Schools Sending ‘Fat Letters’ To Parents About Overweight Children

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I'm just guessing here...but if the kids are overweight...their parents probably already know it, so the letters shouldn't be telling them anything new.

Are the schools offering any tangible solutions to those parents/children who wish to partake? (Exercise classes; nutrtion basics; more healthy snack/lunch choices?)

We want a healthier country, yet look at our food choices on tv or the grocery store. It costs a lot less to buy junk than it does fruit, vegetables or meat alternatives.
 
People are going to eventually regret giving local schools so much control. I wonder if they also send letters to teachers. Mine attended the same school for years and most teachers would be considered overweight. The medical people such as therapists never were though.
 
Last month I had family visit for out of town and I went to visit them at their hotel. My 10 year old cousin normally loves to swim in the hotel pool and she adamantly would NOT this time. My aunt told me she won't wear a swimsuit because the school sent home a letter saying she was overweight, and now she says she's fat, and embarrassed to wear a swimsuit in public:(

I understand we need to do something about curbing obesity in America, but giving 10 year olds body image issues isn't the way to do so. I was so disheartened.
 
One would hope these same schools are not offering pizza, fries and pastries as school meal options...

Otherwise - awesome. Let parents be responsible for their kids' obesity. Because - they are.

It's cheaper to buy junk, it's true - but it's also cheaper to cut food down to healthy portion sizes, and refuse to put money into crap snacky junk foods, the end.

It's also cheaper (in the long run, when it comes to medical expenses in a lifetime) to give up pay TV and the purchase of video games, and throw the money into healthy family meals, preferably chewed properly and eaten at the dinner table together.

Doesn't cost a lot to go for a walk after dinner, as a family. Etc, etc.
 
Maybe schools should also have the old timey recess every day and let kids run and play 45 minutes. Some kids are taken out of sports and play time as punishment and to attend therapies.
 
txsvicki said:
People are going to eventually regret giving local schools so much control. I wonder if they also send letters to teachers. Mine attended the same school for years and most teachers would be considered overweight. The medical people such as therapists never were though.
Click to expand...

Swear to God, the school nurse at my childrens' elementary school was morbidly obese. She was probably 5'1" or 5'2" and about 220-230 or more. Doing ANYTHING she asked wrt my childrens' health or her commenting on their nutrition was a total joke and I guided myself accordingly.

Imo, chubby and obese kids...and their parents...know they are chubby and obese and why. Either they care or they don't. Up to them. I don't want to pay for notifications or to "fix" the issue with my tax dollars. Especially if it's not an issue that the parents of the overweight children even WANT to be addressed.
 
I like the way my daughters school goes about it they have after school programs that promote physical fitness. My daughter takes the zumba class and loves it. They use it as a alternative to the latch key program and it is free. It is 3 days a week and they do sports and dance in all they have about 12 different programs. It is different then the school sports because they focus more on the physical then if you are good or not. The teachers set it up and stay after to do the different programs.

Although my daughter does eat healthy and is active she isn't skinny. Her dr has no concern about her weight, but she is a bigger girl. She is tall and all the females on her dads side of the family are just bigger people. It is easy to sit back and say parents don't care or they just feed there kids junk and sit them in front of the TV, but honestly that isn't always the reason. Some kids have health issues. Some parents have health issues. Just like anything else it is easier to sit back and judge a group of people when you don't have the issue in your own household. I don't think "fat letters" are the answer, but to say parents just don't care is kinda offensive. Some parents do care and just don't know what to do I have seen it. A lot of parents don't have the money to get their children into after school programs. Some don't live in neighborhoods where you can just let your kids go out and play. Some parents have to work many hrs just to get food on the table and to buy the necessities.

I have actually talked to parents of obese children sense my daughter started this program. I have seen some people just not know what to do. There are children of all ages and sizes there. I have also seen parents of skinny kids who feed their kids nothing but junk and sit them in front of the TV. Skinny/fat doesn't always show the health of a child and it doesn't always show the involvement of the parent.
 
shygrl said:
I like the way my daughters school goes about it they have after school programs that promote physical fitness. My daughter takes the zumba class and loves it. They use it as a alternative to the latch key program and it is free. It is 3 days a week and they do sports and dance in all they have about 12 different programs. It is different then the school sports because they focus more on the physical then if you are good or not. The teachers set it up and stay after to do the different programs.

Although my daughter does eat healthy and is active she isn't skinny. Her dr has no concern about her weight, but she is a bigger girl. She is tall and all the females on her dads side of the family are just bigger people. It is easy to sit back and say parents don't care or they just feed there kids junk and sit them in front of the TV, but honestly that isn't always the reason. Some kids have health issues. Some parents have health issues. Just like anything else it is easier to sit back and judge a group of people when you don't have the issue in your own household. I don't think "fat letters" are the answer, but to say parents just don't care is kinda offensive. Some parents do care and just don't know what to do I have seen it. A lot of parents don't have the money to get their children into after school programs. Some don't live in neighborhoods where you can just let your kids go out and play. Some parents have to work many hrs just to get food on the table and to buy the necessities.

I have actually talked to parents of obese children sense my daughter started this program. I have seen some people just not know what to do. There are children of all ages and sizes there. I have also seen parents of skinny kids who feed their kids nothing but junk and sit them in front of the TV. Skinny/fat doesn't always show the health of a child and it doesn't always show the involvement of the parent.
Click to expand...

Don't know if you're referring to my post but, to clarify, I said either they care or they don't. Which leaves the possibility that they care and are working on it, regardless of a letter that comes in the mail telling them what they already know with zero "authority" to fix it. My point was that the letter is just another huge waste of time and money. jmo
 
txsvicki said:
Maybe schools should also have the old timey recess every day and let kids run and play 45 minutes. Some kids are taken out of sports and play time as punishment and to attend therapies.
Click to expand...

Yep. Over here, lots of schools have sold their playing fields to property developers. Now everyone's wringing their hands over "childhood obesity." I wonder why?
 
Karmady said:
Swear to God, the school nurse at my childrens' elementary school was morbidly obese. She was probably 5'1" or 5'2" and about 220-230 or more. Doing ANYTHING she asked wrt my childrens' health or her commenting on their nutrition was a total joke and I guided myself accordingly.
Click to expand...

I've observed that many doctors and nurses are overweight, which suggests that losing weight "for your health" may not be as easy as fat-shamers like to claim.

I don't have a problem with children's weight being monitored, but it needs to be done by a professional who can consider each child as an individual: their overall health, any underlying conditions they may have, what their family is already doing and what they could do better. Having the school secretary do a mail merge based on numbers on a scale is going to do more harm than good.
 
txsvicki said:
People are going to eventually regret giving local schools so much control. I wonder if they also send letters to teachers. Mine attended the same school for years and most teachers would be considered overweight. The medical people such as therapists never were though.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree.
 
txsvicki said:
Maybe schools should also have the old timey recess every day and let kids run and play 45 minutes. Some kids are taken out of sports and play time as punishment and to attend therapies.
Click to expand...

I agree that obesity is a problem, but sending letters like that is just a bad idea. Oh yeah, whatever happen to recess. They seem to cut that nowadays.
 
Good God this is dumb.

They cut out recess, they feed children absolute garbage, they force parents to pay out their nose if the kids want to join a sport (Seriously, I know a kid who had to pay $100 a year for his soccer, AND HE WAS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL), and now their sending letters in the mail telling the kids that they're fat; even after numerous studies show that telling a child they are fat will lead to eating disorders and low self esteem which in turn puts them at risk for abusive relationships and drug/alcohol abuse.

Way to go school systems, way to go.


In other news, are there any 20-something males from Canada on this website that will marry me so that if I have children they can be a little better off?
 
I would be spitting mad. My 5 year old is considered a bit overweight. Although his weight is appropriate for his age, his size is not, due to it being stunted by the massive amounts of steroids he is on to combat his asthma.

Go ahead, send me a letter saying that you think my child is overweight, due to medication for a medical condition. I dare them.
 
I predict this program is a pointless waste of paper & postage.
 
I don't have a problem with this. It probably won't wake many parents up to the very real health risk of obesity, but even if it helps one kid, IMO it's worth it.
 
Childhood obesity is actually on the decline.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3714436
And BMI numbers are pretty much a crock invented by the diet industry. http://americathebeautifuldoc.com/2/synopsis/
I haven't read this letter, but it seems like it does little but shame children who are most likely painfully aware they are overweight.

As a person recovering from an eating disorder, I think it is completely BS to be focusing on weight. My daughter, who technically "overweight" is a competitive swimmer who practices 2 hours a day and eats healthy. I would be really angry if I got a letter like that. I think we should focus on getting ALL children more active. Many children who may not be "overweight" may still lack muscle tone, have a goodly amount of body fat, and have unhealthy eating habits.
Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk 2
 
This is beyond crazy. The poor kids that get a 'fat' letter. This can be so damaging to anyone. Being called fat killed Karen Carpenter.
 
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