Definitely a complex issue. Obesity is a serious health concern, and statistics indicate that obesity in children is increasing. Schools have a role in gathering and reporting on various health issues: eye tests, hearing tests, etc. Schools also already gather height/weight information as a part of most health/physical education classes. The extension of notifying parents about the results of that information gathering does not seem out of line. From my understanding, the letters that went out also included notification for children who were underweight. The media coverage and debate seems to be focused only on the “fat” kids, though.
On the other hand, sensitivity in addressing esteem issues with children is obviously important. It is quite possible that the letters will reach some parents who earn that title only by virtue of biological donation. There is little the schools can do to improve such a situation, of course, but I hate to think of these letters exacerbating an already poor situation. Issues of culpability also arise: the letters can be seen as “blaming the parents”, though as an earlier poster mentioned school lunches are often less than ideal from a nutritional standpoint (many schools also have vending machines filled with junk food).
I think much depends upn the specifuc wording of the letter and upon the specific guidelines used to identify “at risk” students, but I am not philosophically opposed to schools notifying parents that their child has a potential health problem related to weight.
It’s one thing to be oblivious to a daughter who’s ten pounds overweight. It’s another thing to be (as some neighbors were) apparently oblivious to the fact that your child is so overweight that walking has become painful to him.With them, in particular, it seemed to be due to an inabilty to say no (at least regarding food- even though the kid wasn’t supposed to drink milk because a glass of milk would cause him to miss three days of school,they still kept it in the house and let him drink it) and ignoring health risks more than a sign of loving him as he was.
I think at least part of that inabilty is because parents no longer virtually throw the kids out of the house on a nice day!Although there weren’t video games when I was a kid, parents then would have had the same attitude as my son does -" Video games are for when it’s too dark to be outside"
If that was my school district that was pulling that crap, I’d take my digital camera down to the school, and take pictures of every overweight and obese teacher or school employee going into the school.
I would then mail each of the fatties a copy of the photo, and a letter advising them to lose weight.
Who knows, I might even set up a web page with the photos, and invite visitors to make guesses as to how many pounds overweight the people are.
What got me in the article is that one person was quoted as saying it took months to craft the letter sent out to parents. Did these people not having anything else to do for months?
Even when it’s justified in the name of children’s future health, I don’t think it’s the school’s place to send letters home to parents to overweight children. As previous posts have stated, the overweight students themselves and probably their families are well aware of their weight. If parents and children are inclined to take action, they’ll do it regardless of whether they get a letter from the school or not. If not, I don’t think one letter will accomplish anything more than a few minutes’ embarassment and some talk around the dinner table about maybe getting into a program or cutting back on snacks.
Weight and health are related, but they’re not perfectly correlated. It’s possible to be overweight, as determined by a body mass index chart or whatever instrument is being used, and still be fit. It’s also possible to be unfit, but not overweight.
I suspect we’re all reading too much of our own experiences into this. Just since the 70s, when I was in grade school, obesity has exploded. Since the norm has changed so much, I seriously wonder how many kids experience the “fat kid” phenomenon so many of us remember so painfully. (I’ll never forget when I had to get the "husky’ sized jeans.)
And the consequences of childhood obesity aren’t minor. Type two diabetes is not something to be taken lightly, since it shortens lifespans pretty dramatically.
A note to the parents strikes me as entirely appropriate, provided it’s worded well (remember, the article actually doesn’t give the text). Given that for at least six hours a day, 180 days of the year, a schools are legally in loco parentis, I’d say that without question the health of their charges is their “f***ing business.” And like the parent quoted in the article, for a lot of folks the fact that the school is noticing the problem will be a motivator in dealing with the issue with their children. The responses calling for photographing fat teachers and whatnot miss the point: much of educating children involves trying to get them to avoid repeating their elders’ mistakes.
The dilemma, of course, is that nobody seems to know how to turn people around on nutrition and weight. And when parents aren’t motivated to change themselves, it’s next to impossible to change the kids. Schools contribute to the problem by funding themselves through Coke machines and fast-food outlets on campus. PE’s diminished, too, partly because of liability issues and partly because so many adults have been traumatized by gym class that in some districts PE’s the first things to go during budget cuts - never mind that the philosophy’s changed a lot since the days when Coach used the time as a free-for-all on non-jock psyches.
I know for me, the humiliation of having to buy husky jeans, and of being teased (albeit not overwhelmingly) for fatness motivated me to adopt a healthier diet. The payoff didn’t hit for a couple of years, until I reached my growth spurt at puberty. But the result has been good health and a decent, highly-imperfect-but-healthy body ever since.
Was that the nicest way to learn that lesson? No, but what none of like to admit is that so often the nice ways of learning are completely ineffective. Pain (physical or psychological) is usually not just a good motivator, but the only one that works.
I think that the school districts’ hearts are in the right place, but it’s a futile gesture unless they’re prepared to take action.
Too many schools are eliminating physical education in favor of increased academics (Texas just passed a law requiring elementary schools to have at least 135 minutes of PE per week), and the cafeterias do not always serve nutritious meals. Even when the child brings his lunch from home, it’s likely to be a high-fat high-salt Lunchable-type thing, or some other convenience food.
I think that if schools were to get serious about addressing the problem of weight control in their students, they’d take a multi-faceted approach that included:
[ul]
[li]More time for physical exercise[/li][li]Better education in nutrition for both students AND parents[/li][li]Healthier choices in the cafeteria[/li][li]Encouraging teachers and staff to participate in wellness programs[/li][li]Eliminating vending machines from the school campus, OR keeping healthy foods and beverages[/li][/ul]
None of this comes cheap. However, as has long been established, being overweight (or underweight) is devastating to a child’s self-esteem. Further, they do learn by example. Seeing his teacher lose weight may encourage Johnny to do the same. And by educating parents on proper nutrition and eating habits, schools can help eradicate a lot of ignorance on the part of parents who think meat and potatoes equals a healthy diet.
