My son is overweight.
"Trending towards obese," as my pediatrician not so delicately put it at Cooper's 4 year check up. I laughed. Guffawed, maybe. I tried to brush it off. "I'm not really not that concerned about it," I said. "This kid's dinner of choice is baked salmon and lima beans." (Don't ask me about Sister, she'd prefer half of a hot dog and a single strawberry but I'll save that for another post!)
"Well," my pediatrician continued, "even if he is eating the right foods he may be eating too much of them." As we were leaving his office, he handed me a print out on portion control for 4 year olds. PORTION CONTROL. I threw it directly in the trash after I read that he should be eating only 3/4 of an egg for breakfast. Give me a break. Please.
I know BMI can be a good indicator of overall health but I also believe that it should be a starting point. I'm really trying not to be an oversensitive Mom, but look at him!
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| Showing off his "big muscles" and new cowboy boots, if you couldn't tell. |
This is the kid that goes outside every afternoon to "practice running". On the very night he was given this, "diagnosis", he asked for sugar snap peas with a side of green beans for dinner. No joke. (Again, don't ask me about his sister...)
He's never had a Coke in his life, drinks juice on special occasions only and doesn't drink milk. Fast food is limited to about once a week if we are on the go and the majority of his meals are eaten at home and things I've made from scratch. I read food labels. No preservatives! No food coloring! No artificial flavor enhancers! When possible, we go organic, grass fed, non-GMO....blah blah blah.
So get on to me about too much iPad and too little arts and crafts. Talk to me about having patience with my kids and trying not to lose my temper. I get that. I DESERVE that. But not this. He is not fat. Why don't you take your charts and portion control those!
Mic drop. Mommy out!
P.S. Here's an article on this flawed system (invented in 1835) and why it finds the likes of Brad Pitt and Will Smith overweight.
I just read this. Okay, first off- this is a brave and an honest post and I'm sure it felt a little scary to write, but it is you at your best. You are brave and honest in real life. Secondly, that is a load of CRAP. Like absolute crap!! It makes me furious for you but mostly for moms who hear this and aren't as wise and confident as you and freak out. I am so so so glad you are not changing his portions. Your kids are the single healthiest eaters- actually all four of you are- I know.
ReplyDeleteLogan outeats me every single day and has an impressive (concerning?) little tummy but he is light as a feather. Also, Everett clearly has a dairy intolerance and this afternoon our pediatrician told us, we should just go ahead and do cow's milk anyway. What? Ok. I'll quit ranting. Just, thank you. For being real and for being rational.
Also- eating out once a week? Psshhhht. So many high fives. You're smoking it.
Thanks, C. Yes, I went back and forth for weeks on "putting it out there". As much as I try to be tough about it, it still bugs me that it still bugs me! I wish I could erase that one from my memory!
DeleteI have tried to comment on this thing like 4x! Anyway, I take great interest in this post because Max and Cooper are only one day apart with the SAME EXACT stats (Max is 40.6 lbs and 40.5"). My Max is one of the "best" toddler kid eaters I know (as it sounds like Cooper is too) and I take food in our house pretty seriously. I'm not perfect, but it's one of the "things" that I care about. Early bedtimes? eh...Ipad/tv time? Try to restrict...but food...it's constantly on my mind. We do all foods over here: thai, indian, lots of veggies, and some "kid" food thrown in there too. My pedi didn't say a word about anything to us, and it makes me sad that some moms who may take the dr too seriously may restrict foods or make their 4 year old feel uncomfortable or conscious about eating. As you already know, your Cooper is perfect and I'm glad you tossed that paper out the window. To throwing all the silly guidelines out the window and teaching our children about a healthy relationship with food...
ReplyDeleteBrooke - Maybe it's time I change pediatricians, ha! Thank you for your kind words. Sounds like you know exactly where I'm coming from on this, too! It hit a little too close to home. Glad there are other like-minded Mommies out there!
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