Chubby Kids...

[MrsKreamer]

I'm just curious (not criticizing!) how old are your kids that get 14 hours of sleep per day? Is that straight through or maybe it includes naps.

2 and 4 and it includes a nap. It is OK to criticize...lol. Everyone I tell that to does. BUT, my DH needs a lot of sleep to function. I can go with 5 hours per night and be fine, he needs at least 9-10. So I just figure that the kids take after him. Of course when DS4 starts school this year he will not be napping, and he will stay up later.

 

[mjkacmom]

There is a family at our pool, the dad needs to lose about 20 pounds, mom is morbidly obese, and their 8 year old dd wears a woman's size 18! And they're always eating huge amounts of food, drinking soda, etc. I've spoken with her while our girls play, and she always says she's going to try to buy some healthy food. This poor child doesn't stand a chance.

I have 5 kids - 4 are naturally skinny, like dad, and 1 has my metabolism. His BMI is normal, although sometimes it gets close to AT RISK, but he does have a little belly. He eats less than dd12, gets tons more exercise (he plays 2 - 3 sports each season, rec and travel teams), but really has to work at not getting chubby. However, what I've found is that if you have a slower metabolism, you need to exercise more than most, and eat less - it's not an excuse to be fat.

 

[tinkntraining]

OP - I think you are going to get 2 types of replies on this highly sensitive topic --

One type of reply from parents of overweight children and a completely different one from parents without overweight children. And you will find that the 2 types of replies will be very, very different.

Hopefully, mine will offer a slightly different perspective. And I hope you take it in the vein it was intended. I am not judging you for making assumptions, or even for having the perceptions you do. And I understand that you are looking at it from a health standpoint. That said.....

I'm a mom who's 10-year-old daughter fought off Adolescent Anorexia for a year and a half (the impetus for which was being publicly weighed in gym class and being a mere 15 pounds heavier than other girls her age). To be honest with you, I am NOT the right one to comment on this topic, so I will limit my response. Let's just say that I watched my beautiful, slightly chubby daughter spiral from a beautiful, healthy 10-year-old (who was involved in gymnastics and was blue belt in Tae Kwon Do) to a skinny, pale child who couldn't maintain a normal body temperature, who's heartbeat was dangerously irregular, who couldn't stand without blacking out and who's body was feeding on its own muscles for fuel. Thank God I noticed the subtle signs very early on and sought help from a multi-disciplinary team of experts. We almost lost her, and yes, I believe her disease was a direct result of "other people's opinions" or, maybe my little girl's skewed perception of other's opinions, and the importance she placed on them.

I'm glad to say that now, 4 years later, my little girl is again a healthy, beautiful child with a wonderful outlook on life. However, I know from education, that we'll have to be ever-vigilant about her slipping into old behaviors. Sadly, anorexia is a lot like alcoholism. You're never fully "recovered" -- you are always in the process of "recovering". It makes me so sad to think that as adults, some people feel perfectly justified in passing judgement on the parents of "chubby" kids. The truth is, they don't know the whole story, they have not walked a mile in their shoes, and they have no idea of their personal struggles.

There, I'm done. I think I'll step off my soapbox now.

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

When I see a chubby child, I usually see chubby parents right along with them.

While you do see some kids chubby, with overweight parents, I think many, if not MOST overweight kids today are from THIN parents. In my neighborhood, so many are overweight, and their parents are NOT...at all!

It does come down to the processed crap that is out there today, the busy lifestyle and way too much McDonalds. I think thin parents feel too secure that they aren't fat, so the crap they are giving their kids isn't going to make them fat either and then later they are finding out how wrong they were.

I am overweight, have been since middle school. My mother did NOTHING with us when we were younger, no sports, no activities at all!

My main goal with my kids is to keep them thin and healthy. I dont' want them going through what I have!!!!

I have taught them very healthy eating habits (people comment all the time on the fact that they LOVE fresh fish, salad, raw veggies, fresh fruit...cause most kids won't eat that...even in restaurants, that is what they order. We are not PBJ people, they have NEVER had a Pop Tart, a Lunchable, Bologna, white bread, etc), and keeping them very active...not only by having them do sports and such, but by teaching them to LOVE them and want to do them!

Having done childcare full time for the last 22 years now, I see it as an issue of convenience. I see parents so worried that their kids aren't eating enough, that they are willing to allow SO much junkfood to be eaten...so long as they are eating, they think they are doing the right thing.

The one I have now, her diet is 100% garbage!!! She will eat NOTHING else. Nothing healthy goes into her body at all. I won't go into the whole story about this, pretty long, but when this child is older and fat, people will wonder why. HELLO!!! This is it! I see this is the case almost all the time. Kids can NOT eat 100% sugar laden foods, everything out of a box or a drive thru and NOT end up overweight!!!

 

[rotlex]

I have two very healthy, very in shape young children. Well, OK, the baby is only 10 weeks old, but you get the idea. Our daughter is 6, active, and actually slightly under weight for her size. She is 48" and around 48 pounds. Looks great etc.

It SICKENS me when I see kids that are so morbidly obese, that it looks like they should be on the health network being diagnosed for some 1 in a million disease. I was a FAT kid. Not when I was very young, but by the time I was 8-12. I was that way most of my life up until 6 years ago, when I started to hate what I saw in the mirror, and decided to change it. I dropped from 300 to 185lbs and swore I would NEVER let my kids get fat. Yes, I believe in 99% of the cases, it is 100% the parents fault when you see a fat kid. It was MY parents fault for allowing me to eat BK, MCD and all the others out there on a daily basis.

I'm not a food nazi, but my kids eat healthy. Ok, Ok, the infant eat's only "mama milk" at the moment, but our daughter is the kind of kid we have to pay extra for on trips to Disney because she doesn't want the fried crap, like chicken fingers and fries, that is on every kids meal. She wants the meat, veggies, etc. etc. I'm hoping we can keep her this way, and I sure as heck want to instill in her the benefits of leading a healthy life style, and to NOT make the mistakes I made for most of my life.

Parents are the ones setting an example for the kids. Teaching them, feeding them, helping them to grow into a healthy adult life.

I think another issue is what is considered "healthy" food today. We have been so snowballed that kids NEED fruit juice, cereal, grains etc. It's sugar folks, pure and simple, and most of today's kids live on the crap. I'm not saying some fruit, or juice once in a while is a terrible thing, but it should not be 100% of the diet either.

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

I also recently read a study that linked childhood obesity to the lack of sleep in our children. It said something like-children 6 and under need at least 12-16 hours of combined sleep(naps and nightime) a day and children 6-12 needed at least 10-12 hours a day. It said that sleep regulates the metabolism.

People think I am strange for making my kids sleep as much as they do, but I find they stay healthy and are less prone to temper tantrums if they get 12-14 hours sleep per day.

Where did you find this? What study?
DS, at nearly 5, is starting to outgrow his naps and I am hanging on with both hands.

We actually eat better now than we used to because of DS. I want to feed him healthy foods so I give him fruits and veggies (which he would eat to the exclusion of anything else besides toast if I let him). He has also inheirited his dad's height and metabolism and is a skinny little thing. We've had people (sometimes jokingly, sometimes not) ask us if we ever feed him. We cannot help it if he is on the thin side of normal..that's just how he is and his height doesn't help. I think if he were shorter, he'd look a little chubbier than he does. According to his doctor though, he's completely normal.

We have been so snowballed that kids NEED fruit juice, cereal, grains etc. It's sugar folks, pure and simple, and most of today's kids live on the crap. I'm not saying some fruit, or juice once in a while is a terrible thing, but it should not be 100% of the diet either.

Our pedi told us when DS got to the age where he could have juice that 'no kid NEEDS apple juice' and DS doesn't drink a lot juice at all. Most of the time if he DOES get juice or even the occasional soda, I water it down.

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

that has always been my argument to everyone that complains to me about how fat their kid is - the first thing I ask is "who is buying and perparing the meals?" 100% of the time it's the parents and i let them know in a very blunt way!!

Both of my THIN friends kids are overweight, and she doesn't get why they will only eat Cheetos, ice cream, DONUTS for crying out loud....

Very simple, STOP buying it!

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

2 and 4 and it includes a nap. It is OK to criticize...lol. Everyone I tell that to does. BUT, my DH needs a lot of sleep to function. I can go with 5 hours per night and be fine, he needs at least 9-10. So I just figure that the kids take after him. Of course when DS4 starts school this year he will not be napping, and he will stay up later.

i always get slack for making my kiddo sleep so much too! lol

She is 6 and she needs 12 hours of sleep a night, or she still seems tired. She can function well with less, but IMO (attitude, energy wise) she needs 12.

Dh can get by well with 7, I need at least 8 or 9.

 

[MrsKreamer]

Where did you find this? What study?
DS, at nearly 5, is starting to outgrow his naps and I am hanging on with both hands.

I was off about the number of hours...sorry

More Sleep, Less Childhood Obesity
Skimping on Sleep May Make Children More Likely to Become Overweight or Obese
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Feb. 12, 2008 -- Getting more sleep may help children avoid becoming overweight or obese.

That's according to a new review of 17 studies on sleep and childhood obesity.

The studies stretched from Europe to the U.S. to Asia. And around the world, the pattern was the same: Kids who didn't sleep enough were more likely to be overweight or obese.

Reviewer Youfa Wang, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the Center for Human Nutrition at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, offers these tips for parents:

* Remove the TV, computer, and video games from kids' bedrooms. "Therefore, children can have more time to sleep rather than be tempted to engage in these activities," Wang tells WebMD.
* Set earlier bedtimes for kids. Wang suggests reading to young kids to help them get to sleep earlier.
* Beat the morning rush by preparing the night before. That way, the whole family can sleep a little bit later.
* Be a good role model for diet and exercise -- childhood obesity isn't just about sleep.

The review appears in February's edition of Obesity.
Children's Sleep: How Much Is Enough?

The new review used the following benchmarks for kids' sleep, including naps and nightly sleep, during a typical day:

* Younger than 5: at least 11 hours
* Ages 5-10: at least 10 hours
* Ages 10 and older: at least 9 hours

Those thresholds, which are based on previous research, may not apply to everyone.

"Some people, because of their own biological differences or their quality of sleep, may need fewer hours of sleep than others," Wang tells WebMD.
Studying Childhood Obesity and Sleep

In the reviewed studies, parents reported how long their young kids slept. Adolescents reported their own sleep habits.

Wang's team pooled all that data and compared it to the children's BMI ( body mass index), which relates height to weight.

Compared with kids who got enough sleep, those who fell at least two hours short of the sleep benchmarks were almost twice as likely to be overweight or obese.

Children who missed the sleep benchmark by an hour were 58% more likely to be overweight or obese than kids who got enough sleep.

"For each hour increase in sleep, the risk of overweight/obesity was reduced on average by 9%," the researchers write.

from WebMD

 

[okeydokey]

OP - I think you are going to get 2 types of replies on this highly sensitive topic --

One type of reply from parents of overweight children and a completely different one from parents without overweight children. And you will find that the 2 types of replies will be very, very different.

Hopefully, mine will offer a slightly different perspective. And I hope you take it in the vein it was intended. I am not judging you for making assumptions, or even for having the perceptions you do. And I understand that you are looking at it from a health standpoint. That said.....

I'm a mom who's 10-year-old daughter fought off Adolescent Anorexia for a year and a half (the impetus for which was being publicly weighed in gym class and being a mere 15 pounds heavier than other girls her age). To be honest with you, I am NOT the right one to comment on this topic, so I will limit my response. Let's just say that I watched my beautiful, slightly chubby daughter spiral from a beautiful, healthy 10-year-old (who was involved in gymnastics and was blue belt in Tae Kwon Do) to a skinny, pale child who couldn't maintain a normal body temperature, who's heartbeat was dangerously irregular, who couldn't stand without blacking out and who's body was feeding on its own muscles for fuel. Thank God I noticed the subtle signs very early on and sought help from a multi-disciplinary team of experts. We almost lost her, and yes, I believe her disease was a direct result of "other people's opinions" or, maybe my little girl's skewed perception of other's opinions, and the importance she placed on them.

I'm glad to say that now, 4 years later, my little girl is again a healthy, beautiful child with a wonderful outlook on life. However, I know from education, that we'll have to be ever-vigilant about her slipping into old behaviors. Sadly, anorexia is a lot like alcoholism. You're never fully "recovered" -- you are always in the process of "recovering". It makes me so sad to think that as adults, some people feel perfectly justified in passing judgement on the parents of "chubby" kids. The truth is, they don't know the whole story, they have not walked a mile in their shoes, and they have no idea of their personal struggles.

There, I'm done. I think I'll step off my soapbox now.

I'm so glad your daughter is doing better.

 

[Tiffer]

My kids are chubby. Not obese, but chubby. They don't eat junk, I dont keep it in the house, I monitor on line what they buy for lunch at school, and they play a sports year round. I even have my daughter run at least 1 mile 3x's per week.

Just genetic, from their father.

 

[MrsKreamer]

We have been so snowballed that kids NEED fruit juice, cereal, grains etc. It's sugar folks, pure and simple, and most of today's kids live on the crap. I'm not saying some fruit, or juice once in a while is a terrible thing, but it should not be 100% of the diet either.

I agree. My kids rarely got juices like Juicy Juce..etc, and if they did it was seriously watered down. My kids love the V8 Fruit veggie juices.

 

[okeydokey]

My daughters friend is quite overweight and getting worse by the year. At my house she asks for a snack and when I offer apples or grapes she says she is allergic to fruit (all fruit ). She doesn't like water, so do I have soda? I give her healthy stuff at my house but I know she's not getting that at home.

 

[Todd&Copper]

I was referring to this line in the OP:

I saw this mom in Walmart today with her daughter, who was a beautiful little girl. She was probobly 6 years old. She was obese. Very large, could hardly walk.

The OP was assuming this child was obese due to poor eating habits when she has no idea what her situation is.

You know what, though? An obese child, who cannot run and skip and play like the other kids, who is that large for WHATEVER reason, is still depressing to me.

Just like those kids int he St. Jude's commercials are depressing to me.

 

[tinkntraining]

I'm so glad your daughter is doing better.

Thank you for your kind wishes, okeydokey!

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

However, what I've found is that if you have a slower metabolism, you need to exercise more than most, and eat less - it's not an excuse to be fat.[/QUOTE]

Worth repeating!

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

Thanks, MrsKreamer! I'm going to print that out and show it to DH who thinks that DS doesn't need as much sleep as he really does. Up until school started this year, DS would sleep for several hours in the afternoon but at school, they are only allotted like 45 min for naptime. At first, DS was VERY cranky when he got home from school. I am in dread of next year..the first semester of kindergarten they are allowed a 30 min nap. There is NO nap the second semester.


I know. I know. I'm probably being a bad parent for wanting to hang onto those naps as long as I can. But kids do need their sleep.

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

I think another issue is what is considered "healthy" food today. We have been so snowballed that kids NEED fruit juice, cereal, grains etc. It's sugar folks, pure and simple, and most of today's kids live on the crap. I'm not saying some fruit, or juice once in a while is a terrible thing, but it should not be 100% of the diet either.

I think this says so much of it. What people consider healthy today, really isn't.

 

[shelly3girls]

My daughters friend is quite overweight and getting worse by the year. At my house she asks for a snack and when I offer apples or grapes she says she is allergic to fruit (all fruit ). She doesn't like water, so do I have soda? I give her healthy stuff at my house but I know she's not getting that at home.

It is very possible that she is allergic to most fruits. DD was diagnosed with an apple allergy which is actually a birch allergy. They gave us a list of hundreds of foods that she might be allergic to and most fruits were on it. So far the only safe thing we know for sure is bananas but that is for her, others may be allergic. DD knows never to eat any fruit unless DH or I am there. I just is not worth the risk.

 

[rotlex]

Our pedi told us when DS got to the age where he could have juice that 'no kid NEEDS apple juice' and DS doesn't drink a lot juice at all. Most of the time if he DOES get juice or even the occasional soda, I water it down.

Ditto here actually. We DO keep juice boxes and such in the fridge, the garage one at least, but a pack of the stuff will last a few months. Our daughter far prefers water, probably because it is all we drink, or at least 99% of the time.

My wife and I are probably a little more strict in the no sugar thing, as it is what doomed both of us to years of obesity ourselves. Yeah, we did Atkins to lose all the weight, and still eat a very low carb diet, and I truly believe it is the healthiest thing we had ever done.