Alittle Concerned.

[oOKayOo]

My daughter is 4 ( 5 in September ) , she is very mature for her age , not only acts it but also looks older.
My worry is she is worrying about her wieght. She is tiny , very slim and smaller then most of her friends wieght wise , but she is watching what she eats?

I said its dinner now lets eat up! She lifted her top and said ' Is my belly Big?' I said of course its not dont be silly! She then said ' Good i dont want dinner , ill just eat some yougurt if thats ok'

umm how do i handle this? She hasnt eaten propley for 2 weeks due to a tum flu and now she has an infection in her tonsils, so i understand she may not be as hungry as usual but the things she is saying about wieghloss is disturbing for for someone so young.

Infact only today my Mum came over and Carly said to Nanny oh you have lost wieight! So have i Nanny look! Dont we look good!'

Shes 4 ffs .. help me!

 

[Miss_d]

awww that is sad, i think you will have to nip this in the bud, just keep reassuring her, also i think you should speak to your health visitor for advice and hopefully she can help x

 

[AppleBlossom]

Oh I really hate this. It makes me really sad that children so young worry about it. I don't really know what to suggest hun, I hope it's just a phase

 

[BlackBerry25]

No advice, but I didn't want to read and run.

I have a 6 year old foster sister who is Native Canadian and she comments on her skin and always wants blonde hair.

 

[midori1999]

Has she overheard you or a relative or maybe a friend's Mum talk about dieting/weight loss? She's obviously heard it somewhere, so I would be extremely careful about what you say in front of her. My friend's daughter is 7 and doesn't want to eat too much in case she gets fat. She also has a very limited diet. I find it very, very sad, but in her case it is down to my friend's constant fad diets and image issues.

I would also just brush off her comments and try not to make a big deal out of it, but if she says things like she just wants a yoghurt, reply with something like 'well, it's not good for you to just eat a yoghurt and you need proper food to make you grow up properly'. Just keep reiterating to her that eating properly is important fo rhealth and development and not getting ill. If you think she'll understand, maybe sit down with her and explain about all the different food groups and why they are good for you, what they do etc and how to eat a healthy diet.

 

[oOKayOo]

Thanks for the comments Blackberry she ALWAYS goes on about how unfair it is that Ella has blonde hair and she wants blonde hair apparently its 'Prettier'. Ive wispered in her ear so ella couldnt hear that Brunettes are the bestest as we have more fun !' Trying to make light of the situation! She Smiles but i can tell she doesnt beleive me ?? We are all Brunette apart from Ella so its not like she is the odd one out?

I tell her if she doesnt eat she wont be able to do her ballet , or do running in the park etc. She just says ' Fine ill just eat a carrot then' Which i find odd!

Midori i dont do diets ( as much as i wish i could) i cant , and i can eat! Im on the big side though so maybe she doesnt want to be like me But then why should she even be thinking about Image at this age anyway? I know i do her nails and she likes manicures only because she gets to choose glitters and different colours , just abit of fun really .. would this make her think about the way she looks?

I dont know Actually thinking about it , there was a rather large woman in town a few weeks ago , she asked me why she was so big and i said when people eat alot of food and they get greedy with it and they cant stop eating, people get bigger, and people that dont eat enough get really skinny and cant run and do fun things , so its always good to eat nice and healthy so we can run around and do really good at school etc etc

Maybe that trigged something? I must try and be careful what i say , im sure she will grow out of it once she starts School for the first time ... well im praying!

 

[hellohefalump]

I used to suffer from anorexia, but not when I was as young as your daughter. I say you have to speak about the positives about food. Like, say bread/pasta/rice/potatoes are GOOD foods because they give you energy. Vegetables are also good because they give you vitimens that stop you getting ill. Fat is also good because if you don't eat enough fat you get really dry skin and it will hurt.

Stuff like that. Read up on nutrition and tell her the positive things about food.

 

[Dizzy321]

Awww that is worrying dont know what to suggest hun....my 12 year old neice always goes on about her weight and I thought that was too young!
Just try not to make a bit thing about food and make it positive, hopefully she will forget about it! If not I would have a little word with the GP xx

 

[amie-leigh]

oh thats so sad shes too young to think about that
have you thought about looking into healthy diet and showing her everything is good in moderation maybe even make a poster of a plate together and split it up so you can show "the perfect plate" like carbs, veg etc x

 

[Serene123]

*stops calling caitlyn fatty*