i just saw a tv program that said that more than half of US children are now overweight. do you consider your kids to be overweight? if your child was overweight, would you do anything to change it or figure they would grow out of it / are too young to worry about it?

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rhapsody112@gmail.com

My children (all 4) are VERY slim. Almost too thin. DS (13) weighs about 95 lbs. at 5'1". DD (almost 12) is 4' 11" and weighs about 70 lbs. DS #2 (9) is the thinnest. I am guessing he is about 4'7 and weighs about 55 lbs. DS #3 (7) is about 4'5" and weighs about 50 lbs.

I often finds myself worrying about other kids' weights. Then I think, what if someone is judging my kids for being too thin? I would claim I couldn't control that and I don't want to judge anyone else.

I think parents should stay on top of their childrens' health. And I believe that a childs health is directly related to your health. We just try to keep our kids active and give them good food choices.

I watch Maury sometimes (yes I know too sad) those overweight two year olds gross me out. I think their parent need......UUHHHHEM......some parenting classes. B/c they are controling or not controling what their kids eat. That is an extreme example but in those cases sometimes mother and father don't know best.

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Vicki


TLJ Women united in Spirit!

My son is average, he's 5 and weighs about 42 lbs and wears a size 5T.

My daughter on the other hand I worry about. She will be 4 at the end of May and is the same size as her big brother, wears a 5T is about 40 pounds and is just as tall. But she has a little belly, she is NOT fat, don't get me wrong. She takes after my side of the family with her build, luckily she has her fathers height to even it out a little.


In the summer they seem to thin out a little too with more outside playtime and more fresh fruit and veggies.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

My kids are not overweight. My son is actually slim. There is a girl in my DD's Kindergarten who is VERY overweight. She can't run and play with the other kids very well...she has to stop. Her parents don't do a lot regarding it and it drives her grandma crazy (it's grandma who brings her to school a lot. Her mom and dad are both larger people though so maybe it's not a concern?

I care deeply about my kids and their health. If they were overweight, I would change our diet and make sure they got more exercise. You have to give them the right start or they will never know how to do it later...

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Dd weighs only 42 lbs (25% on charts), she's really skinny. Ds isn't on the growth chart yet but is starting to gain weight finally.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

I will admit that my 13 yr old daughter is overweight. Luckily, she is tall and is still growing (5feet 6), but she needs to lose a good 20 pounds. We moved over the summer, and I think eating is part of her coping with everything. She doesn't appear to be stressed; she's happy go lucky, but does love to eat. Now the weather is finally getting nice, I want to start walking our new pup everyday. I have talked to her about not sneaking treats, and watching what she eats. I hope we can slim down a bit this summer.

Any suggestions from moms who are dealing with this? I am not one of those moms that make a huge issue out of weight, since I have always been a little pudgy (thank goodness I am tall and can hide well). I don't want to make her feel bad about herself or even develop an eating disorder. It's important to lose the right way.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

My kids are just fine. DS (almost 12) is 5' and weighs 100 lbs. DS (7) is 49-50" and weighs 56 lbs. DD (7) is 44" or so and weighs 52 lbs. My daughter is going to be built like me, which I guess is not a bad thing, but that is to say, she will be petite in height. She looks like she has a little tummy, but she is *not* fat by any means, or even "chubby." Of all my kids, she is the one who eats the healthiest!! She also appears to be the child that has natural athletic tendencies.... she has strong, athletic legs... but I just hope that the preoccupation with unrealistic (extremely thin) body images would go away.

As info, DS (12) wears a size 12/14; DS (7) wears a 6/7; and DD (7) wears anywhere from a 6X to an 8 depending on the manufacturer, style of clothing, and the cut of the clothing. Really consistent, huh?

Suzanne

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Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like. - Lemony Snicket

I think all the processed foods, and convenience type things have something to do with it. Also, kids don't even need to leave the house anymore....Play Station, videos, GameBoy. What happened to riding your bike for fun? We have a pool, and swing set, so the kids get exercise that way, and they all like to ride their bikes. Also, we emphasize health over weight.

DD notices girls in school drinking crystal light, eating a small yogurt for lunch, and that's IT. We tell her how to make smart healthy food choices. None of my kids are overweight.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

[quote=allinaugust;2792115]I think all the processed foods, and convenience type things have something to do with it. Also, kids don't even need to leave the house anymore....Play Station, videos, GameBoy. What happened to riding your bike for fun? We have a pool, and swing set, so the kids get exercise that way, and they all like to ride their bikes. Also, we emphasize health over weight.
QUOTE]

I agree, we don't even OWN any video games! My kids play outside, or we go to a park, tonight is baseball, so they both get a lot of running there.

It's easier in the summer, but during the winter I have to admit we watch too much tv.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

Our pediatrician asked if I wanted to discuss my daughter's weight... yeah she has a little bit of a belly sometimes, but I don't think she's overweight. She was in the 80-90th percentile for both height weight. I don't know which side she's going to take after, on my side my sister and I started gaining around when puberty started... on my husband's, his half-sister was a bit pudgy around 8-9 years old but is tiny now (and complains that some size 00 pants don't fit so well).

I don't want to make food and weight an issue for her. I don't make her clean her plate or really restrict her besides when she wants a big helping of something I tell her to eat what she has and if she's still hungry to go back for more.

A pic: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...mayhem/059.jpg

vorphalack, that little girl looks perfectly healthy and thin to me. if she's 80-90 in both categories, wouldnt that make her weight proportional to her height and just make her big for her age? maybe she's just going to be tall?

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rhapsody112@gmail.com

Well that's what *I* thought Her doctor did have a look on his face like he didn't think we needed to discuss it but he had to ask. She does have a problem with getting pants to fit though, if they fit in the waist they're way too long. Tried shopping at... TJ Maxx I think? Right before school and all those really cute jeans did not fit. She's wearing her brother's size 8 boys jeans sometimes (which are getting too short on him, he's 8, and will be taller than me before I know it!)

Okay if she was in th e50% for height and the 90th for weight I would be worried. But 90/90? I think shes hit her stride ahead of the game. No big deal. All the kids in our family are like that and I don't have 1 heavy person on either side of our family.

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Vicki


TLJ Women united in Spirit!

My youngest is 5-she is at the 97% for height and weight, we just had her in and she had grown 5 inches in the past year and put on like 14 lbs, the dr said they like to see 2 lbs per inch but he wasn't concerned about it yet, the hard thing is keeping her from eating too much and her older sister who is 8 and not on the charts the other way who we try to push food into any time we can...
I worry about giving her a complex about food, and yet I need to teach her when to stop, DH struggles with eating to much a lot. She also has some physical issues, not realated to her weight that make it hard to exersize a lot.

My oldest who is 8 is average closer to thin side....Not sure on height but he weighs a little under 60lbs...Hard to find ANY clothes that fits him right...size 7's fit him nice around the waste...but a tad short in the leg....8 slims are a tad big in the waste...

My youngest will be 6 in June and he is UNDERWEIGHT!! He is weighing right now 38.4 lbs...I have contest going with him right now...he has so gain to 40lbs for his bday....so he weighs himself often...when I started him on his "quest" he weighed 34lbs and was just getting over the flu back in Feb. such a picky eater...but I know that comes from me (I was horrible at that age too) Anyways, he still is wearing his 4 shorts.... I just put away his 4 SLIM jeans, they still fit around his waist but short in his legs....5 slims are too big!! So no pants really fit him right now good....Luckily summer is here and he can wear shorts!!

My DD is 10 and weighs 61lbs and is about 4'6". She was told by the school that she is 11lbs under weight. She can actually still fit in a size 7 but they are way too short. She has to wear a belt with everything.

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"Let me watch my children grow to see what they become
Lord don't let that cold wind blow til I'm too old to die young'

This post makes me smile... I worked with First Graders in the 1990's... There were overweight kids and there were underweight kids and there were those who were well-proportioned. So, I see some of them when they grow up and let me tell you about 99% of them that were underweight are now overweight and those that were overweight now look thin. Those that were average seem to fluctuate but don't have the extreme problems... This is unofficial research!

I think that it comes down to *internal* health as someone else mentioned. Teach them to eat right and exercise regularly. It is one of our duties as parents. I remember my parents very diligently teaching my brother and I about these things and neither of us have extreme problems one way or the other as far as physical health goes.

I saw a show about how many obese and overweight people (children too!) are actually UNDERnourished. Blew me away but that is what happens when you live on junk food.

To answer the original question, my boys are just right. We work hard at it around here though! We allow one (or less?) junk serving per day... I always feel that total deprivation is not good in the long run.

My 11 year old is 5 ft 1 and weighs 98 lbs. Not overweight at all.

My 7 year old is about 45 - 50 lbs, he is tall and very slim. But he has a birth defect which effects his eating.

My 3 year old is about 30 lbs and tall for her age.

I think that I was raised in a different manner than most parents today. I was raised on a farm and eating from the garden and slaughtering our own meats. I can vaguely remember my parents taking us out to eat about twice and both of those times were for pizza, which was a treat back in the day, lol. Having been raised myself that way, and I still live on a farm and still do many things the way I was taught. We rarely and I do mean rarely, 'maybe' once or twice a year eat out and then it's like Chinese or something like that. I don't feed my kids out of cans or frozen dinners and I know that this really attributes to a healthy lifestyle. I also don't feed my children in front of the TV or on the run. My granny taught me as a child that "A family that eats together, stays together." and with the way times are today, if we cant take 15 minutes to sit down and eat together, then the world is in trouble. We don't come to the table with hats on either, that's disrespectful. And you know, it's the little life lessons like this that I remember the most and taught me the most and I hope that my children carry them on as well.

Now for overweight kids. UNLESS, and I mean 'unless' there is a medical issue like diabetes, thyroid, etc that causes weight gain, then Overweight Children have no one to blame other than their parents. (I may get a flame a 2 for this, but it is JMO) Any parent who can't see to it that their children eat a decent meal in moderation is to blame. Simple as that. I once heard a mom of an overweight child (child was 3 and weighed 120 lbs) say that he can't help it, he will not eat anything but McDonalds. She went to McDonalds daily and bought extra's to last through the day. Made me SICK! I once told her that I gaurantee that if she not go to McDonalds, he would get hungry enough to eat 'real' food. Sooner or later, he would do it! There is no medical condition that deems a person the ability to only eat at McDonalds! Disgusting!!!

I am going to stop now. This subject has always been a sore spot for me

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email is moserlara@yahoo.com

My my oldest dd is 10 and 5'1 and about 75lbs, she wears a 14 slim which is big in the waist but just right in the length. She takes after her dad, tall and thin, the child has a longer legs then mine! My middle one is 9 she is tall for her age and is 54 inches and 65 lbs, she look normal weight for her height. Now my ds is 7 and he is built like a brick. He has broad shoulders and really strong legs, he has been on a swim team or swimming 2 times a week since he was 3. He also plays everyday from 2 to 3pm after school, because he gets out at 2 and his sister aren't done to 3. I also make them walk to school because we live so close that driving actually takes longer! My ds takes after his grandfather who is a BIG man at 6'2" and over 300lbs, so I am worried about him! I can see were genes are paying a role in weight in my family.

My girls are both slim. Youngest dd is 10, 4'6" & 63 pounds. Oldest dd is 13, 5'6" & 112 pounds. They are both very active with dance & soccer. Youngest also plays softball. They are both outside girls, too. They watch their share of TV, but prefer being outside on nice days (and snowy days!)

I keep a wide variety of healthy snacks. They both eat their share of junk, but eat more healthy stuff. We don't really talk about weight & dieting, but more about healthy choices and that since their grandparents have heart/diabetes issues that, genetically, they have to watch out.

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

I don't have small children any more but my dietitian and my dr told me the main thin g that is making children fat today is juice, it has all the fruit sugar and no fiber, many children today drink only juice and no water, parents think juice is healthy but juice has as much sugar as sodas do!
if they ate the whole fruit they would be fine! and 8oz glass of juice has the average of 4 pieces of fruit calories
Calories in Apple Juice-Unsweetened 1 cup 117
Calories in Cola 1 cup 136
Calories in Grape Juice 1 cup 154
Calories in Grape Soda 1 1/2 cups 160
as you can see grape juice has more calories than grape soda

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Always be a first rate version of your self instead of a second rate version of someone else.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.

That's child abuse.

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"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

My middle dd's old doctor told me she need to lose 15 pounds in three months. She was 3 years old (she's almost 5 now). She's ALWAYS been in the 95th percentile for height and weight ever since she was born (she was 9 pounds 5 ounces and three weeks early). I cut out junk food, she only gets one glass of 1% milk a day, rarely any snacks, NO soda EVER. I've modified what she eats, oh an NO juice of any kind. She gets that milk and then nothing but water. She used to drink a lot of juicy juice. Anyway, I changed doctors and he was appalled that I was told to put her on a diet at 3 years old. He told me that while she is overweight, that he wasn't concerned about it right now. He wanted to wait until her next birthday to see if she maintained or lost any weight.

My oldest is 5'3" and weighs 127-130 or so. She doesn't look that big. She's 13. My youngest, at 9 months, is 28 3/4 inches long and 19 pounds 5 ounces. She's in the 40-50 percentile for weight (I've NEVER had a kid in that range! LOL) and 75th for height.

With my middle one, I'm constantly telling her NO food. She asks ALL the time for something to eat. She likes all sorts of veggies and fruits, but I will not let her eat all the time like she seems to want to do.

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Amy
Mom to Lauren, Eryn, Naysa
and announcing......
Gavin Michael Chase, 9 lbs 10 ozs
and 21 3/4 inches long on 10/13/09!

Well let me tell you though I am sure that people are judging, unfortunately. My daughters are both very, very tiny. My 7 year old weighs 40 lbs, my 5 yr old is 29 lbs, my 2 yr old son weighs more than the 5 year old. But my 7 yr old is friends with a little girl thats older sister is friends with my cousin (understand?) well the mother asked my cousin if we ever feed her. They eat constantly but they are very healthy and would rather fruits and veggies over sugar foods and their favorite drinks are water and green tea. My kids actually eat brussel sprouts!! and love them! I got so mad though, thinking is it a bad thing to be thin, because I dont think it is as long as they are healthy and eating good.

<thinking of eating brussel sprouts when I was a kid...gag...sorry> Actually, that is great. It is so important (and oftentimes difficult once they get into school!) to teach children to eat healthy. Kids almost all have growth spurts and non-spurts (times when they are small for their ages) but their insides need to be kept healthy for life.