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Primary schools to check for obesity (Government monitors children's weight)
UK Telegraph ^ | May 22, 2005 | George Jones

Posted on 05/21/2006 5:41:21 PM PDT by FairOpinion

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To: sgtbono2002

Nah, they'll just tax the pants off of parents that have fat kids or don't pass required PT tests. After that they will take them away, but not before they collect every dime of tax they can.

Oh, the horrors of second hand grease.


41 posted on 05/21/2006 9:58:56 PM PDT by DakotaRed
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To: speekinout

In NYS, at least, teachers, coaches, doctors, nurses, anyone dealing with children, are all REQUIRED to report cases of suspected abuse. No concern about getting sued on that one. They face more serious charges if they don't.

And besides, who needs a scale to determine if the kid is obese? Any child that heavy is pretty obvious and I'd guess it's not a secret to the parents either.

This is not comparable to starving a child either, which is real abuse. A fat child is irresponsible in most of the cases I've seen but not abuse the way beating or starving a child is. What next? What does the government mean to do with all the parents of these obese kids? What's the point of monitering them?

I don't want the government running my life for me and making my decisions, thank you.


42 posted on 05/21/2006 10:09:17 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Born Conservative

ping


43 posted on 05/21/2006 10:10:29 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Mears
I am slim for one simple reason---I had good genes.I eat like a longshoreman and never gain weight.

Are you the sister I never had???????

All kidding aside, the most I have ever wieghed in at "officially" was 165 on June 29, 1998.........Jax was born July 2nd. All docs would prefer I weigh 135, but I average 120-125, so as long as I stay above the 120 mark the docs are happy.

I'm for bed now - but am leaving this thread open for a further response t you in the morning regarding the teasing and bullying comment you made.

44 posted on 05/21/2006 10:12:33 PM PDT by Gabz (Proud to be a WalMartian --- beep)
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To: speekinout; FairOpinion
Eons ago, when I was in grade school, the school nurse would come around with her scale once/yr. Our report cards would be marked with whether we were too fat or too skinny. I don't think there is any law against it.

Exactly. I remember exactly the same from my 'infants'' school in England in the 1950s. I don't remember that any apocalyptic consequences resulted from the practice then. It's possible to read to much into these things.

45 posted on 05/22/2006 1:00:56 AM PDT by Winniesboy
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To: Born Conservative

Ping-a-ling.


46 posted on 05/22/2006 4:37:03 AM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007 (Conservatives teach you how to fish. Liberals give you the fish by stealing it from the fisherman.)
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To: FairOpinion; Gabz; All

It's here now. I recieved a paper from my boys' school awhile ago, that stated their weight, and what percentile they fit in.

And I live in a rural school dictrict, in a SMALL town.


47 posted on 05/22/2006 6:37:18 AM PDT by 383rr ((those who choose security over liberty deserve neither; GUN CONTROL=SLAVERY)
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To: MikeHu

Just follow the taunts of "Fatty, Fatty, two by four..."


48 posted on 05/22/2006 6:42:13 AM PDT by rattrap
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To: elkfersupper; Abram; albertp; AlexandriaDuke; Allosaurs_r_us; Americanwolf; Americanwolfsbrother; ..
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
49 posted on 05/22/2006 8:01:07 AM PDT by traviskicks (http://www.neoperspectives.com/gasoline_and_government.htm)
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To: Mears
Overweight kids,who are often teased now,will be bullied even more.

That is so true, Mears.

I remember a particularly terrible incident when I was a freshman in high school.

There was a girl in my class who was very short and very wide, and a wonderful, funny person.

The gym teacher decided that we each had to work our way between the rungs of a ladder, I suppose to determine whether we met the Fuehrer's weight standard.

The sight of this poor girl getting stuck in the ladder rungs while howls of laughter rang out is as vivid in my mind today as it was when it happened.

It was one of the cruelest things I'd ever witnessed.

How about we judge people by their character rather than their appearance?

We'd all be lot better off.

50 posted on 05/22/2006 2:29:51 PM PDT by Madame Dufarge
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To: Madame Dufarge

Sad,isn't it?

When I was teaching there was a first grade boy who weighed 85 lbs.He never got chosen by the other little ones as a partner for anything,academic ot athletic.He received no valentines. I'll never forget him and that was many years ago.

The constant barrage of "warnings" about obesity in children will demonise them,the way smokers have been demonised.

I still remeber that little boy's name fifty years later as you remember the incident with the girl.





51 posted on 05/22/2006 4:44:37 PM PDT by Mears
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To: Mears

A friend of mine volunteers at the Nature Center in one of the local parks. They do projects for home schoolers all the time. Some of them sound a lot neater than any I ever got in school. They're currently hatching butterflies and mapping the migration paths of Monarch butterflies.

There are a lot of resources for home schoolers now.


52 posted on 05/22/2006 4:52:10 PM PDT by speekinout
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To: speekinout

There certainly are lots of resources for home-schooled children today and they seem to be just playing and having fun while they are learning.

The only nature thing I had in public school (many,many years ago) was the milk weed pods and pussy willows the teachers would bring in every year.


53 posted on 05/22/2006 4:58:31 PM PDT by Mears
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To: metmom

I agree that the schools can be too intrusive. I sure don't like the way they have decided that they are the ones to teach values to the kids.
And I think they can contribute to bullying of kids if they publicly label some as obese and others as skinny.

But I don't have a real problem with weigh-ins. Some kids can hide their problems from their parents - anorexia and pregnancies are two things that come to mind. Those things happen at shockingly young ages now. Any clue a parent can get should be welcomed.


54 posted on 05/22/2006 5:02:16 PM PDT by speekinout
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To: Mears

I don't remember having any nature things in school. Some teachers would bring in plants and things, but they weren't part of a lesson.

I'm really impressed with some of the projects the park volunteers come up with to teach the kids. And the kids love it. Walking along the river or chasing through fields looking for stuff beats sitting at a desk listening to the teacher.


55 posted on 05/22/2006 5:51:10 PM PDT by speekinout
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To: Kakaze
Kids who freak at a lit cigarette and run shreiking from the room as if the black of death itself has entered the room.

Aha! Lol! That explains why my ds covers his nose and mouth with his shirt & makes gagging noises OUTSIDE if there is a lit cigarette within 20 feet. It's really more sad than funny. Schools are teaching that second hand smoke kills and children are taking it too seriously. SOME things are good...we live in FL and the school has gotten my daughter to wear sunscreen without the arguments, I bought her a timer for brushing her teeth and she uses it (I believe, b/c the school's 'second opinion' backs me up on 2-3 minutes). I have to add that we do have a great to excellent school system overall. We just attended an event at their school...We are still in the "One nation under God" part of the country....nice to be reassured :-)

56 posted on 05/23/2006 10:01:42 AM PDT by ftriggerf
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To: speekinout
Isn't that just the low end of 'normal' for a short child? Why should children with healthy diets and 'short/petite' genes be singled out as opposed to children with healthy diets and 'big-boned' genes?

My g-grandmother was 5'11"+, other than that, the women on my Mothers side tend more to be shorter than 'average'. The women on my dad's side tend more to be shorter than 'average'. EVERYONE on my husband's side tends to be short for their age&sex. This is genetics... I am not surprised that my children are short for their age. Their BMI is in line with normal because unhealthy drinks and food are a treat rather than a 'regular snack/meal'. Sodas and chips are an easy way out to give snacks and are all too often much too available in homes. It's not a rare occurance to see 'the fat family' at the local store. I don't understand people that don't want better for their children. The parents likely suffered taunting and abuse as children because of their weight (and their parents' lack of control). Why don't they provide better so that their children don't have to live that way?? I try to keep my bad habits away from my children... Unhealthy chips, cookies, ice cream etc. are for after they are in bed. It costs extra to buy low fat, low sugar, 'healthy' junk food that they get on weekends. (Sugar DOES effect their behavior - I wish I had the moment I realized it 100% on video)

57 posted on 05/23/2006 11:51:30 AM PDT by ftriggerf
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To: speekinout

Did you grow up in Illinois? We had this when I was growing up, too.


58 posted on 05/23/2006 11:56:34 AM PDT by retrokitten (Yabba dabba soul patrol!!)
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To: ftriggerf

You're right that genetics make a big difference. But I think that most of us can tell if a child is naturally small (or large), or is very under- or overweight.
I do think most parents do want the best for their children, but some of them are awfully ignorant about good nutrition. Schools used to teach courses on nutrition, but I don't think that's so common anymore.

My neighbor has absolute proof that sugar affects behavior. She has 10 grandchildren under the age of 7. They are usually very well-behaved children. A couple of months ago, they had a birthday party that they taped. The kids, who normally don't get sweets, all had cake, ice cream and sodas. They went nuts - you can see on the video when the "sugar rush" kicked in. :-)

I sometimes wonder if many of the kids who are drugged with things like Ritalin are really just victims of a bad diet. I think it would be nice if we could find a way to educate parents so that kids get good nutrition, but my anti-big gov't tendencies make it hard. Schools seem to be the least intrusive way to do it, and now that we have schools pushing Ritalin, etc., maybe looking at diet first isn't too far to go.


59 posted on 05/23/2006 2:37:44 PM PDT by speekinout
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To: retrokitten

I grew up in PA. If this was common in both PA and IL, it probably was in most states.


60 posted on 05/23/2006 2:39:15 PM PDT by speekinout
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