If your 9 year old daughter came to you wanting to go on a diet?

MomZone · 02-16-2007, 02:05 PM

If your 9 year old daughter came to you wanting to go on a diet? What would you do IF she was overweight and what would you do if she WASN"T overweight but thought she needed to be thinner?

hbixler03 · 02-16-2007, 05:55 PM

LOL!!! If my 8 year old came to me and wanted to go on a diet, I would say "what have you done with my daughter?", LOL, my daughter loves to eat, and I think it would be very hard for her to stick to a diet.

But really I would tell her, no, then I would explain to her how beautiful she is. I mean I guess if someone has a daughter who is overweight at 9 years old then I would recomend taking them to the doctor and asking their advice before actually putting them on a diet. But my little girl doesn't need to go on a diet.

This is really just one of those situations you need to evaluate. But I personally don't think a child should go on a diet unless they are morbidly obese, and in that case a doctor needs to be consulted first.

Mrs G · 02-16-2007, 06:18 PM

Well, this is a big issue... I have a hard time with children being on "diets", when I've tried(key word) to teach my girls to eat a balanced diet and

a little more...my 13 year old is having a few weight issues right now...and I try to explain to her...it is because she is so non active after the fall football season and doesn't get the

that she did during colorguard and

. However, I have gotten her excited about walking a half marathon with me in SC and she has noticed that the extra weight she has put on...is literally melting away.

miss robin · 02-16-2007, 07:50 PM

and moderation are two key words I would use with her. I tried to instill in my children the importance of proper nutrition, and never had a problem with them being overweight. However, I had sons. Daughters are much different!

Nine years old is a perfect age to really explain in simplistic terms the importance of proper diet and nutrition, plenty of

, and lots of fresh air. In general, how to achieve good health! Encouraging her to focus not on her own body image, or on the images of models and movie stars, or even other girls her age (as difficult as that would be to do!), but to focus instead on having good health and regular check ups.

Girls this age are so close to puberty, many having already begun their menses cycles, and learning not only proper nutrition and

is important, but also proper hygiene.

And of course, the best way to teach anyone is by setting the best example for them to follow! When daughters (and sons) see their parents eating and exercising properly, they will be more likely to do so themselves. Try to have dinner (or at least one meal each day) around the family table together, in a relaxed atmosphere. Have your daughter/son cook with you, and shop for groceries together. Teach them how to read the labels on the many foods available, and learn to make good, health-concious choices. Take walks, bike rides, and play outdoor games together. Anything to get everyone moving and out of the house when possible!

Hope this

s!

rusty2rusty · 02-16-2007, 08:46 PM

If my daughter came to me and said she wanted to go on a diet. I would sit down with her and talk about why she wants to go on a diet. I would see if someone was bothering her first.

If my daughter did have some extra added weight and wanted to go on a diet. I would

her out. I would pull all temptation out of the house. Like candy, snacks and fattening stuff would go in the trash. I would go on a diet with my daughter. So she would not feel alone. Like she could not accomplish what she wanted.

babygyrl70554 · 02-16-2007, 10:58 PM

I would explain that beauty is on the inside, not the outside. But, if she insisted on being on a diet, I would just try to explain ways that she could just change her eating habits by eating healthier foods. Maybe we could change our eating habits together and go on walks together. I would definately try to discourage her from the thought of being on an actual diet.

sneddy29 · 02-17-2007, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomZone

If your 9 year old daughter came to you wanting to go on a diet? What would you do IF she was overweight and what would you do if she WASN"T overweight but thought she needed to be thinner?

If she was overweight, I would take her to the doctor, to find a good nutrition plan that would

her lose weight, along with a good

regiment.
If she wasn't overweight, but thought she needed to be thinner, I guess I would be researching a lot on self-esteem, and trying to find out why and where these feelings were coming from.

gsleader33 · 02-19-2007, 12:51 AM

I do have a nine yr old who is overweight and I worry constantly about it. I worry not only about her health but about how the kids at her school will tease her. I was overweight as a child and I know how cruel kids can be. When we talk about her weight we don't talk about a 'diet'. We talk about the right choices in food. She attend a elementary school that promotes healthy eating and

. I recently found a place that also teaches kids about food choices,

and body image. We talked about her attending these classes. I try not to put pressure on her because I know from experience that it doesn't work. She is going through a lot right now acedemically and about her image at school (she is a shy child who let's other kids tease her about everything and she never say anything back and she is also has been tested academically and she has a short term memory problem). So, I am waiting until school is out and enroll her in these classes and then put her back into gymnastics (she became a cheerleader this yr) and my final attack is to rid my house of all unhealthy foods so she doesn't have a choice when she is at home. If none of this works for her I am going to put her into counseling. Now, if I had a child that was thin and thought she was overweight and wanted to diet I think that I would talk to her about body image and tell her that I think we should look into counseling for her. I think both situations are serious, however, I think with a overweight child it has a great deal to do with junk food and not enough

. With a child that is thin or average weight it would alarm me considering that this could become a issue that would involve anorexia. There are many more steps that you can take with a overweight child before you put them into counseling vs a child who does not need to diet and thinks that she does.

angelkatey · 02-19-2007, 05:02 PM

my son is 8 and has told me he wants to be a diet, i just looked at him and shook my head, he's only 65 pounds.

I've been on Weight Watchers for two years now so maybe that's where he got the

, sigh

huggles

Marie

Diamond42377 · 03-07-2007, 08:53 AM

Well, that depends on the weight of my 9 yr old. If she was overweight then I would let her know that

and healthier eating could

(if she was having a lot of snacks or junk). If not overweight, I would let her know that she is perfect and doesn't need to lose weight but we could start picking out more fruits and veggies and healthy snacks at the store if she would like.

Hmm, I guess either way it would be offering healthier choices

.

goldilocks · 03-07-2007, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomZone

If your 9 year old daughter came to you wanting to go on a diet? What would you do IF she was overweight and what would you do if she WASN"T overweight but thought she needed to be thinner?

I owuld explain to her that she looks perfectly ok to me and that is what counts most. I'll also point out roles models who prefer to be healthy than thin.

Schoofness · 03-08-2007, 09:28 AM

Hello,

My daughter just turned 10. She started to 'develop' while she was nine, so we have had some talks about bodies and things lately. Her dad is overweight and so is his mother. She actually just had gastric bypass surgery done about a year and a half ago. This was pretty scary to my daughter -- the fact that she had to have surgery because she was too heavy. She is a very smart girl and thinks things through pretty well. I try my best to make sure all my kids are eating healthy and she is still a little heavy in the mid-section. We do a lot of activiities and get her going, doing different sports, etc. I know her metabolism will kick-in soon. I don't think she would ask to go on a diet, becuase she knows she is eating healthy and just knows that God made her the way he did for a good reason. But if she did, I think I woud ask her why she felt that way and what she thinks she needs to eat differernt and what eating differently woudl accomplish in her opinion.

ladyre · 04-11-2007, 08:23 PM

My DD went through this at about that age. You could count her ribs at the time. I figured that it was a product of her being in public school. I think it has a lot to do with what kids hear at school (peer pressure) and see on TV and in magazines.
I pointed out to her how little she actually weighed well under the "normal" weight for her height. It didn't mean anything to her until her doctor told her the same thing. That she was under 100 lbs and 5 feet tall, so she was technically underweight.
The amazing thing about the situation is that at the time I was close to 200 lbs at 5'3" and she was insisting that I was not fat at all.

huh?

Ladyre

tlcbaskets · 04-29-2007, 07:47 AM

Now a days, too much emphasis is put on weight! Girls need to realize that beauty comes from within. However, if she was a very overweight child and health was an issue, I would encourage her to eat healthy, but give her daily affirmation that she is a beautiful person.

Schoofness · 04-29-2007, 10:13 AM

I recently had Olivia into the doctor for her allergies and we talked a bit about her weight . She is a tad overweight for her age, height, etc. His first question to me was, "What does she drink?" Well, lately she had been drinking quite a bit of soda and juice and she had taken herself off of white milk right around kindergarten -- said it made her gag. Well I figured out that the carton smell from the cartons at school probably was the culprit of the gagging incident. NEedless to say, she has cut down her soda intake significantly and started to drink a glass of milk every day. He also said to watch juice. A small juice glass size of juice is okay every day, but not 32 oz.

She is feeling much better and she doesn't look bloated anymore. She noticed a difference and said she was feeling better and her pants were fitting better. She is such a great kid! I don't think that this is an unhealthy thing for her mentally, but I'd love any feedback.