Is My Child Underweight?
On many occasions here, we’ve shared healthy recipes like slow cooker meatless chili, talked about snacks for losing weight, concerns about drug interactions, importance of taking vitamins and monitoring our blood pressure. Since DH and I have concerns about our weight, we strive to impress upon the kids the necessity of eating right, portion control and exercising. It’s a two way street though – in an age where everything is super-sized and it’s not uncommon for adults AND kids to be overweight, there IS such a thing as not getting enough.
As you can probably tell from the pictures of my kids, they don’t exactly have weight issues. Actually, from birth it has been quite the opposite. With Miss M, she was always at the bottom of the weight charts. Under the charts to be exact. Not only did doctors express concern but they put her through a barrage of tests to make sure nothing was wrong with her. Despite me standing there waiving my childhood medical records (that my mom had shipped to me) stating that I was 30 lbs at 5 years old, they still gave me grief. She endured blood draws, urine tests, a sweat chloride test and even a bone age test. Doctors insisted (and I obliged) that she be given a diet high in fats. “Add olive oil or bacon fat to her (baby food) vegetables.” They sent her to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and even insinuated that we were malnourishing her. Ultimately, the endocrinologist from Children’s Hospital agreed that it was familial. When they told me to start the testing on Miss K, I told them they were nuts.
The kids have been active in sports and generally eat pretty well. However, a while back I started paying attention to how much Miss K was (or wasn’t) consuming. She’s very conscious about fashion, beauty and appearance and I’ve tried to address any concerns head-on as I see them arise. I had some eating issues when I was younger and I don’t want my daughters to face those same challenges. Even though she is still in elementary school, she exhibits some warning signs.
So when we received an NFL Play 60 Fitnessgram from the school providing a fitness report card for the girls, I paid a lot of attention to it. Their activity levels are at the top end of the charts. However, Miss K’s BMI was at the low end. I wasn’t surprised.
She’s small for her age and extremely light but is proud of exercising, running track and developing her six pack abs. Based on her age, size and activity level, we started to notice she hasn’t been eating as much as we know she should. We’ve talked to her about it and explained our concerns. I pulled out our new Ozeri WeightMaster II 440 lbs Digital Bath Scale with BMI and Weight Differential Detection and decided to see if there was any change from her test at school.
We checked her height then added it in as “P4” (person 4). The scale allows monitoring of up to EIGHT people! After punching it in, she stepped on the scale and the report was almost dead-on the same. We’ll be keeping an eye on that.
We stress conversation with our kids so I hope to nip any concerns in the bud before they become an issue!
Now I need to pony up and step on the scale myself. Unfortunately, I already know that my BMI is on the high side. Guess it’s time to refocus.
See our other Ozeri reviews then check out their website. You can also follow them on Facebook or Twitter. If you like the features and quality as much as we do, you can find a variety of Ozeri products on Amazon.
Have you ever used a BMI scale to help monitor your health?
At least one if not two of my granddaughters have the same issue. Very small and petite. The nine year old is now riding huge horses…and she has the body type to be a great jockey. At first the doctors were concerned, but then they looked at both mom and dad’s records and realized it was familial too.
I love that the scale holds info for up to eight people! That would be my favorite feature.
My kids have always been at the bottom of the weight chart but off the top of the chart for height. They are using up all their calories to grow UP and not OUT so thankfully we dont worry too much. Looks like a nice product and it is good to talk to kids about health issues early on!
I have one child who is under weight and I have one who is overweight. We are working on serving healthy foods and encouraging healthy activities and going from there.
My youngest is very petite and like both of my grandmothers who were under 5 foot, we’re not too concerned. The doctor suggested a cup of milk 2-3 times a day would help her catch up
I think its great that your school sends home physical fitness report cards. As the mom of a daughter I worry about these same issues – body image, self esteem ect. I want her to be FIERCE in her love for her body. Not trying to conform to someone else’ idea of beautiful.
That is a great service your child’s school provides. It is good that they are not only concerned about their students’ education but their health as well. We are on the opposite side of the fence, though. My children are more on the heavy side, although the doctors say its more of muscle, not fat (they are actively engaged in athletics). The Ozeri weighing scale would be a good addition to our family’s health program. Some have to lose weight (that’s me!) while one has to gain weight (that’s my hubby!)
My kids have always been on the very low end of the charts. They still are even as the boys are becoming teens
My niece has always been on the low end of the charts. She is only 5, so we aren’t worrying about it yet.
We are all petite in my family, but with curves LOL Weight charts and scales can be deceiving, but it’s great that they are monitoring their overall health. 🙂
One of my daughter’s BFFs has always been off the charts, luckily they have an understanding doctor that doesn’t give them too much grief and understand the mom was the same way when she was young.
Wow! I really like the memory card for this! It’s such a great scale, especially for kids!
Conversation is key. It’s so important to talk to your children about all the topics under the sun and be open to answering them honestly, as well as being open to hearing what they have to share on the topic. Discussions were not something I had enough of when I was a kid and it came to serious topics. I had eating issues in my teens, too. Although I have a son and he’s unlikely to deal with that particular topic (although it happens), I know there are plenty of things we’ll have to talk about. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I so want one of these scales and I don’t like scales. lol This one I would use. Thanks for sharing.