He’s getting fat, so I’m making changes for his own good.
My son has gotten noticeably fatter this year. I’m not talking about cute six-year-old chubbiness. I’m talking about rolls of stomach fat and dimpled skin on his back.
He hasn’t always been big like this. It’s been in the past year that he’s starting putting on an alarming amount of weight. So I’ve put him on a diet, and I think I’ve made the best choice for my son.
It’s not just because I’m worried he will be teased, although this is a concern.
It’s not just because I’m worried he’ll feel bad about himself, although this is a concern.
It’s not just because he’s bursting out of clothes, although this is a concern.
The main reason I have put my son on a diet is because I don’t want him to struggle with his weight, as I have done in the past and as his father is doing now.
Life is cruel for a fat child and vanity aside, putting on weight at his age is a major health risk. He's six and has always been big for his age, but the gut is new.
He started school this year and really struggled to adjust, so in an attempt to make him feel better, I gave him lunch orders not once a week but twice. In addition, I gave him money to spend at the school canteen and he spent every single cent every single week. Unlike my older son who rarely visits the canteen because he is too busy playing with his friends, my six-year-old started buying extra food at recess and lunch, just to cheer himself up because he had no friends. This became a habit and now he eats the food I pack for him as well as the additional food he buys at the canteen.
Unfortunately we don't attend a progressive school with healthy choices. He buys cheesy pizza for $1, garlic bread for $0.50 and flavoured milk for $3. He gorges himself and then comes home and consumes the foods I have lovingly prepared for him. Until recently I was unaware of exactly what he was buying at the school canteen.
Now, I know and I plan to take action. I have:
* Looked up 'diet tips for kids' and made notes, so I make the most affecting changes possible;
* Cleared all of the really unhealthy foods out of our home and replaced it with healthier choices;