Public schools have an obligation to educate their students about nutrition and other healthy habits, but at what point does that involvement go too far? How about here: in Flagstaff, AZ, students will be weighed and measured, and those deemed overweight will receive a letter to take home to their parents.
The letter, of course, is full of advice on nutrition and exercise, but I still can’t get over how insulting the entire concept is. These “fat notes” will humiliate kids who receive, singling them out, and works under this strange assumption that all parents don’t know when their children are overweight.
Here’s a big thing public schools can do instead: get rid of vending machines that serve junk food. How about that?
Do you think schools should send parents notes about their overweight children?
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I really wish this wasn't necessary, but the way this nation is going, it appears to be. It's a bold step, and if they are doing it anonymously, that's a little easier to take. I also hope they are reviewing their food stuffs in the school.
Interesting question: will they be sending notes home to underweight kids, as well?
That would be so horrible if they do that to those kids.
It is no ones business except my own whether or not my child is overweight. I would be very upset if the school sent home a note.
I do not see how sending home letters is going to change anything. I think more gym with sports being encouraged for exercise is a much better approach. Another approach is to have a cooking class so the kids can make healthy snacks and try them with thier peers.
Obesity is pure selfishness and rarely genetics. Glutony is a sin remember? The rainforests are being torn down so your fat ass can stuff 5 more cow burgers in your pie hole. Enough is enough. Exercise and eat a healthy responsible amount of food or make soap out of the ignorant pigs.
No, I think overall, it should be obvious to a parent and mostly that of the child, that they are overweight. Schools should not interfere in this aspect
No, it is not their roll.
I think that the school should mention it along with nutritionist and pediatrition, the soon you can get the right eating habits in place the easier and healthier it is for the child. If the school is going to mention weight they should have extra programs for exercise available and a goal oriented system
Any legislature that passes or allows something like that needs to be looked at as if they are fit to hold any type of governmental office. What a double standard, most schools have removed dodge ball to keep kids from having to deal with humiliation but yet it's alright to point it out as a concern to parents? Until society can get on board with eating healthier as a whole (starting with school lunches) NOONE should be subject to public humiliation like this
I do not think the schools should be sending home "fat letters". The schools place is to educate the students. More and more schools are getting into areas where they really have not business being and this is one of them. Personally, I think the responsibility here should lie with the medical professionals. The childrens doctor or any healthcare people who are in contact with the family should speak to them about the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and discuss any problems with the parents.
That is tempting in theory, but I don;t think we can allow the schools to comment on our kids’ appearance.
Sadly, it seems like it is necessary. So many kids are obese now and the parents either aren't willing or able to handle the problem. I think it would be more useful to provide them a link to a nutritional site or some tools for the parents to help the kids. The problem is way out of hand and though many feel this is intrusive these kids need help. Hopefully it would be anonymous and sent as a helpful measure. It is sad how obese kids and adults are becoming and it just keeps getting worse so the problem is not being handled at home and it is not going away on its own.
that would be horrible. As if it isnt enough that the kids know they are overweight and get made fun of by other kids, but now the school it going to send a note home to their parents pointing out the obvious!?
Public schools DO NOT have an obligation to educate students about nutrition and other healthy habits. Public schools were established to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to receive a basic education–reading, writing, math, etc. Big brother has gone far and beyond the scope of what an education entails by taking away more time from the basics that are most important to a proper education to instituting programs that not only have nothing to do with education but is not their right to include in the education system.
Does any parent ever question why children these days can get good grades and still not read, write, and do math at their proper grade level. I guess if their children are getting good grades they don't question anything nor do they know anything.
It is not the place of a school to send letters to a parent about their child being overweight. I can't believe how compliant people have become. It's like a bunch of obedient drones.
It's hard to believe the parents would not already be aware that their child is obese. Unfortunately, many are aware but unwilling to do anything to help their child be healthier. My experience when I was growing up was that teachers may be quite insensitve in the way they treat the children under their supervision. I now work for teachers, and I can't say that they have changed much over the years. If the letters are handled in such a way that they do not add further humiliation to overweight children (who already suffer a great deal of humiliation due to their condition), I'd say they are worth a try. Otherwise, teachers can try to help and support overweight children in other ways, such as encouraging them to participate in activities that give them some physical exercise. Unhappy, humiliated children will just continue to turn to food for comfort. That is a learned behavior, and yes, it mostly is something they learn at home.
First of all, weighing and measuring the kids is ridiculous. I don't think schools should send parents notes about their children being obese. Let's face it other than in the case of blindness, the parent probably has a good idea about their child being overweight, and there are messages about nutrition EVERYWHERE. If a parent isn't getting it, that note isn't going to wake them up. If a parent is feeding their child garbage or not encouraging physical activity now, a note from school isn't going to change things. I would much rather see schools bring back the extra 15 minutes of recess daily (so many schools do not have anything other lunch any more as a break) and get back to having gym daily (we had gym every day and it wasn't just about competitive sports we did calisthenics as well. That would be far more effective than dropping a note to the parents with nutrition information. Boredom also leads to obesity. Sadly we really need to be more community active and engaging in order to change things like that. When kids (or adults for that matter) are engaged in activities, they are less likely to simply nosh.
We should not weigh peoples self worth by pounds! No one in my family has a weight problem but I am sure I would know it if my kid was heavy and I would not need other people writing me letters to tell me my kid was heavy! So what if some people are fat and some thin.The world has gone crazy! Why is everyone obsessed with health? We all die before 100,only a few people live past that.No matter what you do you will die.What you do with your life while you are here is up to you as long as you don't hurt anyone.It does not matter,we all have to die in the end.
No, the parents of those kids know their kids is overweight and a letter home won't change a thing.
School is hard enough the last thing our kids need is to be singled out by their peers because they got a FAT NOTE to take home to THEIR PARENTS! Can you imagine the bullies in schools having that ammo. Work with the parents one on one, help them find resources for better food choices and to make that food affordable. Offer after school activities, hiking clubs, gardening clubs, etc. Don’t single out the kids. As a parent the last thing I want is a note that I feel is picking on my child. Wanna see a momma tiger, that would be me chewing on your butt for picking on my baby!
I really think they should, every help parents can get is welcome….. kids swear not to get out of a good diet, but they can cheat and lie in almost everything else, why not on junk food? Hurts a constructive critic but everybody need a little wake-up once a while…..it is your own kid health at risk!
No, schools have no business interfering with parenting. Parents with over weight children are probably over weight themselves, so what is a letter going to do but make them mad and defensive.
Today's society is all about fast food and pre-made dinners from the grocery. Have you not looked in the frozen food section lately? Many parents do not take the time to prepare a well balanced meal. Everything has to be quick and easy.
So I ask the readers…..how many of you are having stove top stuffing for Thanksgiving?
I think instead of targeted letters which will cause embarrassment and resentment, letters should be sent to all the parents with the healthy standards plus information about how going beyond those standards can adversely influence health. That way, nobody is "singled out" and parents can still be aware.
No, The school has no right to send notes home to parents saying they're kids are fat.Its the parents who need to watch their kids diet but not to embarass a child.
I feel all students should get a letter to take home. Even skinny children may not be eating nutritiously or exercising enough.
It's really sad quite honestly. I believe the school administrators will have to look long and hard at themselves first. i mean last time i checked, the food they serve here locally really aren't that nutritious and the fact that there aren't very many options to choose from. Obesity is very rampant here in the south and i think a lot of it has to do with the poverty level and children being on what they call "free lunch". It's a viscious cycle.
I think this would be humiliating and harmful to children. This is how we help create anorexic and bulimic kids.
That is a bad idea. Yes, obesity is out of control in the US, but sending home letters to parents that their kids are fat is dumb. Its just going to piss off a bunch of parents. You think those kid's parents are going to listen to a piece of paper? You think they dont know their kid is fat? Instead, yes, they should stop selling soda, chips, and candy bars in vending machines and look at what they're serving in the cafeteria.
WoW!! I feel that we are all victims of fastfood, steroids in food and the electronic age where kids just dont go out and play any more. It's just bigger than sending home a note! We don't need to be told we are over weight! We need better food preperation without the additives! Parents need to take their children to the park more instead of letting them play games and watch tv! This is very sad and it's bigger than just not eatting twinkies!
No. Schools have no business sending that kind of notes home.
No. I think they should take the plank out of their own eye, first. What are they serving for lunch? What does their P.E. class do if they even require it.
All that will do is cause pain for the family…whether it be for the parents or children. Let us not forget that there are a lot of children who are abused and neglected every day. If this is the case for a particular family, why give them fuel for their fire?
I guess I'd have to know more about this. If the letter is going out in front of everyone, that is humiliating and shouldn't happen. If it's done privately as a genuine concern with the offer to help the family out if they so desire and/or an opt-out, that's different. I can see a desire to do this as something they think is helpful. However, I can also see issues around this if done in the wrong manner. This might be even more useful if there are warning signs of unhealthy weight (too low or too high). Some parents may not realize that their kid is starting to trend up or down outside of the "normal" parameters and it could really be helpful.
As this article as written, it sounds like it could be poorly implemented, but I'd hope that school officials would have the better judgment to realize that they could open themselves to a lawsuit if this is done in a way that publicly humiliates someone and also that it will not help the problem if done publicly.
I remember needing to be measured when I was in school, but we never got the results to take home and it was semi-private. Sometimes it was just to make sure that we were put into an appropriate group for PE, sometimes for determining health, but it was never done to humiliate.
That would be so horrible if they do that to those kids.
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