Worried About Your Child's Weight? What You Should Do

26 January 2021 by Brent Woods

As a parent, your child's health is always your top priority. You want to be sure they have the best chance at a full and healthy life throughout their childhood and into adulthood. And helping them learn to manage their weight is just one of the ways you can do that. So, what happens if your find yourself concerned with your child's weight, whether you worry because it is too high or too low? There are numerous steps you should take if you notice potential abnormalities with your child's weight. Get to know some of those steps. Then, you can be sure you are doing what is best for your child going forward. 

Do Not Tell Your Child You Are Concerned Right Away

If you think your child is overweight or underweight, you do not want to alert your child to those fears right away. This will only cause your child stress and could lead to unnecessary body image issues in the future. 

Track Patterns and Habits

Instead of worrying your child and getting ideas in their head, pay close attention to their habits. Are they getting enough exercise? Are you feeding them healthy, balanced meals? Are they eating their food? These habits are important to track so that you can determine whether or not there is an actual issue going on that needs to be addressed. 

Weight gain in childhood is not always linear. Sometimes a child will gain a chunk of weight, then have a growth spurt that balances things out, for example. So, this makes pattern tracking important. 

Schedule an Appointment with Their Pediatrician

Another important step to take in the process of dealing with potential issues with your child's weight is to set up an appointment with a doctor of pediatrics. A pediatrician will weigh and measure your child and place them in a percentile for height and weight. This can help give you perspective on the weight issue. 

You can ask to speak with the doctor in a separate room about the weight issue as well to address your concerns. If your child's doctor agrees with you that something is amiss, you and your child's doctor can discuss options to deal with the situation. 

You Can Find a Pediatric Weight Management Clinic

There are specific clinics that can help you and your child cope with their weight if they are underweight or overweight. Not only do medical doctors work in such clinics, but also nutritionists and other weight management experts. 

You can meet with a nutritionist with or for your child and talk about options to help them either gain or lose (or maintain) weight, depending on the situation. This can include developing detailed meal plans and the like that can help you to be sure you are giving your child the best nutrition possible. 

Now that you know some of the steps to take when you are concerned about your child's weight, you can be sure to contact a pediatrician for an examination and for advice as soon as possible. 

For more information, reach out to a local pediatric clinic today.

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