Nanny State Alert: Schools out of control sending home obesity notices

I have no idea, They make us all feel a little inept these days.

Actually I can see some justification to this one, but I do agree they need to improve education beforfe trying to do anything else.

I wish you were making this up, but I am afraid you not.

I have mixed emotions about this one. I saw this discussed, I think on Oprah, a few months ago.

When I was in school, we were weighed in school. Usually there were about 6 of us at a time in the nurse's office. We compared weight and height measurements. Of course, back then, in an entire elementary school (600 kids) there probably no more than 5 kids who were overweight. Two of them were in my grade - one boy and one girl. Guess what. They knew they were fat without being told by the school or without being teased. They could see for themselves.

The height and weight numbers were put on our report cards, as were any "personal" notes the teacher wanted to share with parents. "Marilyn is a sweet girl, but she needs to participate in class more." "Is something happening at home? Marilyn was more isolated this quarter, more quiet and shy than usual." Those words were there for me to read and for any kid to read if I dropped my report card or if I showed it to friends.

The problem today is that we do have fat kids. Many more than when I was in school. And the statistics show that fat kids become fat adults. (Of course, even without being fat kids, adults have a better chance of becoming fat today than they did then too.)

Should the schools be involved in this? In a way, they should. First, they should have never allowed junk food in schools at any grade level, no matter who was going to benefit from the profits (in the vending machines). They should have been providing good, balanced foods and they should have been encouraging kids to eat them.

That's the way it was in our cafeterias in jr. high and high school (and even in college) when I went. You could buy chips or ice cream, but you had to do so from the cafeteria workers and they could refuse to sell them to you if you weren't also eating some good foods first. There were no sodas available. You drank milk or juice or water.

I think since we do have so many more overweight kids now, we need to make sure the schools are including, in health classes, what makes a healthy meal, a balanced diet. This information should be provided to children early on so that healthy habits can be formed.

If we have a problem today with healthcare costs, can you imagine what the costs will be when a majority of the population is overweight? When it's "normal" to have high blood pressure and diabetes? That's where we're heading.

I applaud them for doing this. If there was any other kind of epidemic in the schools, the parents would be outraged were they not contacted about their children being infected and the schools know about it.

For years, the American public has abdicated authority to the schools on a number of issues - they were supposed to teach the kids how to get along with each other, how to deal with grief, how to deal with violence, how to deal with sexuality, AND about their own health. Health classes have been part of U.S. educational curriculum for ages now.

The problem people are having is that the schools are extending responsibility and saying, "PARENTS, YOU need to know that your child is obese and subject to early onset diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, and a host of joint and skin diseases. AND you are at least partly responsible for their general health."

BRAVO, DENVER! At least somebody has the guts to stand up and tell the truth. Stop putting all the blame for all bad things on the schools and start putting blame on the parents who made them that way.

Yes Sheryl you seem to not be able to find anything about big government to dislike. Screw Education lets just brainwash the kids on what to do about everything in their lives

One great way to combat obesity in school kids is to get all of the vending machines out of the schools. At home I believe cutting down on TV time, vid game time, blogging, chat room, Get the kids out to play, play with them most adults could use a little exercise as well.

Schools need to quit being sociial workers and teach social studies. Parents have demanded social workers in school and abdicated the role of parent to the school. That is wrong. Schools are for teaching, not baby sitting.

A lot of kids eat for comfort because of the strife at home, some because that is what they are taught, some because the parents are too lazy or too busy to prepare meals so they eat at fast food joints.

Why have schools been forced to take on these responsabilities? --- Because the parents will not do it.

I agree with Sheryl O. It is in everyone's best interests to do something about the obesity problem in our country. My son's school has started a runner's club where they run one afternoon per week for 45 minutes after school. They also talk with the kids about healthy eating. There is a mandate that the schools address this issue and this is what his school is doing. Denver went further and sent home notes. I think this is an area that SHOULD be addressed by the family doctor, BUT since very few people can afford to take their kids for well-child checks any more, it is one more issue falling into the lap of the schools. It cost $140 to take my child for a well-child check where all they do is weigh, measure and look at them. Imagine if you had several children and insurance that doesn't cover well-child visits (mine doesn't cover them). I imagine you only take them if they are sick and they would never get evaluated by a doctor for their weight issues.

I am iffy on this one. If the schools really want to cut down on obesity, get rid of the snack machines and the soda machines!

MDP - Wha???!! I do not comprehend your remark to me. Please clarify. "Screw Education"???? How can you even beGIN to glean that sentiment from my remark. I am a former educator - you KNOW that and have commented on my education articles, too.

Yes, Chive - I do say "partly" because nothing is absolute in this world. I blame the idiotic food companies and their advertising for brain washing children into thinking that "Happy Meals" (quite the oxymoron, if you ask me) and sugary cereals are actually good for them. I blame the schools for buying into the "ketchup equals vegetable" theory, and for also letting the stupid food companies bribe them with TV's in every classroom, as long as they show their stupid advertisements every morning to the kids.

Oh, and I had not heard of the great see-saw debacle - thanks for the info - I'll check it out.

I am saying this. How about we educate children first and when we do that right we can think about having them worry about other things. I do not think it is the job of schools to do everything. They should educate kids not contribute to the brainwashing and socilaization of our society.

First we must recognize the fact that most of the bad billd that have been past by this government for education have been written by the Democrats, and past with republican and deomcratic votes.
The problems in schools are not so much the issue of vending machines and snack foods in school, but the lack of proper education on healthy diets and exercise. We had snack bars and machines in school when I went, but we still had the teaching on what was good to eat, and what was not. Also parents would make sure we knew about good diets and such, and actually be parents.
Where the problem I believe lies, is in the lack of proper education and parenting, not the vendors and machines, that again is the easy way out, to blame something beside the actual cause. If we could limit ourselves then, these kids should be able to now, if they were taught at home and at school properly. Lets place the blame where it belongs, on society in general; from parents to schools, and the lack of informitive programs that use what the kids will be interested in.
I remember when as a kid watching my cartoons, and seeing obese toons eating junk food, and the healthy heroes eating good food, that does aid in teaching young minds.
Now you have nothng about diets in the shows, just poor writing and amateurish so called art.

They can't educate kids who are having problems with a lot of issues. That is why they have been forced into dealing with lots of social issues that the parents should be dealing with. Kids who are hungry, stressed, sick, scared, abused, homeless, etc. have a lot of difficulty learning. Kids who are not getting appropriate nutrition and are lacking vitamins and nutrients are also not optimal learners. Kids with diabetes, asthma, and other issues related to being overweight are often absent from school which makes them difficult to educate as well.
The schools would LOVE it if they could JUST TEACH! But they can't teach kids who are coming to school totally unprepared and/or unable to concentrate and learn!

As for the machines in school, if the parents wouldn't give them money to spend in the machines, the problem wouldn't be there!

The schools offer fairly healthy meals, but not all the kids eat them. There is an obese girl in my son's class and she brings her lunch from home. The day I saw her lunch, it consisted of a large bottle of orange juice (parents probably think this is healthy!), a snack pack of Pringles, a cheese sandwich, and a full size candy bar! That is probably more calories than a 6 year old should eat in a whole day!

Chive this is just one example. Teachers are asked to do more and more things that are not realted to education. We should respect our teachers and let them teach. Doctors should handle obesity.

Hey, there have been health exams in school for ages. I don't think they were put there by a particular party. I got my TB vacinations in school. I also had eye and ear exams there. I didn't keep me from a good education. The Chive's right - these are minimal tests and should not take away from the overall curriculum. And Shari's right - many of these things conflict with a student getting the most they can out of school. An eye exam in school proved that I needed glasses, so my parents got them for me. It actually helped me, not hurt my education.

Sending a letter home to parents telling them what they should already know, but have chosen to ignore, about their kid's health in no way detracts from education as a whole but, rather, should make the kid healthier if heeded and a better learner overall.

The vision and hearing screens are a perfect example. I have volunteered to help with these (teacher are not doing these health things). We found several kids each time who needed glasses or had difficulty hearing.
My daughter had her vision screened at her well-child check-up, but again not too many people can afford $140/child to see a doctor, so it falls on the schools.
Some people are either too self-absorbed or in denial about problems their children have and sending a note home from school to inform them of a need for glasses or a need to change their nutrition are similar in my mind.
Clearly the parents of the girl in my previous comment must need someone to tell them that their child is obese and they need to feed her in a more healthy way. If they really were taking her weight seriously they would not be sending her a junk food lunch when the school has a much healthier lunch readily available.

I did not say this was a partisan issue. I just think that with our schools failing attention should go somewhere else. I did not know that going to a doctor was such an inconvenice or that respecting teachers was just uncalled for.

Shari- It does not fall on the schools it is not their job they are there to educate not socilaize our country. I dont know why we must do everything for everyone. I went to doctors and got eye exams outside of the school not so hard.

Sheryl, I remember those days too. When you could get your vacinations at school, rather than going to the doctor. When schools not only had a Nurse in them, but an on call doctor that went to all the schools in the distric. Health issues were not handled by the teacher, but the Nurse and Doctor from the school.

Shari, I agree with you on the home meals, but I am not so sure that all schools server that healthy of meals either. My Nephew and Neices talk about the pizza and hamburgers they get in their school lunches, when I ask them about the vegis, they never get any, nor have them servered either. Schools are getting into quick meals that lack good nurtrition, but what the kids will easily eat, just above junk food level meals. Personally I would rather pack a kid a meal, but a good healthy one, and not like that girl you talked about.

Wow, MDP - it is apparent that you have never taught or, for that matter, stepped foot in a classroom. There are all sorts of government-imposed things that teachers need to do, and things that teachers know are the right things to do in the case of a neglected child. Good for your parents that they were smart enough to know that your health mattered and took you to the appropriate doctors. Good for you that your parents could afford to take you to doctors. There's a whole other world out there where these things are NOT the reality. So, if left with the decision to do the minimal testing to make sure a student can see, hear, and function at a minimal level, wtihout disrupting the school curriculum, I would opt for doing the minimal level of testing once a year. It doesn't take too long for a kid to step on a scale, or put on headphones and raise their hand when they hear a tone, but it could make a life-long difference if a problem is detected early enough.

Is it so hard to empathize with people who are either ignorant, or just not good parents? Do the children, and society as a whole, REALLY need to pay the price if a little intervention might help?

It apparently clear that you have never had conversations with teachers that actually care about educating kids. Most of them hate this things.They want to educate kids. The things you list are the jobs of parents. Parents can either afford to take their kids to the doctor or there are health centers that will take care of them and free health insurance for the needy. Save me they cant afford it. Education in America is in trouble and we should educate children first and solve the worlds problem on non-education time.

"It apparently clear that you have never had conversations with teachers that actually care about educating kids. Most of them hate this things.They want to educate kids. "

How can you make statements like this? I taught for years in public schools - some in well-to-do communities where they really didn't have to worry about these issues, and most in inner city poorer communities. Most of the teachers I taught with did not HATE these things - they lamented that they were necessary. And would have LOVED to teach the academics their entire day, but cared enough about the kids they taught to see the need to actually fill the important gaps that their neglectful parents left open.

You have quite the nerve, MDP, writing those things. And it shows your ignorance of what GOOD teachers really care about - they care about the KIDS. And when you see a kid who is sick, or cannot see the board, or has bruises all over their bodies, etc., then ANYBODY with any kind of a heart would want to help that child out. They would NOT turn their backs and continue with the times tables.

Oh ok so my Parents, Realitives, and Friends are not GOOD teachers. Okay, it is one thing to get a kid help who is being abused. Creating a sytem of devaluing education to do the function of parents is another. It is well documented education is failing. Lets work on educating children in school. We do not need the nanny state to tell everyone what to do. If parent are that neglectful they will lose their kids. It is not the job of our school system to be teacher and parent. Draw the line and lets educate the children

"Oh ok so my Parents, Realitives, and Friends are not GOOD teachers. " Perhaps not.

Sheryl, I have worked in schools and I have seen the dire needs of some students. Obviously, MDP is totally ignorant about the realities of the lives of today's children. Children should not be punished for the stupidity of their parents and the schools are the only place where these kids can get a lot of their needs met. It is sad, but it is the reality of the lives of millions of children in the US.

Of course, teachers want to teach, but they CANNOT teach kids who are suffering with serious problems that their parents won't address (for any number of reasons). SO those problems must be addressed by the school in order to allow the children to be in a state of mind and health to be ABLE to LEARN! Teachers who care about kids know this reality.

If you think teachers should be teaching then get rid of No Child Left Behind. Let the kids learn and the teachers teach without having to teach to tests.

Sheryl you are full of SH*&!

Just because you dont care about our failing schools dont blame the good teachers I know. You want socialsim in this country and are part of the reason America is failing in education. Schools should be that Schools. Not social devices to change society. If kids are not getting basic needs met that is why we have social workers. They are not teachers. It is this mindset that Sheryl and shari exhibit that explains why we cannot recruit good younger teachers. Teachers should be treated like Lawyers and Doctors. When have you seen the top of these professions sweep the floor or make sure their clients are not obese.

I am not in favor of No Child Left Behind. I believe some test are necessary as writing tests have actually improved writing levels. I dont think Federal Requirement are the answer.

MDP - I was just agreeing with what you said - I quoted you, no?

You demonstrate with each word your total lack of understanding of the problems schools face today. What can I say? You spout off your crap with absolutely no first-hand knowledge. When you have taught in the inner city schools, when you are faced first hand with the plight that many children face in today's poorer level of society, THEN I will debate you. Until then, I view you as an ignorant blow-hard with nothing to back your statements up but arrogance and prejudice.

The reason that the schools cannot recruit ENOUGH good teachers is that people like yourself don't believe in paying higher taxes for higher teacher salaries. And one of the reasons that children are in such dire health in this country is that people like yourself don't believe in funding healthcare for poor children. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, the problem is NOT with good teachers who care.

"Teachers should be treated like Lawyers and Doctors. When have you seen the top of these professions sweep the floor or make sure their clients are not obese."

Did you just say that doctors aren't supposed to make sure their clients are not obese?

I meant lawyers and was going to list things for doctors but got distracted. I think you understand what I mean

I agree with you that teachers should not be social workers, but they need to have access to social workers and health education and health screenings to be able to best help their students learn. In the original article, the TEACHERS are not the people doing the BMI testing, they are not the ones doing the counseling and screenings. These things need to be IN SCHOOLS because that is where the children are and they aren't getting these things anywhere else. I don't see how this can keep young people from going into teaching? Teachers want to have resources available to help their students so they can come to school ready to learn.

You demonstrate with each word your total lack of understanding of the problems schools face today.

Really? I am quite confident in my understanding of the school system and its problems I have spent quite a bit of time dealing with this.

"When you have taught in the inner city schools, when you are faced first hand with the plight that many children face in today's poorer level of society, THEN I will debate you. Until then, I view you as an ignorant blow-hard with nothing to back your statements up but arrogance and prejudice."

I have spent many hours in Inner City schools as a volunteer for many different teachers in many different parts of this country. I am not prejudiced or arrogant. I am aware of problems and have spent a good many years trying to fix problems in the education system.

"The reason that the schools cannot recruit ENOUGH good teachers is that people like yourself don't believe in paying higher taxes for higher teacher salaries."

Higher Salaries I agree with. What we differ is how to get them. Problem one the education system is backwards we pay administrators and secretarys more than we pay teachers. That is wrong the highest paid people in the school system should be the people dealing with the kids. Second Teachers Unions have prevented higher pay to recruit teachers because they want every teacher paid exactly the same that is not a realistic goal high school teacher in Math and Science are highly desired in the private sector and to get these people to teach you need to pay competative salaries.

But higher salaries are not all. People become Doctors and Lawyers because people respect them and value them. Teachers in todays society do not feel valued and respected in part because we have made them less teachers and loaded them down with bueracratic BS. Teaching should be their first priority and the rest should come after we can perfect that.

"And one of the reasons that children are in such dire health in this country is that people like yourself don't believe in funding healthcare for poor children."

Where the hell did you pull that from. I understand the role of government in helping poor children. The current version of SCHIP has done a lot in that regards along with medicare

Shari-

Every year they add more things to do outside the classroom. It takes away form academic time. That is what people come to school for. BMI screening should be done by their doctor.

Sheryl and I have been "in the trenches" of the "war on poverty" and that is how we have formed our opinions. When you KNOW "those kids" and you see how their families have failed them, you understand that we as a society must step in and provide for their basic needs. Only after those basic needs are met can they focus on improving their lives and breaking the cycles that put their family where it is. A kid who is worried about their next meal is not worried about getting good grades and is not looking to the future beyond the next day. That is why they get pregnant early, get involved in gangs and drugs or just don't care about school. When you don't have the ability to think about a future, you only make decisions that feel good in the moment. If we as a society take care of the basic needs, then they can think about the future and look long term. They can make choices that will help them in the long run and not just get them through another day. That is how we can break the cycle of poverty and make this country great. Make the American Dream at least something to think about for the millions of children living in poverty.

I'm sure the children know they are overweight and I'm positive that their parents are overweight. What do these notices say? Your child has to lose weight. I agree that the schools should get themselves together and teach the kids how to read and write first. Concentrate on what they're supposed to do first. Also, I don't think that schools should humiliate the kids anymore than the kids are humiliated already. Seems to me that schools and teachers always think they know best and have the right to criticize anything and everything but if you say something back to them you're the bad guy.

ModernDay Publius,

You are mixing a couple of things when you state that Sheryl can't find anything she dislikes about big government. This is not necessarily the action of "big government" as most education is local.

Second, if this is the most invasive thing our government ever does then we are truly in great shape! The seat belt laws, the speed limits that were forced on the states. In fact, the having a national level Department of Education are all a lot more offensive to me than this matter.

When I was in school in the forties, they did weigh us at school about once a year. I can't honestly say how this was communicated to our parents but it was. I was in a school with about a hundred elementary students and no school nurse, so this was mostly a sham, but it didn't hurt anything and kept students knowledgeable of their relative status. I was skinny as a rail and always wanted to weigh more. I sure regret that wish now!

So when I decide to rail against big government I can find plenty of places more deserving of my effort. Once a year weighing is scarcely significantly detracting from the overall educational process.

Glad mine is almost finished with the public school system. But again, I can't complain about our particular school system as a lot of this nonsense does not go on and the school day is just that, a school day with a schedule of academic classes. With the exception of informing the parents of a dress code, they don't bother us with how we raise our children. The staff is there to teach and that's what they do.

Healthy kids learn better . . . unhealthy kids have more trouble. I have no issue with the letters or the few minutes it takes to have them sent. I also believe it would help the kids learn if the letters were acted on appropriately. Incidentally, snack and soda machines have been removed from schools around here and replaced with water bottle machines. But fast foods are built near the schools and GUESS where the kids head for lunch?

Regards,
Doyle I <~~~~~

Incidentally, a teacher doesn't head home with the kids when class is dismissed. They have time for this without affecting the academic day of the children what-so-ever.

Regards,
Doyle I <~~~~~

I actually think it is a good thing that the school is addressing issues such as obesity, as health does have an impact on the ability to get the most out of school.

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the chive - Calling children names like, those little porkers, is wrong and as an adult you should know better. I was one of those little porkers when I was a kid and maybe I would have been more active and played sports more if I wasn't insulted by other kids and their parents. I stayed away from anything that would help me lose some weight because where ever I turned there was someone who thought they had a right to call me names.

My parents and I might have been the reason I was a "little porker" but people like you aided me in staying there.

True Sharon and the cruel tradition of choosing kids for teams so that the less athletic were forced to be left till last was not helpful either. Some things need to be changed and humiliation doesn't make one work harder . . . it makes them seek their drug of choice . . . food. Real answers require hard looks . . . not platitudes.

Regards,
Doyle I <~~~~~

My daughter got one of these letters, I don't remember her weight and height now, BUT I do know that this child never reached the 5th percentile on the growth charts at her pediatricians or at her pediatric cardiologists offices until last year when the school sent me the letter stating that she was overweight I pulled out my pediatric texts and checked her on the growth charts and she was still in the less that 50% rank. And last fall when she had her pediatric cardiology appt. he place her between the 45 and 50th percentile. I am overjoyed that she has finally put on a healthy amount of weight, no more calorie enhancers, no more worry about weather the calorie content of her diet is adequate to support her flawed circulatory system, she has a little bit of a balance in her dietary account to fall back on if something happens.

My friend has two sons that are a year apart but her younger son is big for his age and the older small, so these boys are the same height and weight EXACTLY the same height and weight, and yet her letters stated that the older son was in the normal range and her younger son was overweight.

I do not know where the schools gets their information, but I can see a danger here, none of the children I listed are overweight, and yet what if their parents had overreacted and put them on strict dietary restrictions? Moving a normal child into the underweight category? Schools need to stop doing the work of medical professionals, or make certain they are licensed to provide such care.

I believe that the schools system in this country as a whole has overstepped its bounds, not only are they now diagnosing diseases such as ADD/ADHD and autism, but are also now trying to diagnose other diseases. I have a nursing license, am trained as a medical professional and even I am not capable nor allowed by law to diagnose a disease, that is the job of a doctor.

I would feel a little insulted at first, were I to get a notice like that.

However, I've also noticed that more and more, parents just don't seem to realize their own children are obese until they are a lot larger than their peers. I think a gentle recommendation to a dietician would be more appropriate than saying, "Hey, your kid is fat"