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Dealing With An Overweight ChildSep 23 '08 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line It is hard to have an overweight child and at times feel like there's nothing you can do. No one likes to see their child hurting.
When my only son was born he weighed six pounds thirteen ounces. He was not a big baby that needed to be delivered by cesarean section. It is funny that normally that is the first question most people ask me when they see him, "How big was he when he was born"? My son is eleven years old and weighs almost 180 pounds. When people see us together they automatically give a strange look because we look like brother and sister. By myself I look very young for my age and I am very petite. His father is overweight and my husband, his step-father is not. When people look at us as a family we look disproportionate, if there is such a thing. My home is filled with healthy foods, snacks, and drinks. Not just because of my son but because that is the lifestyle my husband and I choose to live. We eat a lot of chicken, fish, proteins, soymilk, tofu, vegetables, fruit, etc. I very rarely buy sugary drinks or sodas and we just recently switched from lowfat milk to skim milk. I have never been one of those parents that would give my child a donut or McDonald's fries just because he asked for it. My son would much rather opt for a fruit and water than cookies and soda. I have taught him how to read nutritional labels and he has known what calories, sodium, carbohydrates, etc. are. I have always felt that aside from anything else I am preparing him to continue living a healthy lifestyle as he grows up and hopefully that he would carry that through adulthood. I even recently quit smoking after over 9 years because I didn't want to be a hypocrite to him. I wanted to be able to say "Don't smoke" without him telling me "Well you do it." I excercise and train in Muay Thai and my husband does the same. My son played football at an early age and of course everyone that sees him feels that he should still be playing. Why is it that society assumes a bigger child should be playing football? He was the opposite of what everyone thought of him. He was not aggresive on the field at all and after the first year, to the coach's dismay he did not go back to playing. He did martial arts (Karate) for almost 3 years and was doing great in that however then we switched him to another martial art (Muay Thai) to give him a change. After almost a year and a half he began getting bored and we decided to let him take a break. I didn't want to pay for an activity that I had to force him to go to. I agreed he could take a break for the summer but once September came he needed to go back. We are still working on that today. I recently bought a bike and we go for a bike ride every night after dinner. I bought the Wii in the effort that he would play games and move around. He plays outside with friends, and jumps on his trampoline. The one constant thing throughout the years I notice though is that nothing is helping his weight. No matter what I do, no matter how much I watch what he eats, or no matter how much I make sure he is keeping active. He had blood work checked because we thought there could be something wrong with his thyroid perhaps. Everything came back fine except for cholesterol being a little high. I recently just brought him back to the doctor's and he has another script for blood work again. I was reminded by the doctor how he is in the 95th percentile I believe for his weight. I explained everything I do and that I really am stuck and don't know what else to do. She said his blood pressure was a little high and I asked her assistance in explaining to him why I am so stern in regard to his weight. That it had nothing to do with the number on the scale but everything to do with his health. When it comes down to it I am pretty scared. I hear and read about stories where children have died during sports practice. He tells me that sometimes his legs hurt or his heart beats fast when he is running. On more than one occasion he has told me kids at school have called him fat and I try to provide comfort by letting him know how I got picked on in school for being short. I get so angry and upset at the same time when we have to go try clothes on because he feels the need to have everything fit so large on him. I know he is self conscious about himself and it hurts me. I want him to have a positive self image. I want him to be happy with himself. He calls himself fat and tells me he would like to be the size of the kids in his class. Now mind you he is pretty tall too, at about 5 feet tall. I know he will be going through puberty and I hope that his weight will start to distribute more evenly. I just believe that at times he feels that there is no help in sight for him. I am going to take him to a nutritionist because I don't want to keep certain nutrients from him. I hate restricting what he eats especially because he is a kid and after all he should be able to have the occasional ice cream without it being fat or sugar free. I don't want to do more harm than good. He steps on the scale without me saying anything sometimes and I know he feels bad about it. I have never put him down or called him names but I really try to stress to him the health concerns I have. I know he wants to lose weight but sometimes I feel he also feels helpless. I feel that way at times too. I just get so tired sometimes of hearing people say "Wow he's big for his age" or "That's your son?" I hate making him feel like he can't eat normal sized portions or that he feels he has to sneak certain things behind my back. I just want him to be healthy and happy. For those who think it's the parent's fault when a child is overweight should feel what it's like to have to worry about your son's health on a daily basis and know that you feel you're doing all you can and it's not enough sometimes.  |
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