooner rather than later.

It's not a matter of "legal action," but a matter of protecting your family from *THEIR* actions. Seeking a lawyer would provide me with an opportunity to fully understand and exercise my rights as a parent. Lest we forget, lawyers also exist to provide counsel, not just to "act" in court. (And many of them will provide a consultation for free, especially in a situation such as this.)

Maybe instead of lawyering up immediately over nothing you could go to your child's pediatrician and ask them if the schools concerns are off base, then go to the school and put the doctors opinion on the record with them and opt of any further health screenings. They might say "OK, sign this" and leave you alone.

People lawyer up immediately when they are upset about something because they want to take legal action, most likely to $ue, which is the expressed action of many in this thread.

People also contact a lawyer for advice. I have done this more times than I can count. I've never sued anyone, or even threatened to do so, but I've contacted lawyers for advice on a great many issues. I'm no expert on the law, so if I have a question, I ask an expert. (Just like if I have a medical question, I ask a doctor. )

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.

Your granddaughter is beautiful. From the picture, she looks very healthy. The school has no business doing any home visit. If it were me, I'd be finding a lawyer.

A lawyer?? That's crazy talk. It's one thing to disagree with a professional's OPINION, but quite another to seek legal action. Good lord.

Instead of a lawyer, I'd spend the money on a visit to a qualified dietician. If there really is an issue with the child's health, it's better to address it sooner rather than later.

It's not a matter of "legal action," but a matter of protecting your family from *THEIR* actions. Seeking a lawyer would provide me with an opportunity to fully understand and exercise my rights as a parent. Lest we forget, lawyers also exist to provide counsel, not just to "act" in court.

You've never worked in education have you? The hands of most school officials are so tied that they can barely offer kleenex to a student with a cold for fear of litigation. Again, foremost is the issue of the child's health and well being. Which is why, if there's any sort of a question about her health, I would seek a second opinion. Just as my mother took me to the eye doctor in the fourth grade when a routine exam at school indicated that I might need glasses.

You are speaking about actions taken in school. Once they visit the home, the rules change. Something as simple as a dirty dish in the sink can be an excuse to make a phone call and remove the child from the home. The child would then be "touched" and "questioned" by someone with a badge and someone with a clipboard.

ETA: I'll bet that the school didn't offer to visit your home over the eye exam.

I don't know what kind of reactionary rubbish you've been reading, but this is simply not what schools do. Period. They do not have the money, resources, or mandate to interfere in students' lives. Furthermore, most child protection agencies are far too overloaded to deal with matters as trivial as dirty dishes in the sink. Particularly since most have been utterly gutted of funding in recent years.

And no, my eye exam was never an issue. My mother was responsible enough to take me to the eye doctor.

Well, it's called the news. You should check it out sometime. BBC and PBS are my typical go-to channels for news on television and both Google and Yahoo are my favorites for new aggregators.

At our school we had to sign a waiver if we DID NOT want our kids to have dental treatment on some nasty dentist bus, are you kidding me?! I looked up the dentist and he had lots of negative reviews and they send this joker to school to treat kids without their parents present? The world has gone insane.

Sadly, there are a lot of parents out there who do not invest in their children's health. The little ones who really need the free dental care are less likely to have parents who would actually take the time to sign them up for it. This is why waivers are sent so that you can opt out, rather than the other way around. I'm glad these children can get the help that they need, even if it may not be up to your standards.

I know you want us all to say she is perfect and healthy and the school is out of line.

Your adorable granddaughter is in the 95% for weight and around the 35th percentile for height.

Of course she's not sloppy fat - she is not morbidly obese and looks healthy and active. Most adults in the obese range aren't sloppy fat either - they look pretty good, just a little big.

But most kids her age are much slimmer than your granddaughter. In fact, I bet they are at least 1/3 thinner than her. She's sweet adorable and healthy but in the 95% for BMI for kids her age. Healthy eating will only be good for her.

Is she's already eating healthy, that's great. If she's not, maybe small changes will make a difference. SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO KNOW. Her parents do.

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.

Your granddaughter is beautiful. From the picture, she looks very healthy. The school has no business doing any home visit. If it were me, I'd be finding a lawyer.

A lawyer?? That's crazy talk. It's one thing to disagree with a professional's OPINION, but quite another to seek legal action. Good lord.

Instead of a lawyer, I'd spend the money on a visit to a qualified dietician. If there really is an issue with the child's health, it's better to address it sooner rather than later.

It's not a matter of "legal action," but a matter of protecting your family from *THEIR* actions. Seeking a lawyer would provide me with an opportunity to fully understand and exercise my rights as a parent. Lest we forget, lawyers also exist to provide counsel, not just to "act" in court.

You've never worked in education have you? The hands of most school officials are so tied that they can barely offer kleenex to a student with a cold for fear of litigation. Again, foremost is the issue of the child's health and well being. Which is why, if there's any sort of a question about her health, I would seek a second opinion. Just as my mother took me to the eye doctor in the fourth grade when a routine exam at school indicated that I might need glasses.

You are speaking about actions taken in school. Once they visit the home, the rules change. Something as simple as a dirty dish in the sink can be an excuse to make a phone call and remove the child from the home. The child would then be "touched" and "questioned" by someone with a badge and someone with a clipboard.

ETA: I'll bet that the school didn't offer to visit your home over the eye exam.

I don't know what kind of reactionary rubbish you've been reading, but this is simply not what schools do. Period. They do not have the money, resources, or mandate to interfere in students' lives. Furthermore, most child protection agencies are far too overloaded to deal with matters as trivial as dirty dishes in the sink. Particularly since most have been utterly gutted of funding in recent years.

And no, my eye exam was never an issue. My mother was responsible enough to take me to the eye doctor.

Well, it's called the news. You should check it out sometime. BBC and PBS are my typical go-to channels for news on television and both Google and Yahoo are my favorites for new aggregators.

Interesting. You and I must follow very different stories then. But perhaps as someone who works in education, I have a slightly different perspective?

That's certainly possible.

Wow. Amazing how downhill a thread can go!
1- God forbid we fault the school for trying to make sure that a child is healthy. Healthy children learn best.
2- Obesity measurements are different for children and it's done in percentiles based on age/weight/height. Those of you spouting out a BMI of 20 something are using an incorrect calculator.
3- Reading further into the thread, it's obvious why this is happening. So many "it's just baby fat" comments. At what point is it no longer baby fat but extra weight? That line becomes blurred and especially to those caring for the child- the may not see the extra weight as an issue. As a fat child, and now a fat adult- I WISH someone had done an intervention on my mother. She let me sit my butt in front of the tv every afternoon with Little Debbie, potato chips and cans of Coke until it was time for dinner!!!

They are going to get the mercury amalgam because it's cheap too, by a dentist with poor reviews without their parents present. Sad. Then go back the next day for "free" breakfast at school and get a double pack of pop tarts with almost 40 grams of sugar, sigh.

The "mercury amalgam" (aka: silver fillings) are less expensive and they also last longer without breaking or cracking on those thick, weight-bearing back teeth than the white fillings do. If it were a front tooth issue it would be a composite resin (aka: white filling). And if the kid's parents were providing all of these things like they should, the parents can opt out.

These are simply the bare minimum help for kids whose parents don't do any of this for them, for lack of finances or just lack of caring. I was a dental hygienist and in school we had to go visit an elementary school with this type of program (Gasp!! They let students work in the children's mouths under direct supervision of a licensed dentist!) and saw a ton of children who had never been to a dentist before. My mother is a junior high teacher and she is constantly bringing apples and cereal to school for some of her students who don't get breakfast at home. If you have that many issues with it, sign out, do it on your own and move on with your life. Your kid probably doesn't need it but someone else's probably does.

I do wic on the kids parents often tell me that the school tells them this. our computer flags them obese according to the BMI. the thing with that is the "normal" vs "abnormal" does not take into consideration the muscle mass, if they are bigger boned, thicker... I see kidos daily that can be exact smae height and weight but their body mass is different some are chubby, some are just thick had broad shouldered with biggger bones. I explain to the parents that everyone doesnt fit into the graph, those that are chubby I talk to about beign active and eating healthy choices. Those that are more muscle I talk to about healthy choices and staying active.. PLUS genetics have alot to do with it!!