WTH Plus size clothes for kids!?! vent

[Sandcass]

I have to say, I'm a little offended by the OP. My DD has always had a hard time fitting into pants. She's 11 now, and regular sizes are fitting her now, but about ages 6 - 10 were tough. She just has a round belly. I'd like to add that I'm very careful about what my kids eat. We have a very balanced diet at home and don't eat out very often. She eats fruits & vegetables every day. Eats sweets MAYBE 2x a week. And she's extremely active. She's a BROWN BELT IN KARATE, loves to rollerblade, swim, bike and just run around. She's very fit and energetic and her Pediatrician sees NOTHING wrong with her size and/or shape.

Don't assume things about other people's kids. My DD's shape is completely natural, and genetic I might add. All her female aunts & cousins on her daddy's side have the same belly at the same age.

Can I assume that your daughter is malnurished because she's thin?

It's hard enough for kids to handle their peers looking down on them, my DD should worry about what other PARENTS think??????

I know you didn't mean to offend, I'm just hoping you learned something here.

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

OK, I understand carrying clothes of all sizes but a whole special section for Plus Size kids? For heaven's sake, I almost feel that it's encouraging them, well not necessarily encouraging them but like it's saying it's OK to be obese. Once again, let me clarify- I'm not talking about a few pounds overweight or chunking up to get ready for a growth spurt.

I totally agree it's encouraging them! They should run around naked until they fit into cloths for regular people.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Like has been mentioned, plus sizes have been around for a long time. Used to call them "plus" for girls and "husky" for boy. This was in the 1960's, so there have been chunky kids for at least 40 years.

And I would prefer that overweight kids have clothes to wear.

It is a sad commentary that so many kids do not have a healthy lifestyle. I think it's a combination of things, from more latch key kids who are expected to stay inside after school to the popularity of video games and cable tv that encourage kids to sit on the rear end for extended amounts of time. Many kids do not take part in sports, whether it be on an organized team or just shooting hoops in the driveway. And many kids live in areas where it isn't safe to play outside.

My brother is a middle school teacher in the inner city of LA and he told me that many, if not most of the kids, are overweight. He couldn't believe it when he visited me and saw my 12yo son and the activity level he has. My brother commented on how much fatter the kids in his classes are, as compared to the kids on my son's baseball team. And we have a couple kids on the team that I wouldn't exactly call skinny. My brother said there are no fields for the kids in his area to run around in, play baseball in, etc. Things that I really take for granted living where I live. There are a few basketball hoops, but that's really the extent of it. Sad!

So it's just not as simple as "too much McD's", but it is a big problem with many youth and I do think much worse of a problem than 30-40 years ago.

Linda

 

[SWEETCINDERELLI]

So does that mean that because I am six feet tall someone should have done something to stop my growth at a young age so I could now find pants that fit. chop my legs off perhaps

I have found with all of my children that they have had spurts.
the gain a lot of weight and then they get taller and thin out...
in a cycle...

I think this thread is extremely rude.
I know many 'healthy' children who eat good and exercise and are still a little bit over the normal weight - and it is people like you who make them feel insecure and turn to inaapropriate means of dealing with the stresses of not living up to your expectations.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I have to say, I'm a little offended by the OP. My DD has always had a hard time fitting into pants. She's 11 now, and regular sizes are fitting her now, but about ages 6 - 10 were tough. She just has a round belly. I'd like to add that I'm very careful about what my kids eat. We have a very balanced diet at home and don't eat out very often. She eats fruits & vegetables every day. Eats sweets MAYBE 2x a week. And she's extremely active. She's a BROWN BELT IN KARATE, loves to rollerblade, swim, bike and just run around. She's very fit and energetic and her Pediatrician sees NOTHING wrong with her size and/or shape.

Don't assume things about other people's kids. My DD's shape is completely natural, and genetic I might add. All her female aunts & cousins on her daddy's side have the same belly at the same age.

Can I assume that your daughter is malnurished because she's thin?

It's hard enough for kids to handle their peers looking down on them, my DD should worry about what other PARENTS think??????

I know you didn't mean to offend, I'm just hoping you learned something here.

Shows that a healthy child isn't necessarily a rail. And there are plenty of skinny kids who eat an awful diet, which isn't healthy and will very likely catch up with them when they are older.

 

[kristen821]

Shows that a healthy child isn't necessarily a rail. And there are plenty of skinny kids who eat an awful diet, which isn't healthy and will very likely catch up with them when they are older.

This is very true. I was always the skinniest kid in my class growing up and I was able to eat anything and never gained a pound. I wish I could still be like that!

 

[Cindyluwho]

I think this thread is extremely rude.
I know many 'healthy' children who eat good and exercise and are still a little bit over the normal weight - and it is people like you who make them feel insecure and turn to inaapropriate means of dealing with the stresses of not living up to your expectations.

I think it's rude that you obviously didn't read what I've written in this thread. I will say this one more time: I am NOT talking about kids that are a bit overweight or are going through a chunky stage before a growth spurt. And I'm NOT talking about stores carrying clothes of all sizes - I think that's great in fact. And of course I'm not talking about making them walk around naked to teach them a lesson. What I'm talking about is a large area of the girl's clothing section that is dedicated to Plus Sizes. There are wayyy more kids now that are huge - not overweight but huge. It's time for parents to wake up and realize that it's not OK. They're setting their children up for a lifetime of health issues. And NO, of course we shouldn't tease or look down on the kids. It's absolutely NOT their fault. The parents, on the other hand, should be taken to task for letting this happen.

 

[reddixie]

Well I am FAT that is right FAT. I have always been this way. I don't eat McDonalds, drink tons of coke, or eat all day. I am so sick of everyone one who is FAT being accused that we over eat. If you look at pictures of my Great Great Grandmother she was obese. BTW she was a tenant farmer who raised 13 kids. Therefore excersize wasn't her problem and it wasn't fast food either. My dd is heavy. She is in dance twice a week. She is on the wrestling team also. We don't eat fast food. It is actually a treat in my home. She wears plus size and is beautiful. Our weight is genetic and most of America's is not but I am sick of being judged. I am sure that I could rant about how skinny girls look aneroxius(sp) and must be on drugs but I am not a horrible person.

 

[dismom9761]

I just wanted to say a quick "thank you" to the OP for inadvertantly letting me know that Penney's has a good Plus size section.Always on the look out for clothes to fit my DD.

 

[lucyanna girl]

Not all people are the same. Not all people who are larger eat more. My DD is 14. She is not as slim as some of her friends, Some of her friends are larger than she is. They all spend a lot of time here as I work out of my home and many of their mothers are not at home as much. Some of the very skinny (size 0) girls eat 3 or 4 times as much as some of the larger girls. These are healthy girls (all sizes) who participate in sports, take dance classes, and are NOT coach potatoes. Sometimes DD gets frustrated that some of the popular JR. size stores do not carry a lot of items that fit her well. Her best friend who is very slim gets her feelings hurt because she is teased about being so little. I worry about one friend who is small but always on a diet - she seems like a good candidate for an eating disorder because she worries too much about the opinion of others.
My point is, people come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. To assume that because one is larger than another she eats more is a judgement on the OP's part.

 

[SWEETCINDERELLI]

I would leave the medical diagnosis of obesity to the professionals...

I am not one to judge people by their size.

people wonder why anorexia and bulimia are a problem in our society.

Obesity is not a new thing...
Fortunately as a society we no longer actually make our own clothes...
and it is a marke that does need to be addressed wether you like it or not.

 

[KarenAylwood]

Not necessarily. There's such a stigma attached to being "plus-sized" that it could be an awakening for them.

I agree with this as well. I was a chubby kid but don't remember getting actual plus sized clothing. I was always embarassed about having to wear a bigger size, but shopping in the plus size section would have mortified me.

Not all healthy kids are thin as some like to believe. I think it's great that kids are given the opportunity to wear clothes that actually fit them.

The suppliers didn't get together and say to themselves "wow, if we offer a whole plus size section, we could encourage obesity and get even more people to buy our stuff!" They simply filled a need. That's all.

Added (after Cindy posted again): my problem was not really with your original post, it was with the comment that the stores were encouraging, or just saying that it's ok to be fat/obese. I think they were just filling a need that the consumers today have expressed. I do agree that many parents don't take the care that they should with their child's diet. Again, every kid eats junk food at some point- but I've seen people walking around with kids in the grocery store with carts FILLED to the brim with snack cakes, hamburger, mac & cheese, etc. I've seen kids that are so fat they could barely walk. I know what you mean by incredibly obese children (I saw a show on a 90lb two year old! ). However, these kids need clothes too. And from what others have said- there have been plus size sections around for years.

Obesity is a huge problem in America now, and that is no secret- you see it in the news and on TV all the time. Schools need better lunch programs, low income parents need more help, etc. It is very sad, I agree OP. I just don't think that the plus size clothing sections have much to do with it.

 

[UrsulasMyHero]

Well I am FAT that is right FAT. I have always been this way. I don't eat McDonalds, drink tons of coke, or eat all day. I am so sick of everyone one who is FAT being accused that we over eat. If you look at pictures of my Great Great Grandmother she was obese. BTW she was a tenant farmer who raised 13 kids. Therefore excersize wasn't her problem and it wasn't fast food either. My dd is heavy. She is in dance twice a week. She is on the wrestling team also. We don't eat fast food. It is actually a treat in my home. She wears plus size and is beautiful. Our weight is genetic and most of America's is not but I am sick of being judged. I am sure that I could rant about how skinny girls look aneroxius(sp) and must be on drugs but I am not a horrible person.

You're not a horrible person. You support your daughter for being who she is, inside and out. You're a great mom.

People judge because they are fat phobic. Some of them see fat as being contageous and feel that it is the worst thing that can happen to them. *shrug* I'm Big and Beautiful, I know it, my boyfriend knows it, and the world does to. *chuckles* Hold your head up high, FAT is not wrong, fat is not shameful. Being fat is part of who you are, SOME people just can't accept that for what it's worth.

 

[Twinkles6892]

Hey, I'm fat, I'll say it, I am F-A-T. I could be up right now running, doing sit ups, pushups, so I could be just like everyone else. And lord knows that everyday I look at the pretty thin girls and wish that I was them, or was at least twice their size.

Elementary school was hell. (Can I say that?) I was picked on mercileclessly, called everyname in the book. And back then I don't remember eating particularly badly, it was just the way I was, and I hated it.

Not to say now I don't make my own choices, but people don't care about it anymore, all of my friends tell me that I'm beautiful the way I am, and although I am curvier then them, I carry it so well, they don't notice it. I wish that this could have happened in elementary school, so that I wouldn't have turned to food for comfort, maybe I'd be that size 0 now.

For the life of me I don't get why people who don't have weight issues feel the need to speak of America's obesity problems.... yeah, we're fat, we get that, if you could stop ridiculing us about it, that would be fantastic.

I think this rambled and didn't make much sense, but I'm just so sick of this, ack.

 

[whnim64]

I was one of the kids who wore the 'chubby' girls clothes, and you're saying that it was my size 4 mother's fault? I'm in my 50's and still wearing plus-size clothes and have 2 beautiful plus-sized daughters and a 'husky' son. When my 'normal' DH first met me he said that he thought all fat people just sat around and ate all day. He was shocked to find that I ate about a fourth of what he eats. Yes, today's population is more obese, but don't judge me by the way my children or I look.

 

[sharbear]

Where's that popcorn eating smilie when you need it.

 

[Twinkles6892]

Where's that popcorn eating smilie when you need it.

It's hiding. He's ashamed that he ate too much butter on his popcorn and is now fat, he doesn't want to be seen until he's normal again. Mostly because he's naked and can't find clothes to wear.

 

[Cindyluwho]

Again, every kid eats junk food at some point- but I've seen people walking around with kids in the grocery store with carts FILLED to the brim with snack cakes, hamburger, mac & cheese, etc. I've seen kids that are so fat they could barely walk. I know what you mean by incredibly obese children (I saw a show on a 90lb two year old! ). However, these kids need clothes too. And from what others have said- there have been plus size sections around for years.

Obesity is a huge problem in America now, and that is no secret- you see it in the news and on TV all the time. Schools need better lunch programs, low income parents need more help, etc. It is very sad, I agree OP. I just don't think that the plus size clothing sections have much to do with it.

You know, you're right. I'm just getting so frustrated when I see those families in the grocery store, in the food court at the mall or the plus size clothes in the store. It's an epidemic and I think it's incredibly sad for children to be put into that position by their parents. Obesity is unhealthy and it's just not fair to the kids.

 

[kristen821]

It's hiding. He's ashamed that he ate too much butter on his popcorn and is now fat, he doesn't want to be seen until he's normal again. Mostly because he's naked and can't find clothes to wear.

 

[skiwee1]

Sears and Penneys have had a plus section for boys and girls since I was a little kid and I'm now 43! This is nothing new so I don't see where the shock comes in? Kids come in all shapes and sizes whether you like it or not. I do hope your kids are not as judgmental as you.