My Kids Are Getting Heavy and I'm Panicking!!!!

[AmyKidsCo]

Here is what we do in my family -

1. Don't talk about size or weight PERIOD We talk about wanting to feel good, take care of our bodies and be healthy

2. If you wish to allow snacking - have "anytime" snacks that are limited to fresh fruits and vegetables. You can always have an apple or some carrots. If they need a more substantial snack after school - yogurt, cheese or a hard boiled egg along with a fruit or veggie is a good way to hold sustain them until dinner.

3. Mandatory outdoor time. In the daycare setting all kids are outside from 10-11 everyday at least. I also kick my kiddos outside for at least half an hour in the evening. The can bike, run, kick a ball or lay in the grass. I don't care, but they are outside.

4. Turn off the computer, TV etc. Severely limit screen time. Its a crutch for all of us. Set a timer if you need to.

Kid gain and lose weight a lot, try not to stress too much. Its good you are aware and proactive Set an example of health. They will follow.

This is great advice!!

OP~ the only thing I want to mention is don't equate thin with healthy.
Healthy is healthy at whatever weight is right for you (general you).

Definitely don't talk about it with them - nothing creates/promotes eating disorders more than obsessing over weight! Remember that your job is to provide healthy food, their job is to decide what and how much to eat.

Being active as a family is a great idea - taking walks, bike riding, frisbee, swimming, etc.

Also, don't worry too much about it. Our 16 yr old was always big for his age - chunky and wore "husky" pants all through grade school, but around 8th grade he started "growing into" his weight. Now he's still a big boy, but at 6"+ he's solid/athletic but not chunky.

[Country Kids]

Not trying to say the girls aren't active, but I have had three girls (two right now, all siblings) that do dance 5 nights a week and two older ones are heavier. Also, a friend of my daughters did dance 5 nights a week and was heavier till about 7/8 grade. She then shot up in height (6'1) and went into a different sport and thinned out.

My daughters do pageants and I have notice most of the dance girls that do it religously are heavier. So I'm not sure if its more muscle with dancers or they don't really tone their bodies like in other sports.

[earlystart]

When I was around 9-12 years old I gained some weight, and wasn't real chubby, but I weighed probably 10-15 lbs more than my classmates. The change in my behavior is that I spent more time watching tv over the summer, and ate more snacks (fruit roll ups, chips, cookies, soda). That's obviously junk food. But even eating too much of any kind of food will make a person gain weight. I spend a lot of time focusing on fitness and nutrition nowadays, and I know that it's all about calories in and calories out. If you consume more calories than your body uses per day, you will gain weight. It could be that their metabolisms have slowed down as they are getting older, that they're exercising less but eating the same amount as before, or that they're just plain eating more calories than they need. I personally thinned out without doing anything special by the time I was 13/14 and stayed thin through high school and my early to mid twenties. So unless you can pinpoint some behavior or change in routine that is causing it, if they hold steady at this current level of "heaviness" or body fat percentage, maybe it will go away once they hit puberty. But it can't hurt to ask their doctor if he/she thinks there's any habits that you guys need to change, and ask what is typical at this age.

[kppzbw]

Thank you all for the advice! I thought I would get verbally murdered and you were all very kind and helpful! I am going to definitely implement the fruits and veggies in between meals and I liked the fruit basket on the table for grabs. Thank you! Thank you!