Question about kids health?

I would look for art projects that appeal to her creative side AND get her outdoors. She could collect stones or shells to use in a stepping stone, or all sorts of natural items to create a fairy garden. Sidewalk chalk, or sidewalk chalk paint and just about any surface... she could pick plants for a container garden and take care of that... she could take photos every month so that next year she could create wall calendars as gifts. The possibilities are endless!

seltzermint555 wrote: »

NovusDies wrote: »

If the weight is not a concern then set up a table and chair in the barn and tell her if she wants a treat she can eat it out there. Make that the only place she can get the really good treats unless it is a special occasion, bad weather, or night. She sees walking as a negative so make walking and being outside have a reward attached to it. It will either dampen her food obsession or it will encourage her to be outside more. It might even do a little of both.

Please don't do this. It's creepy and strange!

Things *like* this can evolve in a slightly more natural and less creepy way. I seldom ever got food treats at home as a kid (my parents loved me, but were POOR), and generally don't remember to buy them because things like chips and ice cream just never made it onto my mental grocery list.

However, I *do* like to get my kiddo celebratory treats after she improves at an activity, even if we have to make a special trip to the ice-cream shop down the street to do so. Our current standing tradition is to get an ice cream together if she shoots a bullseye at her once weekly archery practice. It gives us a chance to appreciate being together, a special treat, and how good she's getting at her sport. We often talk about what she needs to do to get better at her sport as we enjoy our treat, because talking about ways to improve skills to get more treats while eating said treats is totally the logical thing to do.

a lot of good advice here. i too, have one child who is overweight (12 yo) and i discuss healthy eating and exercise with him. i am fine with the way he looks and so is he, but its important to be healthy, etc.

but i wanted to add, be mindful of the long game. she will be living in her body and mind for the rest of her life and your priority is for her to have a healthy self-esteem and positive body image. if she decides at any point that she wants to slim down, it will be from a healthy standpoint. for now, as her mother, i would cook healthy meals, model healthy habits, and provide opportunity to be active (without nagging). and then back off.
she will get enough body criticism from her peers. her mother should not give off those vibes.

just my 2 cents.

seltzermint555 wrote: »

NovusDies wrote: »

If the weight is not a concern then set up a table and chair in the barn and tell her if she wants a treat she can eat it out there. Make that the only place she can get the really good treats unless it is a special occasion, bad weather, or night. She sees walking as a negative so make walking and being outside have a reward attached to it. It will either dampen her food obsession or it will encourage her to be outside more. It might even do a little of both.

Please don't do this. It's creepy and strange!

I think it depends on the barn. There's the nasty run down dirty barns and there are really nice barns. The high school I work at had prom in a renovated barn last year...

holly_roman wrote: »

I may be the only parent who just tells my kid to do as I asked. Sometimes it is a gight and sometimes not. I give my kid a lot of room to be an individual and independent but I also am his parent. If I want him outside I tell him to go outside. I give him a list of stuff he can do but he needs to be active. He needs to go play and not be on electronics. If I want him to shut off the TV and go for a walk with me and the dogs, I tell him how much time he has left and then he needs to get up and do it. I know he grumbles at first but then is happy because we are spending time together. Maybe I am the only one who does this lol.

Definitely not. Parenting in this manner is setting them up for success. Expectations are clearly stated and progress is checked periodically. We'd have better leaders in the world if more people followed this model.

I'm very clear that I rarely care how something gets done - I'm concerned that it gets done and state why it needs to be done. I leave the how up to the doer for the most part.

My daughters (8 and 11) are both similarly motivated by food. They love to eat, want food rewards for everything, and are quite capable of telling me they are hungry while still chewing on a meal. As a result, my husband and I are probably slightly too controlling of food, but it does feel like a constant battle against obesity at our house. Luckily my youngest is a soccer machine who doesn't stop moving, so she is getting away with it for the moment - she is pure muscle and has an itty bitty 8 year old six pack.

My 11 year old, however, would rather sit and read than move, and is getting too old to force to go "play outside". If I do, she'll just sit on the front porch and quietly hate me. She's never been overweight, but has been starting to develop a bit of a belly, so while I'm tending to think it's normal pre pubescent chub that tends to go once she starts to develop, I've also started talking to her about taking responsibility for her choices, and the impact that her choices will have on her well-being and her body. Of course I've shied away from saying "fat" or alluding to being overweight, but she's a smart girl and has noticed some of her friends are starting to get a bit tubby. Since we've been talking about this I have noticed she is being much more mindful in her food choices, goes out of her way to eat veggies, and will tell me that she is paying more attention to when she is full and stops eating at that point. She still has some problems with self control around junk food - but she IS still a kid, so I step in when I need to, but am otherwise pretty happy with how she is learning about mindfulness and thoughtful food choices to ensure she remains fit and healthy.

And as for activity, she is pretty sedentary but has recently expressed interest in weight lifting and telling me she wants to be "strong" so there is hope there as well.

seltzermint555 wrote: »

kenyonhaff wrote: »

seltzermint555 wrote: »

NovusDies wrote: »

If the weight is not a concern then set up a table and chair in the barn and tell her if she wants a treat she can eat it out there. Make that the only place she can get the really good treats unless it is a special occasion, bad weather, or night. She sees walking as a negative so make walking and being outside have a reward attached to it. It will either dampen her food obsession or it will encourage her to be outside more. It might even do a little of both.

Please don't do this. It's creepy and strange!

I think it depends on the barn. There's the nasty run down dirty barns and there are really nice barns. The high school I work at had prom in a renovated barn last year...

It's not the barn thing. It's the idea of having to meet specific obstacles (like walking to a designated snack area in a barn) to be "rewarded" with food. The whole idea, to me, just seems like something that will come out in a tell-all autobiography thirty years later. Nope.

I see what you're saying. And you're not wrong, either.

I think the main idea is to make treats not a simple matter of getting from the cupboard or fridge and eating it. Putting some "speed bumps" into the process of obtaining a treat DOES help reduce consumption. For example, yes, we can have brownies but we're going to make them from a mix rather than just picking up brownies from the store. Or instead of having ice cream in the house, we get ice cream from the store. (Or even better walk or bike to it) The idea is to make healthy snacks easy to get, but it takes some work to get once-in-a-while treats. I'm not sure eating in the barn is the best way to implement this idea, but I think that was the idea.