Would you let your kid be weighed as part of a ' government initiative ' ?

Question

My daughter is in year six . Last night she brought home a letter saying she was to be weighed to ' track ' increases and problems with obesity amongst children

It said it would all be anonymous so I thought O.k .

But further on it says we take their date of birth , post code etc...

I feel uneasy why should the government need that level of detail ?

Would you do it ? they make it very awkward for you to say no btw ..send a letter to this add within 10 days kind of thing .

Daughter doesn't want to do it either or any of her mates .

Answer 1

No, I wouldn't. This is how Government initiatives tend to start, Apparently plausible objectives,nothing to worry about, you are anonymous etc. They have already slipped in a couple of additional questions. But your daughter will be on a data base, and no doubt her weight, plus anything else they slip in later, will be monitored. You can't know where it will end. Be suspicious of creeping statism.



Be suspicious, particularly with this nannying Government. What have you got to gain? Also, your daughter may feel that she has been picked on for a reason. Don't feel intimidated, say NO! Your daughters weight is none of their darned business. That's for you to concern yourself with, because it's your responsibility.



Consider, as a parent, what are they going to actually do about your daughters weight? Using the school system, this Government is finding more and more ways of sidelining the parental role, and replacing it with direct state control and interference. I think you should be concerned about more than just the additional details that they require at this stage.



By the way, the school, can't possibly know what future information demands the Government will make. So, don't look to them for assurances.

Answer 2

i wouldn't mind



i can't imagine it is anything sinister



perhaps they are looking at localised problems that may need specific support



if the kids don't want to be weighed i wonder why.....kids often weigh themselves in school as part of data handling projects - perhaps your daughter has picked up on your concerns.....



weights alone would not indicate whether a child was over or underweight without an idea of how old the child was ......an overweight seven year old might weigh the same as an 'average' ten year old......they need to know how old the child is to determine if there is a potential problem



mums never complain about their babies being weighed at baby clinics........the seem to look forward to it infact



my son is a diabetic and his weight and height are measured every three months......it is one aspect of his health monitoring...i have never been worried about this and it has happened since he was nine years of age

Answer 3

I would try to avoid it if at all possible. It is sensitive information on children, We all know how safe our details are with this government. --- Not safe at all?

However it is a dilemma for you as you are instinctively protective of your daughter and whichever way you decide there is a risk.

Maybe you could check with the other parents and stick together on this.



Personally I would refuse and see what happens. my reason would be, where is all this nanny state/big brother stuff going to end.

I once did something similar when my kids were in school. It was something to do with the LEA wanting details of which secondary school my eldest son was going to. As we had organised the new school ourselves, without any LEA help I refused to return the form.

I felt it was a protest, as then you could not choose a school for your kids, they had to go wherever the LEA sent them.

I was asked about it and just said, "It's not your business to know this info." I never heard anything else about it.

.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 4

not at all. that is in basic terms a grab bag of beef for particular interest in simple terms like the final one. 30 million for Pelosi's salt marsh mouse. i assume they used the 30 million in little shovels to construct some fairly cool salt marsh burrows. i assume the subsequent 30 million might build proper infrastructure between the burrows. .

Answer 5

No i would not let my kids be weighed as some goverment initiative, but then my kids are not over weight / obese.



i would send it back with a capital NO mind your own buisness their details etc are sweet f"uck all to do with the goverment, perhaps a few of them need to be weighed as im quite sure they are over weight & obese from sitting on there **** all day long trying to think up what stupid rules they can think of next

Answer 6

This government is a complete joke, they take away playing fields from schools, give no money for local governments to provide sports facilitys, fail to lock up those who endanger our childrens well being, so they are stuck indoors, because parents cant let them play out, then, wonder why those same children are becoming fat!!!!!!!! They need to stop spending money on surveys on obesity in children, and build swimming pools, sports fields, and give children many more sports in school, and finally, help keep our children safe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 7

I think its a good idea to do it in schools, but not to keep the information on file. the only ones to have information kept on them should be the obese children, so their weight can be kept an eye on and their parents advised.

My three grown up kids were always and still are normal weight of their age and height. But a friend of mine has a daughter of nine who is grossly overweight. It breaks my heart to see her as she is going to be bullied when she's older. She is the same age as my oldest grand daughter and the difference in them is huge. My grand kid is tall and skinny just like her mum was, but this wee girl i think must weigh at least 8 or 9 stone. She has rolls of fat when she sits down, such a fat face too, and thich legs. nothing she wears makes her look any slimmer, and the poor thing automatically puts her crossed arms over her tummy when she sits down, so she must realise it.

her mum as asked me for advice which i have given, telling her to stop giving her sweets and cakes and eat more fruit and veg, but everytime im over she is there eating pies and sugary things. including non diet coke. She thinks if she takes her out for a walk one night a week shes had ample excersise. She is never out and sits on her pc all weekend and after schools.



i have given up listening to her now when she moans how fat her daughter is. it's a disgrace but i dont want to lose our friendship over it, but someone has to tell her that she is putting her little girls life in danger. And if that is the school then i totally agree with them keeping an eye on their weight.



Obesity has nothing to do with where you live, it is the fault of the parents who just let their kids eat anything they want, especially when they have kids that put on weight easily

Answer 8

Back in the bad old '60's we used to have school checkups, dentist,eye tests, nit nurse etc. I think they used to measure height and weight, very obviously keeping records - schools having that info! It's hardly 'new' or an initiative!

Answer 9

It appears that YOUR government wants to help doctors study the health risks of obesity starting in childhood, with the goal of keeping people healthy their entire lives. Are you against that? The life span of humans has increased over the centuries, but diseases still take a toll on us, and many elderly people have infirmities that they may not have had if they were healthier as children. I do not see anything wrong with the information they are asking for.



EDIT: The date of birth, and other information, is needed to see if other factors are involved. In the U.S., this kind of data has proved that pollutants, like lead and mercury, can cause many medical problems as people age. I do not believe that this information would be used in any adverse way. I personally do not like being on camera when I shop, or walk in the central city, but I do realize that it does catch criminals in the act. I am for as much freedom as possible, but a person needs to be alive and healthy to enjoy that freedom.

Answer 10

if I had a child, I would ask the child first, although if they were overweight and old enough to understand, /not excercising and not eating healthily dispite my discussions with them, I may reconsider this if I had tried everything first.



I dont see why they need so many details, the school they go to should be enough, that would worry me if the details get into the wrong hands like so many other government c*ckups!



I am not sure about having it done so young- kids grow fast and one week can seem obese, the next have had a growth spurt, its hard to know if your child is obese, underweight or just growing, even the medical people dont ever really know, they compare with general statistics but as with gowing, things can change fast so comparisons dont really work.



I would be om with giving these tests a go but if I knew my child had a problem with food/lack of excercise and wasnt doing anything about it. Kids need to be kids but once they get too old and stop doing as you ask them (eg not eating £1 of penny sweets everyday!) then you need to communicate the importance of thier diet and excercise to them in another way. I would recommend this if they were really not living healthily and were eating too much junk food/refusing to excercise and over 7 or 8, or if they were over 13 and only then under strict confidentiality, at the doctors and with support offered before they try and "celeb" diets or takeing up an eating disorder.



The government have a duty to act as its the rest of us that have to pick up the NHS bills for stomach stapling and eating disorders, but the parents should always be the first port of call on a childs upbringing, not the state, school or doctors.

Answer 11

No, don't let her do it. This stupid obsession with weight in our society makes young people feel they are worthless if they are not stick thin as you can see from the many young girls on here who feel despondent because of it and I'm sure it is a big cause of anorexia. This government is putting it even more in the forefront of young peoples minds and making youngsters isolate and bully their overweight classmates even more F*ck the government and there prying eyes into every aspect of our lives. I advise you to write a letter detailing your feelings on this and refusing point blank, even if your daughter is thin, its the principle of the thing thats at stake.

Do you agree with a society that takes young children away from loving parents if they are obese even when some children are more prone GENETICALLY to weight gain?

Do you truly trust this government?



I agree totally with proph3t1 - except that if you don't fill it in and let her be weighed I bet the schools will have been advised to fill in the details anyway.

Answer 12

If you think your child will be made to feel uncomfortable for not being weighed then i would just put her first name and age but not DOB .

Answer 13

We're either free or not free.



Being free means having the freedom to say NO when we feel like it, regardless of how awkward people make us feel about our decisions.



If you have a bad feeling about something, always go with your gut.



I would either just not fill it out at all, or fill in just the info you are comfortable would keep you & your child truly anonymous.

Answer 14

It's none of the school's business what your daughter weighs. If the government wanted to conduct a survey they should contact the children's doctor's ( whom by the way could not give out this info because of HIPPA ). Children who are obese are being targeted. I would not sign the paper allowing my daughter to be weighed.

Answer 15

It's just so that they can produce statistics on which areas are prone to obesity and whether poverty / wealth are a factor and stuff like that I guess. they could just walk down the street and count the fat kids I suppose. I don't think she should be made to have it done as it isn't in her personal interest

Answer 16

I don't agree with giving your details and if your daughter doesn't want to do it then I don't think she should.

Answer 17

You can kind of understand why they are doing it, but I think it's obvious theres a problem at the moment, an I think it will be obvious when there isn't.



But really it's up to the individual, if you and your daughter don't want her to be weighed, say no.

Answer 18

Tell them to get lost and start minding their own business !

Answer 19

Yes I would. I think the same as Lionheart.

Answer 20

well I wouldn't have any objections to them taken my sons weight, what I would object to is them taking the personal details



We all know how prone to 'misplacing' documents they are

Answer 21

Not unless they could prove anonymity!

Answer 22

i wouldnt if i were you, 1 it could be a scam, and why do they need to know this, no.