concerned about 10yr old daughters weight

vik6525

Oooooo!!!
Ive just had a thought!!!

I know you say you're sending her to school with a healthy packed lunch, but is she actually eating it?

Im asking cause I put my son into school dinners after finding out that although I thought he was eating what I sent him in with, he was actually swapping it with his mates for some of the most unhealthy [EMAIL="!!!!"]!!!![/EMAIL] you could imagine!!
Everything I was sending him in with (fruit, yogurt etc...) he was swapping for chocolate, crisps, sweets and all sorts of rubbish!!

mountainofdebt

With regards to the exercise I think part of the problem maybe that she is expected to do a certain amount of it which she finds hard and so gives up - whereas if she build up to it she might find that she does actually enjoy it . What about entrying you and her into a charity event like the Race for Life ?

To be honest I think the best approach might be to have someone else have a chat with her - is there an older cousin that could help - she might be willing to open up to them rather than you or the doctor who she probably sees as 'ganging up' on her.

The other point I would make is that I only lost weight when I wanted to lose it for me - even thoguh I knew I was over weight for a long time beforehand.

nunnygirl

Have you tried sendning her to martial arts or something like that?

It doesn't seem so much like exercise and may help build up her self confidence.

I was in a simliar position, I HATED exercise but my parents sent me to the local TaeKwonDo class and I loved it

Nicki

If she isn't sporty, she's not going to enjoy competitive sports, but there are other ways of keeping fit, without even really noticing it. You have said she is very artistic, could she perhaps get involved with projects which involve painting on huge canvases, or creating pictures using bicycles and paint, rollerskates, etc. I know that my local authority sometimes does projects called "aerosol art" (grafitti to you and me) which involve kids creating murals and street art on big spaces which would use up energy.

Other more creative forms of exercise could include: creative dance, drama, landscape gardening, synchronised swimming, circus skills, gymnastics.

On portion sizes if you also have weight issues it sounds like limiting porton sizes for the whole family would be a good idea. The easiest way to do this is to change the size of the plates you use! For when she is with her dad, if he doesn't cook and relies on convenience foods, could you either send her with a meal for the whole family, or teach her how to cook simple healthy dishes and suggest to her dad that she cooks while she is with him (you may need to ask him to get the ingredients in first)

Catti

One other idea to throw in the ring - my OH and I recently took up geocaching. Few people seem to know about this, but since we started a number of our friends started to get their kids out and about and interested in doing some outside activities.

Basically, there are lots of 'caches' hidden around the Country - usually tupperware type boxes containing a log book to sign and some trinkets which can be swapped. There are often 5 or 6 on a trail, and as they are only a short distant apart, you don't feel like you are walking very far before starting the search for a new 'find'.

Kids seem to love the idea of this form of treasure - hunting and don't feel that they are really exercising.

You would need to get a basic hand-held GPS receiver, but otherwise it's a free hobby and becomes quite addictive!

Take a look at https://www.geocaching.com

mountainofdebt

Catti wrote: »

One other idea to throw in the ring - my OH and I recently took up geocaching. Few people seem to know about this, but since we started a number of our friends started to get their kids out and about and interested in doing some outside activities.

Basically, there are lots of 'caches' hidden around the Country - usually tupperware type boxes containing a log book to sign and some trinkets which can be swapped. There are often 5 or 6 on a trail, and as they are only a short distant apart, you don't feel like you are walking very far before starting the search for a new 'find'.

Kids seem to love the idea of this form of treasure - hunting and don't feel that they are really exercising.

You would need to get a basic hand-held GPS receiver, but otherwise it's a free hobby and becomes quite addictive!

Take a look at www.geocaching.com

Saw this on Countryfile a few weeks back!

Catti

mountainofdebt wrote: »

Saw this on Countryfile a few weeks back!

So did we! That's how we got started!:beer:

wendywitch

I by past all the replies so apologies if someone has already suggested this.
Your post sounded so much like my daughter but I managed to get her on a M.E.N.D programme which was great.
It teaches the child about portion sizes, nutrition, how to make better food choices and exercise. It's not a diet club though.
We haven't received my daughter's final report yet but I can physically see the difference, her clothes are baggier and she's alot fitter.
It's worth looking in to,

http://www.mendprogramme.org/

tori.k

Catti wrote: »

One other idea to throw in the ring - my OH and I recently took up geocaching. Few people seem to know about this, but since we started a number of our friends started to get their kids out and about and interested in doing some outside activities.

Basically, there are lots of 'caches' hidden around the Country - usually tupperware type boxes containing a log book to sign and some trinkets which can be swapped. There are often 5 or 6 on a trail, and as they are only a short distant apart, you don't feel like you are walking very far before starting the search for a new 'find'.

Kids seem to love the idea of this form of treasure - hunting and don't feel that they are really exercising.

You would need to get a basic hand-held GPS receiver, but otherwise it's a free hobby and becomes quite addictive!

Take a look at www.geocaching.com

we geocache too...never mind the kids, hubby and me are well hooked:rotfl:

milliemonster

Thank you all soooooooo much for taking the time to reply and offer your thoughts, I really do appreciate it.

Regarding her grandad's, I am more than happy to pack up a meal for my kids to have while they are there, this is a great idea but, because of my son's thyroid problem, he eats erratically and is a snacker (but has small portions), so even though they would be eating my meals while they are with their grandad, my son would want snacks inbetween, their grandad would still be offering them sausage rolls, taking them to the shop for sweets etc inbetween meals and while I don't mind my son having these things too much for the time they are there, I don't want my daughter to have them on top of a meal aswell (and she won't say no!)

It's not that their grandad can't cook, he can but chooses not to as he really can't be bothered!, I don't want to stop the kids going because we lost my mum last year and it helps to keep him company. He doesn't offer them snacks at all, but my son will constantly ask for something to eat (he does this at home all the time too) so my dad will think nothing of allowing them both to eat what they want when they ask for it. In fact only the other night they had had their tea at home, gone to his house and then ate another meal that he had cooked for himself!

We do have a wii fit but to be honest when she goes on that, she spends more time looking at her weight than doing any exercise and I don't want her to end up obsessed with what her weight is.

She does enjoy dancing, so I encourage her to dance in her room to her music, we have a trampoline so I tell her to get on that (well we both do!)

Last year I offered to do the race for life with her which she did but she found it incredibly hard, I was hoping it might spark a love of running but it didn't really although I am doing a half marathon in Sept where there is a fun run which both her and her brother and dad are going to do.

I think the key really is consistency with her, trying to get her to fit something into her life each day, yes I agree very much that she needs to find some activity that she enjoys and not just because of it being something she has to do to control her weight. I just haven't found it yet!