parent in need to have 9yr old daughter lose weight

[nessa62873]

hi i'm new to this board and i would like to see if anyone could possible help me.

i have a 9yr old daughter that is over weight i have taken away all sweets and she only gets what i serve to her but the problem is that she sneaks in the middle of the night to find food she can't excerise like normal boys and girls her age due to she has a leg length discrempency so when she walk s or runs too much she is in pain.

she is also adhd and she has a lot of diabilities that she doesn't understand to a point.if anyone could possible help me in anyway of suggestions or ideas please respond.

[Chelle1977]

IMO (and I don't have children and I'm not a doctor so I'm far from an expert), I think the WORST thing you can do is deprive her of the foods that she enjoys. I think you should allow her to have some candy/sweets along with healthier dinner options. And obviously, you have to lead by example. For a child, I think the entire family should be held to approximately the same diet. If you're only serving her what you think she should eat, she may be hungry. Children need more calories than an adult.

Talk to her doctor, ask him what he recommends.

As far as activity, do you have access to a pool? Maybe through a family membership at the Y? For children, I think its important to encourage as much active play as possible. I realize thats hard for your daughter. How would she do with a trampoline? Maybe you could purchase a mini-trampoline for her to jump around on.

[Jemah]

Good advice!

Along with that I know that Weight Watchers has a very successful program for children which won't deprive her of sweets. It will just limit her intake and also teach her how to eat nutritionally. Never to young or too old to learn that! Check with your local chapter to see when they have a kid's meeting.

Be very supportive of her. It must be heartbreaking for both of you. The last thing in the world you want your girl to do is focus her self worth on appearance so please try to make it all about her health with eating right and exercising!

Be blessed,
Jeannie

[Cheryl3]

I was an overweight kid and the thing that saved me was when my mom went to a weight loss center with me (we went to Nutri-System, which I don't think is in business anymore, but I think Weight Watchers is better anyway). It felt so good to know that my mom was going through it with me. The best thing was that I lost faster than my mom, probably because I was a kid and because I had so much more to lose, but it made me feel great!

I agree that still letting her have little treats is important. Drinking lots of water is important. Sometimes with kids little things can make a big difference, such as switching to diet soda instead of regular and finding low-fat or low calorie versions of the things she likes (they even have low-fat Chips Ahoy and Pop Tarts these days)! You might also try giving her protein bars for an occasional treat rather than cookies, etc. A great one to try are the Zone bars (Walmart). Very tasty and actually even a half a one is very filling.

As far as exercise, can you afford a stationary bike? I used to ride one while I watched TV after school.

[FireFlies]

My suggestion will really only work if your daughter is in to this... but my friend had an overweight son with a speach impediment and got him a little mutt. He really loved dogs, and the puppy was a constant source of exercize. He didn't like sports because he didn't like talking to the other kids.

Again, if your daughter doesn't like dogs that probably won't help. Dogs (IMHO) are better than playmates or exercize gyms because of their unequal compassion and loyalty. The dog won't care if she looses weight, he just wants to have fun with her! If she can't keep up with him, he'll always come back to her side, full of unconditional support and encouragement.