Anyone else have kids with weight problems, or starting to?

I think since you and your husband are cleaning up your eating/lifestyles she won't take it personally. And, you can do little things like go on a family walk after dinner a couple nights a week, or say no TV before 8pm, or get a dog that needs walks (works for me!)

if she's 12, I'd sit and talk with her. Let her know it's a family change, Mom and Dad are doing it too. go on nightly walks with the dog (if you have one) the WHOLE family, and let her know that joining you is not an option, she has to go. only keep healthy foods in the house.. etc.

she'll get the hang of it.

I would change your lifestyle as a family. Go out for walks after dinner, go bike riding together. Stay as active as possible. Maybe she could join a sport? That would help a lot.

Also, get rid of junk food in the house. I agree you should serve her what you are eating.

Try to make it as fun as possible.

I'd just watch portions and make sure you're feeding them healthy meals.

A lot of kids go thru that phase around 10-14 where they're a little fat. I was overweight around that period and eventually thinned back out.

If you're going to talk to them about it, approach it with caution. I don't think I'll ever forget the day my father told me I was getting fat and needed to not eat so much.

My kids are very involved in changes we make to our diets around here. It's been a slow evolution for quite awhile but every change is talked about. Not because I sit them all down and have a meeting or anything but because I just always talk about what new things I'm learning. Several years ago we started milling our own flour for all of our baked goods. This was of course a nutritionally based decision and I often talked about the nutrients that are stripped out of flour when you buy the grocery store stuff. They've watched me give many people lessons in milling and bread baking and just pick up the information simply because it's part of our lives. My 14 yo now bakes our bread and when she started she was my easiest student ever. Probably because she's seen me teach others so many times.

I've been a label reader for years and always point out to them what I'm looking for. My son has been a label reader for almost as long as I have and actually pays attention to them. Living your life and explaining to your kids why you're making the decisions you are (whether it's food, money or even just managing your time) helps them develop discernment and learn how to make decisions like these themselves.

All of that taken into consideration, we homeschool so my kids probably have more opportunity to lounge around than most. A few years ago I began to get a little concerned for my oldest DD because she's a bookworm and was pretty sedentary. When the other kids would go outside and run around she'd stay in the house. If I kicked her out she'd go poke around in the bushes instead of riding her bike like the others. I convinced my husband to take up Taekwondo again and take her with him. They did it for about two months before the rest of the family joined in and now we're two years into all of us doing it. It not only gets all of us moving but we love it and love working out as a family. She was never singled out publicly as having an issue, we just figured out a way to inspire her to get moving that she would enjoy.

Now she's my P90X buddy and we're working out together. She's a green smoothie addict and has adjusted her eating habits on her own based on what she's learned from me. I do make all of my kids use the food scale but it's not because I'm wanting them to "diet". I have four and they'd eat us out of house and home if I let them free wheel it! My 14 is addicted to peanut butter so I make her look at the jar and weigh out the "serving size". Otherwise she'd eat all of it! I'm hoping this teaches portion control.

Much like the previous post, my Mom always complained about her own weight issues and began to notice mine outloud. She took me to Weight Watchers with her beginning age 8. I was mortified to get on the scale in front of all those strangers every week. It gave me a major complex and I began to sneak my own junk food. I became obsessed with getting away with it. I rebelled in a major way and knew I was only hurting myself but I couldn't stop. My parents even sent me away for a month one summer (age 11) to my grandparents house 2,000 miles away. They didn't say it was to lose weight, but I knew that's why they sent me. By junior year in HS, I was well into the 220's. I finally had to make my own choice to put an end to it, and joined Nutrisystem. I lost 50lbs during senior year, only for it to creep up again through my college years. I look back on those childhood photos. My Mom was NOT fat. Nor was I...until I started to rebel against the diet programs. But we lived in SoCal, home of the Barbie image and believed we were fat. I battled weight my whole life. My wonderful husband supported my decision to have LapBand Surgery 4 years ago. It is the first long-term weight loss success I ever had. The best decision for my life and my health. I enjoy being active with my kids and work hard not to foist my own weight insecurities onto them. My daughter is coming up on 9 and began asking me if she was fat. She too, has that "childhood chub" that happens just before another growth spurt. I assure her she is perfectly normal and use that moment to remind her about what healthy eating habits are and that we have to choose to eat well in order to be well.

Ugh. My kid is 17 and at 5'1", 115 lbs, doesn't have a weight problem but she is DEFINITELY skinny fat (I can outrun her). She lives off of pop-tarts, ramen and coke. Now that we're not bringing that stuff in the house regularly and are trying to eat healthier, she acts like we're doing it just to screw with her. She thinks because she doesn't have a weight problem, she should be able to eat whatever she wants. We've discussed how bad eating this way is for your body, and she is a very intelligent girl, but she just doesn't care. It's frustrating.

Oh Goodness this seriously makes me kinda teary eyed because I have a 3 yr old very active son that I love with all my heart and it makes me cry every single time I put on his jeans a week after purchasing and they don't fit. I don't cry because we have to go out and buy more I cry because he NOTICES that they don't fit him anymore and tells me "mama I'm too big one". :sad: But what can I do? his doctor has already told me he is obese which in my eyes he does not look like it I try my best to keeps cookies or salty snacks out of sight. He has always enjoyed drinking very cold water so I try that instead of juice or soft drinks. (also I have been putting lemon or squeezing an orange in the water) I have struggled with weight all my life so I know how mean kids are at school and I don't EVER wan't him to feel rejected because of the way he looks! I wan't him to be healthy and since diabetes runs in my family , that also worries me.

My 10.5 year old daughter is shaped just like I was. She is almost 5'3" and 116 lb, which for an adult woman is about right. But he carries a lot of baby weight in her belly right now, and she is noticing that her "friends" are all super skinny. She starts middle school next year with all the insecurities that go with it. She's also a bookworm and would rather sit and read than run outside. So my husband and I decided to become proactive. Her and I have made a goal of running a 5K in October together. To be able to use the machines at our gym because of her age, she needed to take a certification class. Enrollment usually starts at 12, but I pleaded my case and explained why it was important to me for her mental health and confidence, not to mention physical ability to be able to learn and understand fitness in the gym. Fortunately, the person in charge has a 9 year old daughter with similar "issues" so she helped me push. My daughter is loving what she is learning about strength training, exercise, and nutrition. I'm seeing a difference in her eating habits at home. Worth every gouging penny.

Another thing we have started doing is not putting our serving dishes on the table, but rather my husband and I fix all the plates in the kitchen, so there's no mindless picking. If anyone wants second, they get double vegetables with whatever the main course was. Or we give them the option of either having a second helping, or waiting 20 minutes for dessert...but no having both. Sometimes it just depends on how good dinner is I guess.

My mother was a "diet pill" taker and was rail thin, which made me even more self-conscious and led to eating disorders...and to this day still struggle with self-image issues. I REFUSE to do that to my children. And fortunately, I have a wonderful husband who is very supportive in this.

So that your daughter doesn't start using the word diet, maybe simply getting her more active and as mentioned lessening portion size, she will start to learn the adjustment on herself. Many times when we are riding in the car, when food is not in front of us or an issue, we will talk about calories and energy and what it means and how to gain strength. When they have a bag of candy, I allow them one serving, so they have to read the package and figure out how much that is and have fun weighing it out on the scale, and are usually satisfied with just the one, even though if permitted they would eat it all.

Keep being positive and being the wonderful example you are. I think it will make all the difference in the world.

I'd just watch portions and make sure you're feeding them healthy meals.

A lot of kids go thru that phase around 10-14 where they're a little fat. I was overweight around that period and eventually thinned back out.

If you're going to talk to them about it, approach it with caution. I don't think I'll ever forget the day my father told me I was getting fat and needed to not eat so much.

I would have to agree. Most kids go through a "chubby stage". What I would do is continue improving the food choices and eating habits in your own house. Maybe get her involved. Let her help grocery shop for healthy foods. Ask her to help you prepare meals. Explain the benefits of drinking water and eating fruits and vegetables. The change will have to be gradual. It's hard to break bad habits, especially as a child.

I definitely think the way I was raised has played a part in my nutrition and eating habits. When I went to college, I ate more fast food the first two years than I ever had in my life. But now, I cook almost every day. I am able to raise a garden and my dad has a beef cattle farm.

Just keep making changes at home and hopefully she will follow your lead.

Grate the bunnies and put the chocolate flakes in a ziplock. Throw it in the freezer and use it whenever you need chocolate chips for granola/granolabars, sprinkles or just to top off healthy desserts (chocolate tipped strawberries - melt the chocolate in the microwave).

Thank you guys sooo much for all the kind words and encouragment, and the stories of your own struggles with your children (and AS children your own selves!!)

I am definitely going to clean out this house of all the crap and start having a "eat with the family or don't eat at all" policy at dinnertime.

Any advice on what I should do with these 3 giant Easter bunnies that need to go??? (My in laws think its cute to buy the BIGGEST chocolate bunnies possible - 3500 calories a piece, probably.)

And thats not all - there is still small candy left in their baskets. I swear I've watched my daughter grow two pants sizes since Easter morning.

it's just my opinion but you may want to let your children enjoy their Easter candy. It just seems cruel to me to take away a chocolate bunny!

I am very saddened to see that my daughter (12) seems to be developing a weight problem. I don't know what to do about it - she is very sensitive and takes things very personally. She's a sweet kid - but a little on the lazy side. And her diet is not good. I have already decided today that my mentality about meals around here MUST change - I have always allowed the kids their own choices in dinner, if they hate what we're having (salmon patties for example) I will make them an alternate choice. But not anymore. I will put my foot down and they will have to eat what we're having or not eat.

But, is there anything else I can do for her? I am just going to sneak the bad foods out and the good foods in without really talking about it. They all (the kids) know that hubby and I are improving our health, so hopefully she won't take it personally and she'll just figure its what the family is doing now. But I don't think I need to address her issues specifically, do I? Heck, I have my own eating issues I am working on, and I think a lot of it stems from all the "conversations" people had with me when I was 12 about my eating.

My daughter has just finished loosing 15 pounds...because of this problem....I sat down and told her that she learnt her habits from me, and that it was my fault not hers...I took out all the chocolate...all the candy and junk..Made the entire family join me on my quest. My older kids go to the store buy their own and hide it in the basement...I told K that she could be mad at me if she wanted but she would be thanking me in the long run and I was not here to be her friend.....She lost her 15 pounds feels amazing, eats great and at easter I got her chocolate. She eats one small piece at a time because she does not like how it makes her feel....

She went from a 14 to a 10......we have to get them on track....it is our job....everyone around me tried to say it was baby fat, I got mad.....She didn't like it, but she is very thankful now...and it gave her the opportunity to be able to be honest with me too..Now if she sees me eating something I shouldn't she will point it out....Nicely...but still...She is getting ready to take kids zumba...we just have to do it...