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Elementary School Gym teachers telling kids to restrict calories!

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Replies

  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
    Parenting is difficult. There is so much crap 'the world' will try to impress upon our kids.

    As parents we can combat this by being a stronger influence to our children.

    Irrespective of the teacher and any boundaries, given the strong family history of ED and your concerns about your son's weight and developing attitude towards food it might be worthwhile considering early intervention via a child psychiatrist or eating disorder centre.
  • HeliumIsNoble
    HeliumIsNoble Posts: 1,213 Member
    edited March 2017
    I wouldn't think she was giving appropriate healthy eating advice to adults, and her "advice" is even less suitable for children, who have very different nutritional needs. As it is, I find that sensible, nuanced advice on nutrition given to an eight-year-old will be interpreted in a terribly black and white way ("if I EVER eat Pizza, I will become fat" style), because that's what children do.

    Adults at a healthy weight they're satisfied with need to keep their weight stable, but children, are, er... growing, and so certainly do not need to be burning off every meal with extra physical exertion. Calorie restriction without medical supervision could lead to nutritional deficiencies, potentially with lifelong effects.

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    http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/how-many-calories-do-children-need.aspx
  • HeliumIsNoble
    HeliumIsNoble Posts: 1,213 Member
    edited March 2017
    I wouldn't think she was giving appropriate healthy eating advice to adults, and her "advice" is even less suitable for children, who have very different nutritional needs. As it is, I find that sensible, nuanced advice on nutrition given to an eight-year-old will be interpreted in a terribly black and white way ("if I EVER eat Pizza, I will become fat" style), because that's what children do.

    Adults at a healthy weight they're satisfied with need to keep their weight stable, but children, are, er... growing, and so certainly do not need to be burning off every meal with extra physical exertion. Calorie restriction without medical supervision could lead to nutritional deficiencies, potentially with lifelong effects.

    7dd8pqa79ph3.png
    http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/how-many-calories-do-children-need.aspx

    Great post.

    Slightly off topic I know but I'm amazed by the values.

    I'm a father of two girls, but even so I've never even considered their calorific needs (and I'm not going to start now - we're happy with their intuitive eating) but it's interesting to note that (not mentioning any names here) there are grown men posting on these boards that they routinely eat less than the recommended requirements of a 7 year old girl!
    Believe me, the same thing passes through my head every time I see that kind of post. Still, it's a kind of refreshing dieting insanity. I started using this forum recently (in addition to the actual calorie counting database), because I was sick of women on another forum telling me I couldn't possibly need more than 1200-1300 calories, because that's all they needed.

    Check out the needs for teenagers. It's so much higher than popularly credited.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    ^^true. Growing requires XS energy.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    Yes, talk to the gym teacher, ask about the curriculum, talk to the principal about your concerns. A lot of parents do not pay much attention to the PE curriculum and bad health advice gets passed on that way.

    No 2nd grader should be expected to count calories...they can't typically add 3 digit numbers. And a lot of them think that fruit roll-ups as actually fruit and that ice cream is a food group.
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
    I think you're doing the right thing getting in touch with the school, especially seeing them in person to talk about it. I think you have a legitimate concern, so there's no reason not to address it. I also see everyone's point about the information being filtered through a child. However, you know your child and are in a better position to make judgments about whether he's giving your accurate or skewed information about what's happening than we are. I think it's going to be a difficult - or maybe delicate is a better word - subject to broach. I think it'd be wise to do everything you can to go into this meeting in a calm state of mind because I don't think anger is going to be productive, at least in the beginning.
  • HeliumIsNoble
    HeliumIsNoble Posts: 1,213 Member
    edited March 2017
    Yeah, I would say there is a realistic possibility that the teacher did not say what the children think she said. However, that would still mean you should meet with the school. As far as the results are concerned, it doesn't matter what great things she's trying to teach them, if she's saying it in a way that is being misunderstood so easily.

    Best case scenario: she needs to adapt her message so that they hear what she's actually saying. But she needs to know there is a problem to do that.

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
    I'd be upset, not because the gym teacher is touching on nutrition, but because she is SO VERY WRONG! Focusing on fruits and veggies and the importance of a well-rounded diet are the extent of what she should talk about. Not eating nuts for dinner because she was out of calories. Sounds like a personal problem to me - 1. If I'm out of calories I'll go out and earn some more before I'd skip dinner and 2. Nuts?? High density low volume isn't the way to go. She could have had turkey with a 100-calorie flatbread wrap, mixed greens, and some avocado for the same calories as 'a handful of nuts.'

    The sad truth is, many of these kids will go home with no assurance of a healthy dinner, or any dinner at all. Some of them will be lucky to get a bowl of cereal or boxed mac and cheese. More than a few will eat fast food for dinner regularly.
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    100% in support of the gym teacher. Sounds like you're hearing what the teacher taught through a child's filter. The gym teacher should be applauded.
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
    While I agree with the idea teaching children the basics of nutrition and calories in school (in fact, I think it's a very important thing to teach), the way this teacher went about it is extremely concerning to me. I would expect a health teacher to explain what a calorie (a kilocalorie, really) is, how energy management in the body works, and so on. Telling growing children to RESTRICT their calories and telling them to exercise off all of their meals is frankly horrifying to me. And the "personal anecdote" of her own calorie restriction rubs me the wrong way somehow as well, although I can't pinpoint right on the money what bugs me about it.

    Just to play devil's advocate, though, since I'm a teacher... Children don't always portray the situation very clearly when repeating things to their parents, which I've seen quite a bit of in my dealings with parents. I'd talk to the teacher and find out exactly what it was she said before taking it much further.