Forum Index
»
Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
My 6 year old is curiously overweight - anyone with a similar experience?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
I would have your doctor check her thyroid and blood sugar. Is this something new? Six is a funny age, many of the girls are very spindly, some are more filled out like a 7/8 year old. Is her build similar to anyone in the extended family?
I'd try to keep snacks to fruit and vegetables with a little protein rather than whole wheat snacks. There is a good book called something like the stoplight diet, someone at the Post was the author, you could google it. The premise is much like WW, you can eat unlimited "green" foods, portion controlled "yellow" foods and occasional "red" foods. With kids, you don't want them to lose weight, as much as grow into it. Things like bike riding offer more sustained exercise and can be enjoyed as a family. |
Anonymous
| Swimming would also provide good non-impact exercise. Perhaps join a swim team of some sort? |
Anonymous
|
OP,
Are you concerned about the number on the scale or a sudden weight gain? A very athletic kid might weigh more, muscle weighs more. The CDC has a BMI calculator, try plugging in her stats. |
Anonymous
| She might have a medical conditions, or it *could* be hereditary. My niece and nephew are huge kids (not necessarily overweight. . .) their parents are pretty average/smaller than average but they have large people in their family. Also, sometimes kids go through fazes with weight. I was always a tall, skinny kid but went through a chubby faze around 10-11 and then was tall and skinny through high school (as in, 5'6" and 88-95 lbs). |
Anonymous
|
I know this mother who's rather large, as are her two young girls - 6 and 3.
They eat well, but can they eat! The 6 yo can eat more than her father. But they're not that active at all. When you say she doesn't eat much, what do you mean? |
Anonymous
|
I wonder how many posts on DCUM are "How can I get my DC to eat more?" and how many are "How can I get my DC to eat less?"
It is pretty alarming how many people are piling on with the diet and exercise tips for a six year old. How many of you know this child? How many of you have medical degrees? |
Anonymous
| my pediatrician said that my 9 year old may be in a growth spurt, but that no sugary drinks, only water & one glass milk a day, one hour active moving daily. |
Anonymous
|
OP asked.
What do you want the PPs to do? ignore her question?
|
Anonymous
I' m guessing that you're doing what a lot of people do--confusing healthy and nutritious "good" food with low calorie to a certain extent. Just because something is organic doesn't mean that it isn't calorie packed, or a "sometimes" (TM Sesame Street) food. Chips and crackers can be organic, along with fruit bars, etc. They're not that healthy, and they're organic and whole wheat. Cheese and yogurt are fattening. You certainly can't limit the quantity of your DD's food, but you might want to watch what she's (and I mean that literally) and see if you can make some switches that may be lower calorie and more healthy. But you'll have to switch the whole family so that she doesn't really notice it, you certainly don't want to single her out or say anything. |
Anonymous
| I don't know. I'd definitely talk to her doctor first and see what he/she says. I personally think that it depends on how "overweight" she is. Unless it's significant I would just keep pushing healthy food and being active and see what happens. I don't think that starting at age 6 with diets or talking about appearance is healthy for a little girl unless it's affecting her health (i.e. if the doctor is worried about it). Otherwise I really think that kids go through stages with weight - maybe she's about to have a growth spurt and thin out. If so, then making a big deal out of it could be more trouble than it's worth. |
Anonymous
| Six seems young to be overeating. At that age, they still self-regulate pretty well, and you say she's active.. Eating disorders don't usually crop up til the hormonal changes of puberty start. So I agree with all the PPs, this is a question for the doc. |
Anonymous
| OP, what is your child drinking? Organic juice is still juice, and organic whole milk is still whole milk. It is easy to forget all the calories we drink each day. |
Anonymous
I think reinforcing her belief that her child needs to lose weight when we don't know whether she does is screwed up. If someone posted, "My five year old doesn't read as well as she should," would you bust out the Kumon suggestions? |
Anonymous
So, in other words, we are supposed to ignore her question, act like bossy know-it-alls who know her child better than she does, and attack her for asking the question in the first place? I have seen plenty of 5 and 6 year olds who very clearly are overweight. I have a friend who was told by the pediatrician tbat her 5 year old son was obese (and he looks it). Why should we not believe OPs child is overweight? |
Anonymous
|