I interacted with Shelia Fuller on February 07, 2013. Ms. Fuller is the Early Childhood manger for Okaloosa County Head Start. I explained my assignment to Ms. Fuller about becoming an advocate for childhood obesity and she think that I made a good choice. Ms. Fuller and I discuss the process of how it is determine if a child in our program is overweight or obese. The step that is taking to determined if a child is over weight is done by our family service specialist. They check each child weight and height every three months to make sure that the children stay healthy. The assessment and guidelines that they use to determine if a child is overweight or obese is through job plus.
Ms. Fuller said that each year during training, she makes sure that her staff understand how important it is for the children in the program to learn to use their self help skill, learn healthy habits, and the importance of keeping all children safe from harm. She stated that learning in one area of development can enhance learning in other areas. Each child is unique and each child develops and learns differently and at their own pace. Ms. Fuller said that this is another important issue that my staff needs to be aware of.
Ms. Shelia then thought about the conversation that she and I had about two weeks ago. She reminded me about the conversation that she and I had about a child in my classroom. The family specialist screen the students in my classroom and one little boy was label overweight. The family specialist referred the child to the nurse and the nurse had a conference with the parents to discuss the outcomes. The parents were really upset about the discussion that the nurse had with them about their child. The next day the parent went to Ms. Shelia offices and talked with her about what the nurse had to say about the child . The parent told Ms. Shelia that he had made his son an appointment with his doctor the very next day. The day after the child’s appointment, he stop by Ms. Shelia office and told her that the nurse was wrong and didn’t know what she was talking about, and that the scales was wrong and that his child doctor said that he was not overweight. I shared this because it is very important how we talk to the parents, and we must be very careful about the information that we share with the parents about their child. I thanked Ms. Sheila for talking with me and sharing her thoughts with me.
The second person that I spoke with was Mrs. Angela on February 8, 2013. She works with the family specialist team at Okaloosa County Head Start. I asked her about the process of screening children weight. She stated that what they use body mass index screening. She said that they screen each child every three months to calculate their weight and height. She said that it is called a BMI screening and it helps identify who may be at risk for weight problems. She said that if it places a child below the 5th percentile that may mean that a child I not growing well. It also means that a child is at risk for an eating disorder. Children with a (BMI) that places them above the 85th percentile are consider overweight. The children that are placed above the 95th percentile are consider obese. Mrs. Angela stated that this is what concerns them the most because the 85th percentile put the child at risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. If a child in our program is 85 percentile or over then, we recommend them to have their child examine by their physician which can conduct a complete evaluation.
Mrs. Angela stated that the first place to start is with the child doctor. She feels that all children are different and the parents should discuss possible changes in nutrition and physical activity with a qualified health-care professional. The parent should discuss the child’s growth, nutrition, activity level, sleep and fluid intake are the most important that can affect your child health.
She said that if the parent is concern about their child (BMI) the doctors and the health care professionals are the best people to determine whether your child weight is healthy, and they can help check for medical problems that can cause unhealthy weight. If a doctor determines that the child is overweight or obese, the doctor can help develop a weight-loss strategy that includes exercise and changes in diet. I thank Mrs. Angela for speaking with me and sharing her time with me.
The time that I spent with Ms. Shelia and Mrs. Angela was very interesting. I leaned so much and became knowledgeable about the way the children in our center height and weight are checked and processed. I feel that the information that was shared with me is going to be useful when doing my research.
Brenda up to one out of every five children in the U. S. is overweight or obese, and this number is continuing to rise. Children have fewer weight-related health and medical problems than adults. However, overweight children are at high risk of becoming overweight adolescents and adults, placing them at risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes later in life. They are also more prone to develop stress, sadness, and low self-esteem.
ReplyDeleteChildren become overweight and obese for a variety of reasons. The most common causes are genetic factors, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of these factors. Only in rare cases is being overweight caused by a medical condition such as a hormonal problem. A physical exam and some blood tests can rule out the possibility of a medical condition as the cause for obesity.
Although weight problems run in families, not all children with a family history of obesity will be overweight. Children whose parents or brothers or sisters are overweight may be at an increased risk of becoming overweight themselves, but this can be linked to shared family behaviors such as eating and activity habits.
A child's total diet and activity level play an important role in determining a child's weight. Today, many children spend a lot time being inactive. For example, the average child spends approximately four hours each day watching television. As computers and video games become increasingly popular, the number of hours of inactivity may increase. I think that parents need to take more time and make sure their children eat properly. Giving them junk food for breakfast should be the very last thing on the list if at all.
Brenda that is a great idea of testing the BMI of the students to make sure they are not falling in the zone of obesity. I have always wondered if genetics play apart in the child bodyframe if I am allowed to use this word. I have seen personally children overweight and their family members are overweight as well. I wonder if with a little guidance from the school like holding seminars/ offer information on steps to overcome this "disorder" for the well being of themselves and to overcome high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, and so on. I feel that by you coming into the schools and helping them spread the word about obesity and ways of conquering it is an excellent idea and soon others will take on this dilemma and it becomes an epidemic of well being of each and everyone of us and no one in particular is singled out.
ReplyDeleteI agree talking to parents about concerns regarding a child's weight is definitely a touchy subject. I wonder what pediatricians are doing about childhood obesity? When did managing a child's diet and health become the school's responsibility. This was very informative.
ReplyDeleteTalking to parents about anything of concern can be vert tricky. I am writing my paper on early intervention and developing a positive relationship with parents is extremely important. At our facility, one reason that we measure the BMI of the children is because we are trying to incorporate a health program for the children with grant dollars. For the grantors, we collect and present data. One thing that I found a bit troubling though is that two of the children in the program are underweight. The parents did not seemed to be concerned about it and to be honest, neither am I. The children eat healthy and are active. They do not seem to be struggling in any way, shape, or form in any other area of development. In fact, one of the children is one of the highest achieving students.
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