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Weighing kids in school
Replies
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Everything I do with weight related issues with either adults or kids is in my approach. I don't like to tell people they are overweight unless I really have to. Rather my approach is always "how do you feel about your current physical stature?" And of course they are going to tell me how they view themselves. Then of course I just offer the help to help them get to their goal.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Fidgetbrain wrote: »What do you guys think about it, helpful in combatting obesity or just breeding insecurity in children?
IMO, that's what annual checkups with the children's Dr. is for.
How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
My daughter (now 19) had a yearly appointment with her doc all the way thru high school. Of course, we have acceptable health insurance, so everything is covered for the yearly visit. She was also active in sports thru high school (soccer and archery) so she had to have physicals to compete.
As to the original question, I think regular screenings should be done - in private - for all children.1 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Fidgetbrain wrote: »What do you guys think about it, helpful in combatting obesity or just breeding insecurity in children?
IMO, that's what annual checkups with the children's Dr. is for.
How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
I thought all of them do. Guess it depends what country you are in. I'm in Canada and my kids always went for annual checkups. Height and weight checks, vaccine updates, general health concerns.
Once they were old enough (like maybe 12-ish?) we did their usual consult, and then I left the room so that they could discuss/ask questions about anything privately with their doctor.
In theory, the US system of private health insurance and programs like CHIP (children's health insurance program) should result in children being able to see a doctor annually. Based on self-reported household data, it does seem like the US is doing pretty well at meeting that goal: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NHISDataQueryTool/SHS_child/index.html
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
In Massachusetts, there are medical requirements for attending public school. In my town, you are required to provide a "report of latest physical exam" and a vaccination record, which comes from a physician's office. I've heard lots of stories where the vaccination record becomes difficult to obtain because the family has switched doctors, even coming from different countries.
Yes, the COVID vaccine debate is looming!
But, so is the obesity debate, which has been ongoing for years without figuring out how to best help overweight kids. Shaming them in front of their peers, while perhaps sometimes effective, appears to be a very destructive approach overall!1 -
rosebarnalice wrote: »
I'm all for public health checks, but PRIVATE SCREENINGS PLEASE!!!!
Agree. Weigh-ins should be private. I believe weighing school children is extremely beneficial. It's important to be able to track public health trends like childhood obesity and screen for abnormally underweight youngsters who may be at risk. Some children may not receive regular health screenings anywhere other than at school. A school with a demonstrable high rate of childhood obesity may decide to offer better cafeteria selections, remove campus vending machines, increase opportunities for physical activity or add nutrition & health education programs.2 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Fidgetbrain wrote: »What do you guys think about it, helpful in combatting obesity or just breeding insecurity in children?
IMO, that's what annual checkups with the children's Dr. is for.
How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
We are required to provide proof of annual wellness check along with updated immunization records to my kids' school prior to enrollment. I believe most schools throughout the US require this. Mine get theirs right around their birthdays. IDK, could be wrong...I just assumed it was a requirement everywhere to enroll in school.0 -
Omg this gave me flash backs to middle school being weighed in front of everyone and having your number called out. I was always taller than the other girls so my weight was more and no one understood that if you are taller you are SUPPOSE to weigh more. It was so embarrassing to always weigh more than my friends. Everyone would stand around talking about who was the smallest. I remember trying to skip that day of gym class every year.4
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
In Massachusetts, there are medical requirements for attending public school. In my town, you are required to provide a "report of latest physical exam" and a vaccination record, which comes from a physician's office. I've heard lots of stories where the vaccination record becomes difficult to obtain because the family has switched doctors, even coming from different countries.
Yes, the COVID vaccine debate is looming!
But, so is the obesity debate, which has been ongoing for years without figuring out how to best help overweight kids. Shaming them in front of their peers, while perhaps sometimes effective, appears to be a very destructive approach overall!
Why does weighing children at school have to be in front of their peers?
Why does the data have to be shared?
Who says the children are even told of the outcome?
Some huge assumptions being made - I'm not getting why people seem to be OK with weighing children to check for health concerns in one building (a Doctor's office) is OK but weighing them in a different building (school) would automatically be done in an unkind or unprofessional way.
That some people had bad experiences in their school years doesn't mean the same behaviors have to persist now.
e.g. My best friend's Mum at junior school back in the 60's and 70's was what was colloquially known as a "Nitty Nora". A trained nurse who travelled from school to school inspecting for head lice, done one-on-one, results not shared, heads not shaved or painted purple! No shaming, just useful information gathered and acted upon in conjunction with parents. Vaccinations at my school also weren't done in a group, they were one at a time in a side room. The only bad behavior was from the pupils who then tried to punch each other in the arm!
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
In Massachusetts, there are medical requirements for attending public school. In my town, you are required to provide a "report of latest physical exam" and a vaccination record, which comes from a physician's office. I've heard lots of stories where the vaccination record becomes difficult to obtain because the family has switched doctors, even coming from different countries.
Yes, the COVID vaccine debate is looming!
But, so is the obesity debate, which has been ongoing for years without figuring out how to best help overweight kids. Shaming them in front of their peers, while perhaps sometimes effective, appears to be a very destructive approach overall!
Why does weighing children at school have to be in front of their peers?
Why does the data have to be shared?
Who says the children are even told of the outcome?
Some huge assumptions being made - I'm not getting why people seem to be OK with weighing children to check for health concerns in one building (a Doctor's office) is OK but weighing them in a different building (school) would automatically be done in an unkind or unprofessional way.
That some people had bad experiences in their school years doesn't mean the same behaviors have to persist now.
e.g. My best friend's Mum at junior school back in the 60's and 70's was what was colloquially known as a "Nitty Nora". A trained nurse who travelled from school to school inspecting for head lice, done one-on-one, results not shared, heads not shaved or painted purple! No shaming, just useful information gathered and acted upon in conjunction with parents. Vaccinations at my school also weren't done in a group, they were one at a time in a side room. The only bad behavior was from the pupils who then tried to punch each other in the arm!
I wish they would take the kids in one by one by themselves for a checkup with the nurse. It is the way most schools do it that is the issue. My middle school would line all the girls up and have one girl weigh everyone and yell out the number for the entire gym class to hear (50+ girls and boys). It was humiliating even for someone who was always < BMI 20 as a kid.3 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
In Massachusetts, there are medical requirements for attending public school. In my town, you are required to provide a "report of latest physical exam" and a vaccination record, which comes from a physician's office. I've heard lots of stories where the vaccination record becomes difficult to obtain because the family has switched doctors, even coming from different countries.
Yes, the COVID vaccine debate is looming!
But, so is the obesity debate, which has been ongoing for years without figuring out how to best help overweight kids. Shaming them in front of their peers, while perhaps sometimes effective, appears to be a very destructive approach overall!
Why does weighing children at school have to be in front of their peers?
Why does the data have to be shared?
Who says the children are even told of the outcome?
Some huge assumptions being made - I'm not getting why people seem to be OK with weighing children to check for health concerns in one building (a Doctor's office) is OK but weighing them in a different building (school) would automatically be done in an unkind or unprofessional way.
That some people had bad experiences in their school years doesn't mean the same behaviors have to persist now.
e.g. My best friend's Mum at junior school back in the 60's and 70's was what was colloquially known as a "Nitty Nora". A trained nurse who travelled from school to school inspecting for head lice, done one-on-one, results not shared, heads not shaved or painted purple! No shaming, just useful information gathered and acted upon in conjunction with parents. Vaccinations at my school also weren't done in a group, they were one at a time in a side room. The only bad behavior was from the pupils who then tried to punch each other in the arm!
Why would children need to be weighed at school at all? And if it is not in front of their peers how is it going to be done?
Like are you suggesting that they pull kids out of class one by one, take them to a private room, and have them weighed by a nurse who has travelled to the school for that purpose, and then not share the results with them? To what end?
Lice is different, it can spread to the other kids in the class (although they don't do that here either as a matter of course - maybe if there is an outbreak, not sure about that.)
I mean I got a ton of disagrees on my last post, but seriously, if a school board is spending money on a travelling nurse to weigh kids (which I'm sure would not happen here) I would suggest that it can be better spent on other things that are within their mandate. The education system is not the health care system, and I don't get why people think that they should overlap.
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Seems that a lot of folks here are hearkening back to their decades old bad experiences and somehow extrapolating that into current day practices. It's a bit like arguing against having PE classes in schools today because once upon a time that often involved hideous training suits and a mandatory rope climb.2
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
In Massachusetts, there are medical requirements for attending public school. In my town, you are required to provide a "report of latest physical exam" and a vaccination record, which comes from a physician's office. I've heard lots of stories where the vaccination record becomes difficult to obtain because the family has switched doctors, even coming from different countries.
Yes, the COVID vaccine debate is looming!
But, so is the obesity debate, which has been ongoing for years without figuring out how to best help overweight kids. Shaming them in front of their peers, while perhaps sometimes effective, appears to be a very destructive approach overall!
Why does weighing children at school have to be in front of their peers?
Why does the data have to be shared?
Who says the children are even told of the outcome?
Some huge assumptions being made - I'm not getting why people seem to be OK with weighing children to check for health concerns in one building (a Doctor's office) is OK but weighing them in a different building (school) would automatically be done in an unkind or unprofessional way.
That some people had bad experiences in their school years doesn't mean the same behaviors have to persist now.
e.g. My best friend's Mum at junior school back in the 60's and 70's was what was colloquially known as a "Nitty Nora". A trained nurse who travelled from school to school inspecting for head lice, done one-on-one, results not shared, heads not shaved or painted purple! No shaming, just useful information gathered and acted upon in conjunction with parents. Vaccinations at my school also weren't done in a group, they were one at a time in a side room. The only bad behavior was from the pupils who then tried to punch each other in the arm!
Why would children need to be weighed at school at all? And if it is not in front of their peers how is it going to be done?
Like are you suggesting that they pull kids out of class one by one, take them to a private room, and have them weighed by a nurse who has travelled to the school for that purpose, and then not share the results with them? To what end?
Lice is different, it can spread to the other kids in the class (although they don't do that here either as a matter of course - maybe if there is an outbreak, not sure about that.)
I mean I got a ton of disagrees on my last post, but seriously, if a school board is spending money on a travelling nurse to weigh kids (which I'm sure would not happen here) I would suggest that it can be better spent on other things that are within their mandate. The education system is not the health care system, and I don't get why people think that they should overlap.
Schools have many rooms. Why can't the weign-in be done one by one? Form a line in a corridor and go in singly should be a blindingly obvious solution. Just like we did for our BCG vaccinations in fact.
Yes nurses (and other medical professionals) do travel round schools here, it's not paid by the school board as you term it. Different country, different funding.
Yes the problematic results should be shared with the children's parents, it's their over-arching responsibility to care for their children after all. Just like in your system I would hope that any health issues with a child being under or overweight would be shared with parents. No it doesn't have to be spelled out to the children themselves, no it shouldn't be broadcast to all.
Yes lice infestation is different and the way that is managed also changed from my generation to my children's generation. Just like as various health and welfare concerns have changed and evolved over the years. Diseases of poverty versus diseases of plenty for example.
One benefit of capturing data on all school age children is that it includes the children of bad or incompetant parents as well as those of better parents.
My D-I-L is a teacher at a school where many of the children have had a very disrupted upbringing and may not have had regular education OR healthcare OR capable parents.
There's two different debates here.
Whether capturing weight data on children when growing numbers of them are suffering health impacts now and in their future is the question asked.
How it can be ensured it's done appropriately is I would hope an area where there could be broad agreement on principles.
Just like at my school I was subject to corporal punishment (which is now banned). I would hope that people wouldn't say all forms of school discipline should be banned.
There a difference between the goal and the method.7 -
Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
In Massachusetts, there are medical requirements for attending public school. In my town, you are required to provide a "report of latest physical exam" and a vaccination record, which comes from a physician's office. I've heard lots of stories where the vaccination record becomes difficult to obtain because the family has switched doctors, even coming from different countries.
Yes, the COVID vaccine debate is looming!
But, so is the obesity debate, which has been ongoing for years without figuring out how to best help overweight kids. Shaming them in front of their peers, while perhaps sometimes effective, appears to be a very destructive approach overall!
Why does weighing children at school have to be in front of their peers?
Why does the data have to be shared?
Who says the children are even told of the outcome?
Some huge assumptions being made - I'm not getting why people seem to be OK with weighing children to check for health concerns in one building (a Doctor's office) is OK but weighing them in a different building (school) would automatically be done in an unkind or unprofessional way.
That some people had bad experiences in their school years doesn't mean the same behaviors have to persist now.
e.g. My best friend's Mum at junior school back in the 60's and 70's was what was colloquially known as a "Nitty Nora". A trained nurse who travelled from school to school inspecting for head lice, done one-on-one, results not shared, heads not shaved or painted purple! No shaming, just useful information gathered and acted upon in conjunction with parents. Vaccinations at my school also weren't done in a group, they were one at a time in a side room. The only bad behavior was from the pupils who then tried to punch each other in the arm!
Why would children need to be weighed at school at all? And if it is not in front of their peers how is it going to be done?
Like are you suggesting that they pull kids out of class one by one, take them to a private room, and have them weighed by a nurse who has travelled to the school for that purpose, and then not share the results with them? To what end?
Lice is different, it can spread to the other kids in the class (although they don't do that here either as a matter of course - maybe if there is an outbreak, not sure about that.)
I mean I got a ton of disagrees on my last post, but seriously, if a school board is spending money on a travelling nurse to weigh kids (which I'm sure would not happen here) I would suggest that it can be better spent on other things that are within their mandate. The education system is not the health care system, and I don't get why people think that they should overlap.
Schools have many rooms. Why can't the weign-in be done one by one? Form a line in a corridor and go in singly should be a blindingly obvious solution. Just like we did for our BCG vaccinations in fact.
Yes nurses (and other medical professionals) do travel round schools here, it's not paid by the school board as you term it. Different country, different funding.
Yes the problematic results should be shared with the children's parents, it's their over-arching responsibility to care for their children after all. Just like in your system I would hope that any health issues with a child being under or overweight would be shared with parents. No it doesn't have to be spelled out to the children themselves, no it shouldn't be broadcast to all.
Yes lice infestation is different and the way that is managed also changed from my generation to my children's generation. Just like as various health and welfare concerns have changed and evolved over the years. Diseases of poverty versus diseases of plenty for example.
One benefit of capturing data on all school age children is that it includes the children of bad or incompetant parents as well as those of better parents.
My D-I-L is a teacher at a school where many of the children have had a very disrupted upbringing and may not have had regular education OR healthcare OR capable parents.
There's two different debates here.
Whether capturing weight data on children when growing numbers of them are suffering health impacts now and in their future is the question asked.
How it can be ensured it's done appropriately is I would hope an area where there could be broad agreement on principles.
Just like at my school I was subject to corporal punishment (which is now banned). I would hope that people wouldn't say all forms of school discipline should be banned.
There a difference between the goal and the method.
"Form a line in a corridor and go in singly should be a blindingly obvious solution". To be weighed? You are suggesting that we line kids up in the hallway and take them into a private room individually to be weighed?
How often would this be done, and wouldn't it have to be tracked over time? A one time "weigh-in" wouldn't be much use for anything, it's not even a reliable predictor of health. Kid's often gain weight prior to a growth spurt, or super skinny kids fill out over time.
Idk I think I am on my own here but that just seems ridiculous to me.
The schools here have enough to do providing education without tracking each kids weight and growth. Adding in having to track ONE health marker, that isn't even all that useful, and is most likely a duplication of care they are already getting at the doctor, strikes me as a massive waste of resources.
It also occurs to me as an overstepping of boundaries. To me a child's health, including the appropriateness of their weight, is something that is between the child, their parents, and their doctor - not the school system. (Short of suspected abuse or neglect of course, teachers are required to report that already).
Children are fed by their parents, they can't change their diet on their own. I am skeptical that sending a note with the child's weight home to the parents would have any impact on a child's "disrupted" upbringing, or on their "incompetent parents". My friend is obese, her husband is obese, and her son is obese - I doubt that the school advising her that their child is overweight would have effect on their eating habits - or do anything other than piss her off. I also live in a very multi-cultural neighbourhood - issues around food, diet and weight can be a culturally sensitive topic.
For all these reasons I think that it is both unnecessary and a waste of resources. I think that general diet and fitness education in gym/health class is sufficient.
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Fidgetbrain wrote: »What do you guys think about it, helpful in combatting obesity or just breeding insecurity in children?
IMO, that's what annual checkups with the children's Dr. is for.
How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
My daughter (now 19) had a yearly appointment with her doc all the way thru high school. Of course, we have acceptable health insurance, so everything is covered for the yearly visit. She was also active in sports thru high school (soccer and archery) so she had to have physicals to compete.
As to the original question, I think regular screenings should be done - in private - for all children.
Yeh, I was going to say all of our kids went to the dr. every year, as did I when I was younger. Ugh the memories from back then were horrifying for a shy child. There was no discretion when they wanted to do an exam; it was strip and get on the table, no paper thingie, nothing. No wonder I have so many issues around nakedness.
And don't get me started on gym classes followed by mandatory communal showering in middle school. 2 -
I remember being weighed in school. I remember feeling like absolute *kitten* about myself every single time too. I wasn't bullied by the others for it, but I really did hate myself a little bit more every year it came around.
As a child, it's difficult to know how to make changes or even to actually go about making the changes when you're not in control of buying the household food. I don't think being weighed at school ever helped me. Weighing as an adult is fine, but I don't think it's necessary for kids.3 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Fidgetbrain wrote: »What do you guys think about it, helpful in combatting obesity or just breeding insecurity in children?
IMO, that's what annual checkups with the children's Dr. is for.
How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
My daughter (now 19) had a yearly appointment with her doc all the way thru high school. Of course, we have acceptable health insurance, so everything is covered for the yearly visit. She was also active in sports thru high school (soccer and archery) so she had to have physicals to compete.
As to the original question, I think regular screenings should be done - in private - for all children.
Yeh, I was going to say all of our kids went to the dr. every year, as did I when I was younger. Ugh the memories from back then were horrifying for a shy child. There was no discretion when they wanted to do an exam; it was strip and get on the table, no paper thingie, nothing. No wonder I have so many issues around nakedness. And don't get me started on gym classes followed by mandatory communal showering in middle school.
That reminds me, off topic from this thread but we had swimming in middle and high school. We HAD to wear only tankinis or one pieces and were not allowed to wear shorts or tshirt to cover up. I always felt so uncomfortable being in a bathing suit in front of 25 guys and 25 girls. I was the one who always went into the stall to change.2 -
It also occurs to me as an overstepping of boundaries. To me a child's health, including the appropriateness of their weight, is something that is between the child, their parents, and their doctor - not the school system. (Short of suspected abuse or neglect of course, teachers are required to report that already).
Exactly. You and I would have been classified as underweight, maybe even flagged as suspected anorexic. My parents would have howled with laughter if the school had sent home a note with that helpful suggestion. Briefly. Then they would have been quite angry at the intrusiveness of the school.
I got an eye test in maybe 1st or 2nd grade? I was blind as a bat but my parents ignored it for about six more years. Not every parent is open to the school interfering in their business of raising a child.4 -
It also occurs to me as an overstepping of boundaries. To me a child's health, including the appropriateness of their weight, is something that is between the child, their parents, and their doctor - not the school system. (Short of suspected abuse or neglect of course, teachers are required to report that already).
Exactly. You and I would have been classified as underweight, maybe even flagged as suspected anorexic. My parents would have howled with laughter if the school had sent home a note with that helpful suggestion. Briefly. Then they would have been quite angry at the intrusiveness of the school.
I got an eye test in maybe 1st or 2nd grade? I was blind as a bat but my parents ignored it for about six more years. Not every parent is open to the school interfering in their business of raising a child.
Well, in the case of testing vision, this makes a lot more sense from an academic standpoint, so I understand why the school does this. I don't see the school conduction hearing or vision screenings (something that is not routine practice at a lot of doctor's offices) as interfering in their business of raising a child.0 -
Speakeasy76 wrote: »It also occurs to me as an overstepping of boundaries. To me a child's health, including the appropriateness of their weight, is something that is between the child, their parents, and their doctor - not the school system. (Short of suspected abuse or neglect of course, teachers are required to report that already).
Exactly. You and I would have been classified as underweight, maybe even flagged as suspected anorexic. My parents would have howled with laughter if the school had sent home a note with that helpful suggestion. Briefly. Then they would have been quite angry at the intrusiveness of the school.
I got an eye test in maybe 1st or 2nd grade? I was blind as a bat but my parents ignored it for about six more years. Not every parent is open to the school interfering in their business of raising a child.
Well, in the case of testing vision, this makes a lot more sense from an academic standpoint, so I understand why the school does this. I don't see the school conduction hearing or vision screenings (something that is not routine practice at a lot of doctor's offices) as interfering in their business of raising a child.
No, my parents didn't exactly object to the eye test, it just failed to produce any results. (And oddly enough it only took place once, in the early primary years.) Probably because neither of them had a benefit plan at the time so they weren't going to shell out money for glasses. So it was more of a "the school shouldn't be telling me how to spend my money" thing than "the school shouldn't be testing my child's vision".
I don't ever remember having a hearing test until I was being tested for vertigo in my early 20s.1 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Fidgetbrain wrote: »What do you guys think about it, helpful in combatting obesity or just breeding insecurity in children?
IMO, that's what annual checkups with the children's Dr. is for.
How many children (or adults for that matter) get annual check ups with a doctor?
I thought all of them do. Guess it depends what country you are in. I'm in Canada and my kids always went for annual checkups. Height and weight checks, vaccine updates, general health concerns.
Once they were old enough (like maybe 12-ish?) we did their usual consult, and then I left the room so that they could discuss/ask questions about anything privately with their doctor.
I always did as a kid growing up in the U.S., but I realize there was a certain amount of middle-class/parent with health insurance privilege in that. Lots of kids in the U.S. don't even get adequate dental care, to the point of losing "adult" teeth before they're even adults.2
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