How do I help my Overweight 4 year old son?

Question

My son who will be turning 4 next month is weighing in at 58 lbs. the doctor sees no real concern only to offer him healthy foods and so on. but I'm alarmed! I'm at 200 lbs. 5'8" large framed and my Husband at 6'1" 240 lbs also Larged fromaed we knew our children where gonna be big but I don't want him to be larger than he should be... he is 45" tall which is very tall for his age also. he is very active! we doing things together, our favorite is skating. which we do 4-5 times a week 2-3 hours at a time.( he infact is the fastest skater in the 8 and under group. ) When it comes to eating he can out eat me and I feel like I'm punishing him when I tell him no to seconds. most mom's I've told this to just laugh since they struggle to get their child to eat. what's worse is my stepfather has begun saying things like he's gonna be 150 lbs before he starts school.

Answer 1

Try offering him healthier snacks. Carrots and dip, apples, oranges, fruit cups, crackers and cheese, yoguart, banana's, muffins, fruit snacks, water, milk and juice instead of pop if he is drinking pop a lot. try going for a walk just before or after dinner. Here is what I found for overweight children on the net hope it helps:

Obesity develops over time and cannot be solved overnight. Remember that this is not an emergency. Do not expect dramatic change. That is unrealistic.
The best way to have a healthy weight is prevention. Be sure your family has healthy habits from the beginning, and prevent yourself and your children from becoming overweight. It is much easier to maintain a healthy weight than it is to lose weight.

Make it a whole family effort:

Obesity is not just your child’s problem. It is a problem that the whole family must be involved in solving. Your child lives within your family environment.
Chances are, someone else in your family has also struggled with weight or experienced obesity. They may be able to offer valuable help and support in developing realistic goals for your child.
As a family try to think of problems that you have solved successfully. This will help you stay positive, and look for other areas that are opportunities for change.
Mealtimes should be family times! Create a relaxed atmosphere around mealtime. Eat slowly and enjoy your food. Eat together as a family, and don’t watch TV during meals. Families that do not eat together tend to consume more fried foods and soda and less fruits and veggies than families that share meals.
Here are some tips for making family meals work, and a family mealtime goal planner.
Reduce power struggles at mealtime by deciding who does what.
Find our more tips for how to make weight loss a family affair.

Be a positive role model:

Remember the old adage: “Kids will do as you do, not as you say”? Your kids look to you, the parents, to see how to behave. If your whole family eats healthy foods and gets active, and then your child will, too!
Help your child set goals:

Set short-term goals for changes in your child’s diet and exercise on a weekly basis. Update your goals each week. Write them down. Examples of goals include setting a time limit on TV watching, and taking a walk every day.
Make sure the goals you set are realistic. For example, exercising an hour every day is unrealistic for a child who is de-conditioned, and not used to even minimal physical activity.
Use rewards when your child meets their weekly goals. Rewards could be special time with you doing an activity your child enjoys or a special toy.
Have your child keep a record of their food intake and exercise. This will allow them to be more self-aware of their behavior. Then look at the record together, one-on-one, and go over it. Give them positive feedback.
Praise your child for healthy food choices and physical activity. Remember: criticism and punishment just don’t work.
Make sure your child understands that they can make a difference in their weight and that you will support them all the way.
Help your child recognize hunger and fullness signals. Stop eating when you’re full and turn down helpings when you are no longer hungry. Help your child do the same.
Help your child figure out what kinds of emotions and situations trigger overeating for them.
Make your child’s behavior changes a positive, fun experience by planning healthy foods, fun activities, and rewards for positive behavior.

Watch their “media diet”, too:

Think about all the media your child uses: television, computer, video games, hand-held computer games. These are all activities that replace physical activity in your child's daily routine. Placing time limits on them will free up time for a more active lifestyle. Watching TV can use less energy than simply sitting and resting! Also, we tend to snack on high calorie foods during these inactive times.
Teach your child to be media savvy. The media bombards us with images of thin people having fun while eating and drinking high calorie foods. Kids don't necessarily have the cognitive abilities to process this paradox.
Limit inactive things like TV, video games and computer time. Watching TV can use less energy than simply sitting and resting! Also, we tend to snack on high calorie foods during these inactive times.

Eat healthy meals and snacks:

Have structured mealtimes and snacks on a schedule. Model and insist on good meal habits— eating less breakfast and more dinner or skipping breakfast increase the risk for obesity.
Don't mistake healthy eating for dieting. Eating large amounts of high calorie foods ("Want to super-size that?") and frequent snacking have become commonplace. Bad eating habits become accepted as normal eating habits. Eating healthful foods in a healthy manner is not the same as dieting.
Use the food pyramid (also in Spanish) to help guide your food choices for your family. The emphasis should be on grains, vegetables and fruits. Food pyramids representing ethnic foods are also available.
Keep only healthy foods in your home. Keeping junk food around for other family members, and trying to “police” what your child eats, only promotes sneak eating. The American Dietetic Association has information on eating healthy—check out their daily tips and nutrition fact sheets.
Children under 2 may need a little more fat in their diet for proper brain development. Between ages 2-3 you can gradually transition your child to the lower-fat diet that is healthiest for the rest of the family.
Pay attention to snacks. They count! Lots of snacking leads to a higher calorie intake, and many typical snack foods are not very nutritious. Keep healthy snacks on hand, like fruit and cut up veggies. Allow your child easy access to them.

Here are some quick and easy snack ideas for you to try. Enjoy!

English muffin pizzas with pineapple or tomato slice, mushrooms, etc.
Baked potatoes with chili beans or broccoli and cheese.
Waffles topped with fresh fruit. Choose fruits that are in season.
Tortillas and beans.
Yogurt and fruit topped with cereal (yogurt sundaes).
Raw vegetables cut into slices or sticks with a yogurt dip. (Mix your favorite dry salad dressing mix into plain yogurt to make a great tasting low-fat dip!)
Trail mix made with several types of cereal, dried fruit and nuts or sunflower seeds.
Yogurt grahams. (Spread fruit-flavored yogurt on a graham cracker square, top with a second square. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.)
This is the website i got it off of it has other information on family meal time and meal time goals http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/obesity.htm
Good Luck!

Get moving:

Encourage physical activity. As kids move into adolescence, their levels of activity tend to drop too low. Do active things together as a family, like bike riding, hiking, walking and swimming. Here are some great ideas for helping to get your child and your family more active.
Build activity into your family's daily life with household chores, walking to school, parking farther from buildings and taking the stairs. Decreasing inactivity works better for long-term weight loss than focusing on vigorous aerobic exercise. It's also an easier lifestyle change for your family to make!
Make sure your kid gets outside during daylight hours. You could make it a policy in your family that unless the weather is bad, your children play outdoors after school. This encourages physical activity, and rules out the inactive pursuits of TV and other media.

Answer 2

And you stepfather is right.I know its hard to tell a child no when it comes to food.I have done it alot with my kids.When my oldest was 11 he went up 3 pants sizes in 3 weeks.Thats when I said ok only breakfast,lunch and dinner and fruits inbetween and no second helpings.You have to take a stand against your child now.So what if he cries for 10 minutes because you refused to give him extra food that will in the long run contribute to his weight problem or possibly kill him before he is 18.You can not allow him to out eat you anymore.Think of allowing your child to be so over weight as bad parenting,think of it as neglect because that is exactly what it is.Any time you allow your child to have something that can harm their body it is neglect and even goes for food.I know you must be concern about him because you took the time to post this question.Now it`s time to help him.No more extra food,no more sweets(maybe a piece of candy once a week would be ok)easy on the juices,if he drinks soda stop it all together and most of all you and your husband must start eating better to encourage your son.Good luck.

Answer 3

It sounds like he is just going to be a little bit heftier than the other kids if he's active. Just limit things like juice (it has been linked to obesity) and fatty snacks like ruffles potato chips. If he's already eating healthy meals and exercising often then you just might have to let his weight run it's course. If he is concerned with it you could look into an actual exercise to routine and find a way to make it fun. I had fun at age 6 doing my moms old exercise videos and trying to mimic what they did and I was a lil twig then but it was still a lot of fun. You could try getting him involved in a sport like soccer or baseball just to get in more activity and at a regular basis. It sounds like he might need to work harder to regulate it since he's prone to be overweight. Also, tell your step-dad to stop saying things like that. It only discourages you and your son. He needs to praise things like being active if he feels the need to comment but to keep it in a positive light and not to say that b/c of his weight just that it's great that he's exercising.

Answer 4

My little boy was like that he is just prone to be husky as they say but be careful. I was the same way I didn't want to deprive him of food and now he is overweight and getting teased. So my advice to you give him a plate of veggies meat and etc but no more the more he eats the more it will take to fill him up. You have to have a cut off point because weight is easy to put on but hard to get off.

Answer 5

Eat 5 6 small meals a day instead of 3

Answer 6

try weight watchers, they can eat all they want of certain food, like veggies and fruits. just keep an eye on what he eats and how much. and weight watchers could work for your whole family too its easy to do and easy to keep up with too. Check out www.weightwatchers.com they have newsletters they can send you and help you find a local group to help you feel confident this will help you and your child. keep skating though you cannot believe how many calories that burns. and the fact that you do it 4-5 times and 2-3 hours you go girl. i would love to do that. im starting weight watchers tomarrow. im 5'3" and i weigh 185 lbs. weight watchers is the best though. try it - it will change your view on eating and your lifestyle.

Answer 7

Best way to help is give him healthy foods. Healthy snacks. Seconds aren't bad if he isn't eating a tremendous amount in the first helping. Skating is good, walk with him, get him involved in soccer. It's all you can do. I'm mom to 3.

Answer 8

It can be hard to see our precious babies struggle with the same issues we struggled as children. Modeling good eating behavior, giving him a variety of healthy foods like lots of whole grain, fresh fruits, lean meats, vegetables, and drinking plenty of water is a great way to help improve children's eating habit. It may be hard for you to give up eating certain of your favorite dishes, but showing your child that you have self control can really impact his way of eating. It is great that you sit down and eat with your child. Even at this young age tell them what they are eating, about the food group and why it is important to avoid sweets. One of the biggest areas where children gain lots of weight is through fluids. Drinking too much juice can be devastating for children. Give options so your child may eat fresh fruits and allow just one cup of 100% fruit juice a day, even if you must water the juice down. It seems that your child is on the right track with physical activity, so you will just have to work on modifying eating habits. Good luck!

Answer 9

I would be concerned too,if i were you.He is old enough to understand,so talk to him about growing up healthy and and living healthy.My son likes sweets.He will be 5 next month.When i tell him about the consequences of eating too much sweets,he understands very well and puts dawn the candy.So talk first.Make his portions smaller every day.Little by little.Cut dawn the sweets and carbs.
swimming lessons are the best way to loose weight.Good luck.

Answer 10

enjoy high calorie treats as the accent not the centerpiece

Answer 11

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