8 yr old girl on a diet.

Ashley=) - posted on 11/02/2010

We have to be so careful what we say around our children, what others say and do around our children.It can go very wrong and a child can adapted a very dangerous eating habit..do you want a child with bulimia or anorexia i know i dont i had my sister go through this as a teen.it was devastating to see a happy girl turn into a skeleton in front of your eyes, she was always teased over what she ate by the people we lived with.This is why she became that way.

Now i am happy to say shes a very healthy& happy adult now, thankfully this ended well, it hasnt for many and the have had to bury there children.I hope the woman who is doing this to her 8year old doesnt have to go through this.If she does she will have to live with the fact she did this to her own child..:-(

Ashley=) - posted on 11/02/2010

I will tell you a good one..my daughter was 5 and wanted me to get apples at shopping.I got them of course, she wanted them, there healthy.
She was eating one a few days later and said "mom do you know why i am eating apples"? i said "why baby" and i nearly choked when she said "to cut my weight down"
I said why would you want to do that, your a child and your eating healthy and doing lots of playing, your heart is healthy.
Well her teacher in school was eating one and said shes trying to cut her weight down and have a smaller bottom.I then started to remember she was not finishing her meals in the past 2weeks pier to this.
I was so thick, i was like from saying that my daughter picked it up and ran with the idea.In my home we encourage a healthy diet for a healthy heart as we teach our children not to have a certain body type.My daughter started to pull at the side of her tummy and say she was fat.I was heartbroken, i was thinking what have i might of said or did to have her this way.I dont say anything like I'm fat or i am on a diet, i eat healthy but i dont ever talk about my body or anything like that.After i spoke to her,She stopped after that.She was happy to not eat them as she actually does not like them to much.

Rhea - posted on 11/02/2010

Wow, childhood memories suddenly creeped up on me! My (EX!) step-dad used to make me skip meals or just eat an apple for dinner since I was about 8, simply because I was growing (you grow out, THEN you grow up!). I was never fat. To this day I have a fear of eating food. I'm pretty sure what this woman is doing is illegal (starving your child = abuse), not to mention she needs some serious therapy for her own eating disorder. The daughter will also need someone to show her the proper amount to eat so she doesn't go through life scared to eat the proper amount!

Jodi - posted on 11/01/2010

She has actually said that she has her daughter on a 700 calorie a day diet. This is not a woman who is simply making healthy choices for her child instead of allowing her to eat junk, this is a mother who is severely restricting her child's calorie intake to less than healthy levels. An 8 year old girl should be getting around 1700 calories a day (just as a rough guideline). Nope, this is not a mother who is in any way doing the right thing. Such a limited calorie diet for a child is dangerous and will be likely to have a major effect on her growth and development.

Amie - posted on 11/01/2010

Lisa, you should have read the article. This is not a concerned mom. This is a mom who is over weight, eating whatever she likes while her 8 year old, who is underweight (if I remember right from the article) is on a diet.

The woman is a tool.

Lisa - posted on 11/01/2010

Admitidly I'm off to bed and didn't read your article however I hope this makes sense. At first I thought how stupid, a child on a diet but then I was thinking if you look at it slightly differently it seems more realistic (at least to me) Your child eats what you put in front of them. If I felt my child was gaining excessive weight I would not limit her food but I might try to offer some healthier meals and snacks not just to her but to the whole family. The same is said that if my child was not drinking milk I would offer more yogurt and cheese or if she wasn't eating enough veg. I would bake spinach and applesauce in her brownies (cuz thats the way I roll lol). I don't concider that to be "on a diet" but more like a Mother looking out for her child.

Liz - posted on 11/01/2010

A parent should encourage a healthy diet by eating a healthy diet.

Kate CP - posted on 11/01/2010

My thoughts? The woman is a twat.

Caitlin - posted on 11/01/2010

My daughter has a low fat diet... but not because she's fat, because she's allergic to most fatty foods (good fats of course)... There is no excuse to put a child that age on a diet because you think she's fat, unless it's being supervised by a doctor and dietician. I can't even imagine, her caloric intake being cut in half of the norm, this kid must have NO energy to do anything, and her learning is probably suffering too. Sadly, a lot of people forget that it takes a healthy weight and a good fitness level to be healthy for the most part. I've known skinny people that were horribly out of shape, and larger people who were in really good shape, and i'd rather have a few extra pounds and have a good fitness level honestly.

Stifler's - posted on 11/01/2010

p.s 8 year olds shouldn't be given the opportunity to be overweight in the first place.

Stifler's - posted on 11/01/2010

That's really sad. The mum should focus on her own obesity.

Joy - posted on 11/01/2010

I think unless there is some kind of health issue and a doctor has prescribed a certain diet, then there is no reason for a mother to just make her child diet. If kids get enough exercise and eat healthy food, then they will be just fine. Besides, most kids don't lose all their baby fat until sometimes well into their teens anyhow! My friend's daughter is 10 and you can look at her (and her parents) and tell that she is genetically predisposed to be an average sized woman when she grows up. But right now? Yeah, she has baby fat and I would have a serious talk with my friend if she ever put her on a diet because of it.



Edited to add: It's the equivalent of putting a one year old on 1% milk because he's "fat". Ummmm....aren't babies SUPPOSED to be all kinds of chunky?

Jennifer - posted on 10/31/2010

My husband told me about this the other day. Tbh I'm surprised the authorities havn't taken the child from her. Either way she needs some professional help!

Jodi - posted on 10/31/2010

" No, bitch – Stupid is forever and you are walking proof of that."

That says it all really. I cannot believe she has had that child on a diet since the age of 2.

Lyndsay - posted on 10/31/2010

I think that an extremely overweight 8 year old needs to be put on a diet. I DO NOT think that average sized or even slightly chubby 8 year olds need to diet. A little bit of flubber is fine for kids, in most cases they will grow out of it.

Bonnie - posted on 10/31/2010

I seriously think that parents who are like this with their children do not help, if anything they edge on eating disorders.

Jenn - posted on 10/31/2010

Not much to debate here - this woman is sick in the head and has already damaged her daughter. :( My Mum was overweight by the time she was 2 thanks to her parents feeding her too much (obviously at that age it's not the child's fault in any way shape or form). Then as she got older they made fun of her size, even though her own father was, and still is obese. Food issues stick with you your WHOLE life. Why would someone want to do that to their child?!? Some people just shouldn't be allowed to have kids. :(

Amie - posted on 10/31/2010

JuLeah, Sarah posted the proper link in the thread. ^^

JuLeah - posted on 10/31/2010

Link didn't work. Diets also don't work and approach food from the wrong point of view. A diet means you have something wrong with you and you need to make changes (lose weight)
A healthy lifestyle means you love yourself / respect yourself enough to take care of the body you were given. If the kid (all people) were to avoide tens fats, sugars, processed foods, chemicals, dyes ..... the kid (all people) would have more energy and sleep better, so be more physical, so more fit .... would focus better in school, feel better wbout herself .... but this is not a diet. It is a lifestyle choice made out of self respect

Amie - posted on 10/31/2010

I do not and will never understand parents who try to live vicariously through their children.

So what happens when she's older and can control her own diet? Is her mom going to follow her around to HS and out with friends to make sure she's only eating the "right" amount?

Kids learn to eat healthy and be healthy by watching their parents. Mine have been actively involved in my own journey through losing weight. My oldest is a little too involved and it scares me. She refuses chocolate milk, will eat candy sparingly (which isn't so bad but we don't offer it often as it is) and will choose a turkey on whole wheat bread over the ham and cheese sandwich her siblings are eating. She's still a hoover though, she still eats a lot just differently than the others, so I guess I shouldn't be so worried but I am. She's had issues before about her own weight and size.

It's not healthy, a real parent would be more concerned with their child being healthy than skinny.

Jessica - posted on 10/31/2010

That woman is sick in the head seriously! I don't understand where she gets the nerve to limit her child's food intake and then she stuffs her face with every single food that she doesn't let that poor child eat. My son was extremely under weight for a long time. He always weighed in the 10 percentile and the doctor said it was ok since he was healthy and ate like a horse and was also in the 98 percentile for height...you get that once in awhile. My son finally weighted in in the 54 percentile at 5 years old and I was dang happy about it! I don't want my son to worry about being over weight but if he is hungry I feed the kid!! Children of young ages are already so worried about their weight without having a mother that pushes you to starve yourself. Young girls and women are so worried about the way that they look already without having mom breathing down their neck about what they put into their mouths.

Rosie - posted on 10/31/2010

what a crazy bitch!! seriously, with 3 kids who are VERY underweight, it kindof gets to me how people think it's just sooooo awesome to have skinny kids. i just want my children to be healthy, and be of "normal" weight. now i have finally come to the realization that my children are healthy, they're just little. but the reasoning that they are little is a health problem, so i do wish that my oldest and youngest would eat more! my middle boy is finally gaining weight and its great.
anyhoo, some people are so effed up by their own problems that they project it onto their children. this seems to be a classic case. she needs to get some help.

Eliz - posted on 10/31/2010

Stuff like that makes me sick. Unless the child is really obese and NEEDS to diet for health reasons young children shouldn't be dieting.

Lucy - posted on 10/31/2010

Right, now I have read the link, I am cross!

This woman should be forced to take parenting classes focussed on the nutritional needs of children. Although the child seems to be healthy now, a prolonged period of time without the proper calorie and vitamin/mineral intake whilst she is growing could have devastating long term physical and psychological effects.

The idea that this woman seems to have no problem KNOWINGLY setting her child up for a dysfunctional relationship with food later in life because eating disorders can be treated (?!) makes me want to clout her! Yes, to a certain extent they can be treated, but not cured. It's like forcing constant passive smoking on your child and then saying "hey, what's the problem? Cancer can be treated, can't it?"

Grrrrrrr.....

Charlie - posted on 10/31/2010

Kids should not be made to diet they should simply learn how to live a healthy lifestyle and so should the mother , lead by example this woman is going to give her daughter major food issues , this is a fine example of a woman who hates her body and her weight and instead of fixing her own problems chooses to project it on someone else .

Sarah - posted on 10/31/2010

Might help if I posted it!!!!

http://badbreeders.net/2010/10/27/aly-gi...

Sarah - posted on 10/31/2010

Grrrrrr!

Try this one!

Cathy - posted on 10/31/2010

Bad link

Lucy - posted on 10/31/2010

I can't open the link for some reason, so I can only comment on the idea of children on diets that you bring up, Sarah.

I hate the idea that kids should even have the thought in their mind that they have to worry about their weight. Yes, you teach your children to make healthy choices, be active etc, but not to worry about their waist line! It is our job as parents to provide our kids with the right nutrition and activities to stay ft and healthy without making it a big issue.

I have a home business as a nutrition and wellness coach and my clients have a variety of health goals, a common one being to lose weight, which I can help them with. I make sure that this is not the side of my work that the kids see- I will only book in weight loss clients for times that the kids are at pre-school, because I don't want them to even hear the words "diet", "weight loss", "fat" or "over weight" in that context.

If, as you say, this woman is forcing her daughter to diet when her own diet is poor, she is setting her up for a life time of confused and difficult feelings about food and her own body image.