Kids and Diets?????

ohthatbambi · April 2008

I was a chubby preteen. I guess around 10 or so I chunked up. My son is almost 10 and he has chunked up a bit. He has always grown that way...chunked up and then sprouted in height. Now that he is close to the age that I was when the chunks came and didn't leave, I am a bit concerned. He asked me the other day if he was overweight. I was sort of shocked that he asked, but really was not sure what he answer should be. He is certainly not at the stage that he needs husky sized clothes, but he is not a string bean either. So today I found a web site that calculates your body fat and it also does it for kids. It said that kids should NOT diet. Bad for them b/c they are growing. So I did mine first to show him what we were doing. I am five foot three/four, 36, b/t a size 6 and 8, muscular build. I look in the mirror and see an average size woman--not skinny, sometimes fat depending on my mood. I did mine and it told me I was obese. I am not sure that I would call myself obese, but there has never been a time in my life that I thought I was skinny...even at 110 and size nothing. After seeing that it said I was obese, I asked him if he thought I was fat and he said no. So then we did his. He is about four foot four and weighs 92 pounds. He is a couple pounds over the high end of his age group. He asked me if that meant he was fat. I told him no. So then we did his body fat percentage. I had to measure his waist (same size as mine), his hips (three inches smaller than mine), his wrist (half an inch LARGER than mine) and his arm (two inches smaller than mine). His body fat percentage was like 14% ( half of what it said mine was).

Now that I have made a short story long, it is obvious to me that he is concerned about his weight. We have made some baby steps to healthier choices. I explained to him that being overweight is bad for your heart and if you start making the right decision while young then the healthier your heart will be when you are older. I was planning on adding my kids to my gym membership for the summer, but if he continues to have concerns then I am going to add him sooner and take him in with me and let him meet a trainer and start doing more than just baseball.

I never fry food. We do eat out some and he eats fried food then, but we are going to just cut the eating out...OUT! I quit buying Little Debbies and I switched my kids from white to wheat. Neither of them were happy about it, but when the choice of white bread is not there...they eat what they get.

I guess I just need to know how to encourage him without making him feel like he needs to lose weight. He is a precious little boy and I want him to be happy with who he is inside and out. As a mom, I just want him to be at peace with who he is, b/c I know what it is like to not be. He is in fourth grade and kids are just mean sometimes. I just worry. Any mom advice would be greatly appreciate!!

There is a picture of my whole family in my profile. It was taken last November. I am down 10 pounds since then.

ohthatbambi · April 2008

I was a chubby preteen. I guess around 10 or so I chunked up. My son is almost 10 and he has chunked up a bit. He has always grown that way...chunked up and then sprouted in height. Now that he is close to the age that I was when the chunks came and didn't leave, I am a bit concerned. He asked me the other day if he was overweight. I was sort of shocked that he asked, but really was not sure what he answer should be. He is certainly not at the stage that he needs husky sized clothes, but he is not a string bean either. So today I found a web site that calculates your body fat and it also does it for kids. It said that kids should NOT diet. Bad for them b/c they are growing. So I did mine first to show him what we were doing. I am five foot three/four, 36, b/t a size 6 and 8, muscular build. I look in the mirror and see an average size woman--not skinny, sometimes fat depending on my mood. I did mine and it told me I was obese. I am not sure that I would call myself obese, but there has never been a time in my life that I thought I was skinny...even at 110 and size nothing. After seeing that it said I was obese, I asked him if he thought I was fat and he said no. So then we did his. He is about four foot four and weighs 92 pounds. He is a couple pounds over the high end of his age group. He asked me if that meant he was fat. I told him no. So then we did his body fat percentage. I had to measure his waist (same size as mine), his hips (three inches smaller than mine), his wrist (half an inch LARGER than mine) and his arm (two inches smaller than mine). His body fat percentage was like 14% ( half of what it said mine was).

Now that I have made a short story long, it is obvious to me that he is concerned about his weight. We have made some baby steps to healthier choices. I explained to him that being overweight is bad for your heart and if you start making the right decision while young then the healthier your heart will be when you are older. I was planning on adding my kids to my gym membership for the summer, but if he continues to have concerns then I am going to add him sooner and take him in with me and let him meet a trainer and start doing more than just baseball.

I never fry food. We do eat out some and he eats fried food then, but we are going to just cut the eating out...OUT! I quit buying Little Debbies and I switched my kids from white to wheat. Neither of them were happy about it, but when the choice of white bread is not there...they eat what they get.

I guess I just need to know how to encourage him without making him feel like he needs to lose weight. He is a precious little boy and I want him to be happy with who he is inside and out. As a mom, I just want him to be at peace with who he is, b/c I know what it is like to not be. He is in fourth grade and kids are just mean sometimes. I just worry. Any mom advice would be greatly appreciate!!

There is a picture of my whole family in my profile. It was taken last November. I am down 10 pounds since then.

snelfk · April 2008

It looks like you're doing the right thing in showing him how to eat healthy and make healthy food choices. What kind of activities does he like? Encourage him to get out and play - have fun, not "exercise". Sports are great, but just running around or riding a bike is healthy also...

cinandchris · April 2008

I looked at the picture and I think he is just fine. My boy is 8 and does the same thing, chunks up, then gets taller and slims down. With your lifestyle, I don't think you have to worry about his weight being an issue for him. And it sounds to me like you handled the situation just right. I like how you let him see your results and make his own judgement of what your results said before he saw his and was critical of the results.

butterfly2008 · April 2008

my daughter is 10 this month and she is abt 100 pounds i am concerned she is now in a kids 14/16 pants and a womans s/m im tops we started having the clothes problem a while ago it stared when everything went from appropriate to low riders and all the tops became skin tight ,so i know part of the issue is i do not want her clothes to be tight she needs to look like a little girl. but anyhow what are we to do ?? she is trying to exercise we have made it a family event but im becomming afraid now

mkeithley · April 2008

My daughter is 10 and I have had a bit of the same problem. 2 years ago I made significant changes in our diet and lifestyle. I was met with HUGE opposition at first by both of my kids. No more frozen dinners(chicken nuggets, frozen pizza etc) They have only had whole wheat bread and pasta so that was easy. I cut out the juice boxes and went to the Capri Sun Roaring Waters, lunch is 1/2 lean turkey on wheat, carrots, cucumbers or cherry tomatoes, and a serving of fruit. I also send them with a fruit for their "milk time" snack. No chips, no cookies, no crackers, snack cakes. Before the lifestyle change I was letting them buy lunch at school every day, until I found out they get some sort of tator tots and chicken fried something patty almost every day. We also used to eat fast food 4 nights a week, at first I weaned us off by going to Blimpie's/Subway and made them split a 6 inch sandwich and chips. Now we rarely eat out. I always have healthy things around the house for them to eat and things that can easily be taken in the car, to soccer games, etc(Apples, oranges, bananas, low fat string cheese, ziplocs with whole wheat crackers, etc)

We joined a gym and we go 1-2 nights during the school week and they swim while i do an extra cardio, on the weekends we go Sat and Sun and do the same thing or they rock climb)we have a wall at the gym). They also are involved in one sports activity(we alternate w/soccer, tennis, baseball, swim team and bball-just depends on the time of year.

When we go to the store and they ask for something not healthy i tell them to look at the calories, fat, sugar on the label. I grew up with exercise and healthy eating not being a priority and I will not do that with my kids. I make it a part of our lives so hopefully it will become a habit when they are adults. When talking about food we always have discussions about diabetes, heart disease, etc. We never use the word "diet". I have taught them that veggies need to be 1/2 of their plate and pretein and carbs(grains/pastas, etc) need to be smaller. When we fix our plates we talk about serving sizes and portions(size of a fist, deck of cards, or sometimes we just measure with the scale or w/cups, etc).
It really needs to be a way of life. the times we live in are so different.
When I was a kid I ran all over the neighborhood and was outside from morning until dark, now there are too many sickos out there, too many cars to ride in the streets.
I want exercise to be as automatic as brushing their teeth.
Sorry for the long tirade.:happy:

ohthatbambi · April 2008

Thanks for the advice. More than anything I just want my kids to understand that what goes in their mouths ultimately will affect their body in same form or fashion. I know that up until a couple years ago I had no idea how much food I consumed in a single day. I want my kids to be more aware than I was so that they don't suffer physically or emotionally. We live in a cruel, cruel world and as if it is not enough on your body to carry extra pounds, the mental anguish of being overweight is more burden than I hope my children have to carry. I want to make them aware but not make them future eating disorder patients. I have been down that road and would never wish that on anyone.

greysweatshirt · April 2008

When I was growing up, I did the same thing: got rounder, then taller. By the time I hit high school, things started to level out and I stayed pretty thin all the way through most of college. Then, I got a car and quit walking everywhere..that's when I noticed that I started gaining weight. Plus, I got into a relationship and gained more weight! Ugh! I'm still trying to level back out again.

abbychelle07 · April 2008

Some people don't want to talk about nutrition with their kids for fear they will become obsessed and develop an eating disorder. I think this is not the case. We teach our kids manners, bathing, etc and I don't think lessons on nutrition should be left out!

That being said, I don't say "diet" or "exercise" to kids. I just show them what we eat and what we don't eat and WHY! I mostly try to point out that some foods have tons of Vitamin A, B, C, D, Calcium, Iron, etc. and usually junk foods don't. Getting your daily allowances of stuff means you have to eat healthy.

ohthatbambi · April 2008

Some people don't want to talk about nutrition with their kids for fear they will become obsessed and develop an eating disorder. I think this is not the case. We teach our kids manners, bathing, etc and I don't think lessons on nutrition should be left out!

That being said, I don't say "diet" or "exercise" to kids. I just show them what we eat and what we don't eat and WHY! I mostly try to point out that some foods have tons of Vitamin A, B, C, D, Calcium, Iron, etc. and usually junk foods don't. Getting your daily allowances of stuff means you have to eat healthy.

Well this is the approach I took. It is about being healthy and feeding your body healthy things so that you live a long life with a healthy heart. No one EVER talked to me about these things when I was a kid. Oh do I wish they had!

sindyb9 · April 2008

My son at that age was the same puggy then grow, now he will be 17 years old and he is over 6, 1. I am sure he could use to drop a few. But the best part was he knows this and already is heading to the gym. He got picked on in school horribly and I finally got him to join sports in High School and that helped. But my point is because he has better choices at home for snacks and of course I am eating healthier, so is he. Keep it up with the good snacks and healthy choices and he will be fine. :flowerforyou:

niamhb · April 2008

he might be chunky now but chances are it will go as he grows. best thing to do is to encourage him to play outside more, and encourage him to have healthy snacks, maybe even cook with you in the evenings etc. I know when I'm cooking my own food I have fun doing it and I love to cook now.

Kids and Diets?????

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