Noticing very chunky young kids

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

They don't all eat the same amount of food. Clearly you see that.

+1. There is no way these kids are eating ounce for ounce the same amount of food in a day. The same amount of snacks, the same amount of seconds, same portion sizes, etc.

I’m curious about how this is supposed to play out, in your opinion. Is the parent supposed to limit portions/refuse seconds/feed different meals to the “chunky” kid? Allow snacks only for the skinny ones?

I’m envisioning a really healthy dynamic here.

We refuse seconds of dessert all the time. “Can I have another ice cream cone?” “No.” Why should it be any different with baked ziti?

So no seconds of baked ziti for anyone, or just the chunky ones? And does that go for the adults, or just kids? Guests?

I see you are seriously concerned about the obesity epidemic...

Trying to learn since some posters seem to have all the answers here….

Feeding your kids into obesity because you don’t want to be mean or “unfair” is ALREADY an unhealthy dynamic.

I feed my youngest spoonfuls of peanut butter and nutella regularly because he needs to gain weight. I don’t do this for my other children, because they don’t need several hundred extra calories over and above what they’re already getting. I don’t tell them they can’t have nutella because they’re too fat (and FTR they’re not fat), I tell them the truth, which is that their brother gets extra food because he’s too skinny. They have eyes, so the explanation makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

They don't all eat the same amount of food. Clearly you see that.

+1. There is no way these kids are eating ounce for ounce the same amount of food in a day. The same amount of snacks, the same amount of seconds, same portion sizes, etc.

I’m curious about how this is supposed to play out, in your opinion. Is the parent supposed to limit portions/refuse seconds/feed different meals to the “chunky” kid? Allow snacks only for the skinny ones?

I’m envisioning a really healthy dynamic here.

We refuse seconds of dessert all the time. “Can I have another ice cream cone?” “No.” Why should it be any different with baked ziti?

So no seconds of baked ziti for anyone, or just the chunky ones? And does that go for the adults, or just kids? Guests?

Adults and guests already have different (fewer) rules than kids do at my house. Sounds like your kids are positively feral.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really truly did test threads like this because you guys have just spent 20 pages ringing your hands about other people's children and their bodies.

You are not in control of other people's bodies. Spending so much time worrying about it is voyeuristic and gross

It affects everyone. In the long-term health of our country and in the wasted tax dollars and healthcare resources spent on obesity-related diseases. If you don't understand that obesity, like smoking and alcoholism, affect everyone, then you are a fool.

And clearly this 28 pages will really move the needle on fixing this issue! Congratulations on solving the problem through hand wringing concern trolling and shaming people anonymously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

And your daughter will always have to fight her weight more than her brothers. You just have to decide when to let her know, or just see if she figures it out for herself?

I am more sure that she will figure out she weighs too much and people judge her for it and for what she eats than I am sure that the sun will rise in the East. You will make it super clear to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

They don't all eat the same amount of food. Clearly you see that.

+1. There is no way these kids are eating ounce for ounce the same amount of food in a day. The same amount of snacks, the same amount of seconds, same portion sizes, etc.

I’m curious about how this is supposed to play out, in your opinion. Is the parent supposed to limit portions/refuse seconds/feed different meals to the “chunky” kid? Allow snacks only for the skinny ones?

I’m envisioning a really healthy dynamic here.

We refuse seconds of dessert all the time. “Can I have another ice cream cone?” “No.” Why should it be any different with baked ziti?

So no seconds of baked ziti for anyone, or just the chunky ones? And does that go for the adults, or just kids? Guests?

I see you are seriously concerned about the obesity epidemic...

Trying to learn since some posters seem to have all the answers here….

Feeding your kids into obesity because you don’t want to be mean or “unfair” is ALREADY an unhealthy dynamic.

I feed my youngest spoonfuls of peanut butter and nutella regularly because he needs to gain weight. I don’t do this for my other children, because they don’t need several hundred extra calories over and above what they’re already getting. I don’t tell them they can’t have nutella because they’re too fat (and FTR they’re not fat), I tell them the truth, which is that their brother gets extra food because he’s too skinny. They have eyes, so the explanation makes sense.

And you think the inverse could happen without any repercussions between siblings? Because I’m seeing plenty of therapy at minimum, or possibly a novel.

[Anonymous]

At what age do you recommend refusing food? (Not dessert—proteins, main courses.) My child was malnourished as an infant. Insatiable once we met her. Should I have denied my 12 month old extra chicken and pear because her siblings would not have eaten so much and my friends’ kids did not? For the record, she wouldn’t eat what was in one hand until she had something in the other hand so she could be sure there was something more.
She is currently obese. Everyone judges me for it. So I’d like the honest answer of whether I failed in denying her seconds at 9 months? 2 years? What’s the magic age at which it’s ok for her to feel insecure because she’s afraid she won’t have enough food? Seriously—I think about it every day so I’d like the experts to tell me where I screwed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

And your daughter will always have to fight her weight more than her brothers. You just have to decide when to let her know, or just see if she figures it out for herself?

My mom has been nagging my sister about her weight for decades and all it's ever done is make them both miserable.

I imagine a lot of you were raised to be miserable about food and body image and now your passing it along to your children. What a terrible way to live.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, kids are chunkier in this day and age.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I teach in a high poverty school and by 5th-6th grade, nearly every student is overweight. It's sad. Some of them stayed overweight as they grew but some of them were a normal weight and then just packed on the pounds.

Schools are a huge part of the problem. Our high poverty school has free breakfast and lunch for all. It’s all garbage food. Considering the high obesity rate-kids aren’t starving, they are overfed. Schools need to keep it simple, have a couple heathy options and that is it. White milk, apples, peanut butter/cold cut sandwich. And no chips/candy as prizes and incentives for everything

You just made it clear you don't actually understand what food insecurity is like. It is not wasting away into thinness. It is the inability to afford healthy food. That can come with a lack of TIME as well. Shopping, cooking and food prep takes time, which many struggling families don't have. Have you ever thought about what the food in your house would look like if you have to take public transportation to collect it?

It is not simply "lazy poor parents feed their kids chips and soda all the time". It's much more complicated than that. But it gets you all off the hook to vote for people who might actually HELP these children if you can just blame their lazy, fat parents.

No, sorry, that is BS. Basics are cheap. Eggs, milk, oatmeal, beans are cheap. Immigrants and poor people in less developed countries manage to cook basic simple food on a tight budget. But American poor people can’t manage this. Easier to hit up the drive thru. It’s easy to eat a lot of junk when using the government money and free school food

I think eating healthy requires either $ OR time. I fully agree with what you’ve said (eating healthy is MUCH cheaper if you know what you are doing) but a lot of times lower income homes also have a lot of family problems/instability and other issues such as lack of a car to transport groceries home, no fully functioning kitchen/storage, cooking knowledge etc. So, it is easier to just get frozen pizza, microwave stuff, snack food or whatever.

Everyone has time to cook simple meals. People are just lazy and look for the easiest possible way to feed themselves and their kids. With so many options, most people will pick the junk convenience foods

What a clueless and judgmental comment. Do you work multiple jobs? Cooking from scratch requires meal planning and shopping ahead, and then cooking and dishes. It’s not simple laziness.

News flash, most people aren’t working multiple jobs, regardless of how low their income is. If you think every poor person is out there huslting three jobs..well…

But anyhow, yes, no matter what your work schedule is, you can make a simple meal. Maybe that means scrambled eggs and toast with an orange. Or a bowl of cherrios with a banana and fried egg, or a tuna sandwich, or rice and beans. There are so many cheap foods, people just don’t care though. It is pure laziness, from all income levels, why people have become so overweight.

I don’t think it’s laziness in the sense you mean. I think people are physically and mentally exhausted and it seems easier to do the fast food or processed food thing. If you grow up on it you think it tastes better or if you watch advertising you think it’s a treat. So you think “I’m out of the house all day and don’t have enough time with my kids but at least I can make them a dinner they enjoy.” Without really appreciating how terrible it is for them.

And eggs are expensive these days by the way.

You’ll say “everyone knows how bad this food is for you” but they don’t. I know college-educated professional people who think a taco from a box or canned soup or boxed Mac and cheese are just as nutritious as homemade versions. They aren’t bothered by the million fake ingredients because in this country it is normal to buy such foods. Totally normal. It’s a failure of policy and messaging first. Individuals operate within that context. You’re expecting people to make food choices that countermand what advertising tells them and what their wallet tells them - there are always sales and bargains on crap food but when’s the last time you saw a 2 for 1 deal on romaine?

I’m sure there are some people who just don’t care or are lazy but most are just trying to do the best they can, and don’t know or can’t swim against the tide that says highly processed food is fine, or better, or a treat and we all deserve a treat.

I paid $3.39 today for 18 eggs at Target grocery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

And your daughter will always have to fight her weight more than her brothers. You just have to decide when to let her know, or just see if she figures it out for herself?

My mom has been nagging my sister about her weight for decades and all it's ever done is make them both miserable.

I imagine a lot of you were raised to be miserable about food and body image and now your passing it along to your children. What a terrible way to live.

Does anyone like being obese? Is that a good way to live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

They don't all eat the same amount of food. Clearly you see that.

+1. There is no way these kids are eating ounce for ounce the same amount of food in a day. The same amount of snacks, the same amount of seconds, same portion sizes, etc.

I’m curious about how this is supposed to play out, in your opinion. Is the parent supposed to limit portions/refuse seconds/feed different meals to the “chunky” kid? Allow snacks only for the skinny ones?

I’m envisioning a really healthy dynamic here.

We refuse seconds of dessert all the time. “Can I have another ice cream cone?” “No.” Why should it be any different with baked ziti?

So no seconds of baked ziti for anyone, or just the chunky ones? And does that go for the adults, or just kids? Guests?

I see you are seriously concerned about the obesity epidemic...

Trying to learn since some posters seem to have all the answers here….

Feeding your kids into obesity because you don’t want to be mean or “unfair” is ALREADY an unhealthy dynamic.

I feed my youngest spoonfuls of peanut butter and nutella regularly because he needs to gain weight. I don’t do this for my other children, because they don’t need several hundred extra calories over and above what they’re already getting. I don’t tell them they can’t have nutella because they’re too fat (and FTR they’re not fat), I tell them the truth, which is that their brother gets extra food because he’s too skinny. They have eyes, so the explanation makes sense.

Ok. So what happens when you make a healthy meal (let's say it's a stew with proteins and vegetables) and the chubby child wants more than the thin child. I know, I know, you would never have a fat child, but try to imagine it. They've eaten a healthy meal and they say "I'm hungry." What do you do? What if both kids say they are hungry? Do you give seconds only to the thin child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

They don't all eat the same amount of food. Clearly you see that.

+1. There is no way these kids are eating ounce for ounce the same amount of food in a day. The same amount of snacks, the same amount of seconds, same portion sizes, etc.

I’m curious about how this is supposed to play out, in your opinion. Is the parent supposed to limit portions/refuse seconds/feed different meals to the “chunky” kid? Allow snacks only for the skinny ones?

I’m envisioning a really healthy dynamic here.

We refuse seconds of dessert all the time. “Can I have another ice cream cone?” “No.” Why should it be any different with baked ziti?

So no seconds of baked ziti for anyone, or just the chunky ones? And does that go for the adults, or just kids? Guests?

I see you are seriously concerned about the obesity epidemic...

Trying to learn since some posters seem to have all the answers here….

Feeding your kids into obesity because you don’t want to be mean or “unfair” is ALREADY an unhealthy dynamic.

I feed my youngest spoonfuls of peanut butter and nutella regularly because he needs to gain weight. I don’t do this for my other children, because they don’t need several hundred extra calories over and above what they’re already getting. I don’t tell them they can’t have nutella because they’re too fat (and FTR they’re not fat), I tell them the truth, which is that their brother gets extra food because he’s too skinny. They have eyes, so the explanation makes sense.

Ok. So what happens when you make a healthy meal (let's say it's a stew with proteins and vegetables) and the chubby child wants more than the thin child. I know, I know, you would never have a fat child, but try to imagine it. They've eaten a healthy meal and they say "I'm hungry." What do you do? What if both kids say they are hungry? Do you give seconds only to the thin child?

Keep up, PP. Letting kids have seconds means they’re feral.

/s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

They don't all eat the same amount of food. Clearly you see that.

+1. There is no way these kids are eating ounce for ounce the same amount of food in a day. The same amount of snacks, the same amount of seconds, same portion sizes, etc.

I’m curious about how this is supposed to play out, in your opinion. Is the parent supposed to limit portions/refuse seconds/feed different meals to the “chunky” kid? Allow snacks only for the skinny ones?

I’m envisioning a really healthy dynamic here.

We refuse seconds of dessert all the time. “Can I have another ice cream cone?” “No.” Why should it be any different with baked ziti?

So no seconds of baked ziti for anyone, or just the chunky ones? And does that go for the adults, or just kids? Guests?

I see you are seriously concerned about the obesity epidemic...

Trying to learn since some posters seem to have all the answers here….

Feeding your kids into obesity because you don’t want to be mean or “unfair” is ALREADY an unhealthy dynamic.

I feed my youngest spoonfuls of peanut butter and nutella regularly because he needs to gain weight. I don’t do this for my other children, because they don’t need several hundred extra calories over and above what they’re already getting. I don’t tell them they can’t have nutella because they’re too fat (and FTR they’re not fat), I tell them the truth, which is that their brother gets extra food because he’s too skinny. They have eyes, so the explanation makes sense.

Ok. So what happens when you make a healthy meal (let's say it's a stew with proteins and vegetables) and the chubby child wants more than the thin child. I know, I know, you would never have a fat child, but try to imagine it. They've eaten a healthy meal and they say "I'm hungry." What do you do? What if both kids say they are hungry? Do you give seconds only to the thin child?

Keep up, PP. Letting kids have seconds means they’re feral.

/s

The kitchen is closed!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many population-level annd environmental factors at play and it’s a vicious cycle.

While the government needs to do more, there is an element of personal responsibility too. Parents used to spend more of their free time cooking but now they spend it on Insta or TikTok because the take out / packaged food is “good enough”. Only those who prioritize nutrition make the effort. Cooking and eating at home 5-6 days a week needs to be more normalized.

AND we need to look at why people who do cook at home and are health obsessed STILL have kids who are overweight due to environmental factors messing with the gut and metabolism, particularly plastics and medications.

Never seen this. This is very uncommon.

If the parents are extremists and don’t allow kids anything that kids like they can become obsessed with overeating and grab deserts, hot dogs, sugar whenever they are out of the house. And it is everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My one boy is a tiny stick, my other boy is average, and my girl is a bit chunky. They eat the same food. Not junk. Home cooked meals 80%. Generics.

Do they exercise the exact same amount every day in the same way? There are many variables involved not just meals.

Exercise is not as relevant as food intake. My four siblings and I were all very thin growing up. No overweight people on either side of my family. We had basic food growing up. We were White bread no “old country” recipes. None of us were all that interested in food, it was just another thing we did.

Don’t always blame the parents and feel superior on the wonderful job you’re doing.

I simply asked a question, did they exercise the same? Your nonsensical response about your siblings makes no sense in this context.

Your question is assuming exercise or lack of causes the big differences in kids weights who are in the same family. It’s more likely genetics. The mother said she cooks and they don’t live on crappy food. So if she has a chubby child and an underweight child it’s probably because they got certain genes from different family members. Don’t blame the mother and insinuate its lack of exercise.