https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 25 May 2026 01:09:26 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857974 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 18:16:22 +0000 Silva 2857974@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Carrot: it sounds like you are doing a really wonderful job with this. ❤️ Your daughter is lucky to have you </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857972 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 18:00:38 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2857972@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: I appreciate your note. I actually have that book but haven’t read it yet. As I just mentioned in a comment, I really think we are doing things right. We never pressure her to eat, and very much practice “stop when you’re full” mentality. We never push food- we got lucky that she loves veggies and fruit and would pick roasted chicken over a cheeseburger any day. She’s naturally very active and barring societal constraints like lack of recess at school, I think we do what we can to stay active. I delt with my weight issues in my 20s by giving up torturing myself and accepting that I can be healthy and a size 16 at the same time, and definitely take a very intuitive and body positive approach. Unfortunately society still isn’t as kind, including medical professionals and kids, so I do worry if she will be a heavier kid what that will mean for her out in the world, but I’m going to do what I can for her to be body confident and positive and know that healthy and strong doesn’t have a look and size. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857969 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 17:52:32 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2857969@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: at her checkup she was in the 20ish percentile for height and 50ish for weight. Some chart I found online would put her in the 75ish for weight if the scale yesterday is right. I really appreciate your perspective on this. Honestly I really think this is genetics starting to manifest. My husband and I are both short and overweight, as is everyone in his family. My family is a bit taller and a bit leaner but hardly thin. Kiddo’s structure is definitely emerging similar to ours. She was a premie and didn’t even register on the percentiles until she was 4, despite being a healthy eater and very active, and in the last year she gained 6 lbs between yearly physicals, so it was really the quick gain in the last few months that got me concerned, but as I’ve been processing this, I also realize that we are really doing the best we could be with food and activity and she’s a very healthy kid overall, so barring situational factors like less weekday activity because of school, I really can’t imagine we could even do anything differently to change things, nor does it seem a change is warranted. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857957 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 15:52:28 +0000 gotkimchi 2857957@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I commented on the other thread first and now saw this but my kids are exactly like this! With the candy and cake and all of it </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857941 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:17:18 +0000 Silva 2857941@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just to throw my opinion into the ring...</p> <p>I'd encourage you to read over the resources on Ellyn Satter's website: <a href="https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/</a></p> <p>IN particular, this might be helpful to you (though its about larger babies): <a href="https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/family-meals-focus/13-big-baby-big-parents-no-problem/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/family-meals-focus/13-big-baby-big-parents-no-problem/</a><br /> or this<br /> <a href="https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/how-to-feed/child-weight-issues/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/how-to-feed/child-weight-issues/</a></p> <p>I know its not for everyone, but I think this approach (also look up "intuitive eating") is the best way to raise a child who has a healthy relationship with food, and to correct your own relationship with food. You might consider seeing a therapist who is trained in intuitive eating to help resolve some of your own issues related to size. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857936 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 12:48:02 +0000 Anagram 2857936@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Carrot: Do you know her percentages? I just posted on the other thread about this topic, but I have a 5 and a 3 year old girl who have always been served the same foods, and my 5 year old has always been on the thinner side while me 3 year old has always been on the chubbier side. For example, at my 5 year old's last appointment, she was something like 50% for height and 40% for weight--perfectly normal. My 3 year old was something like 60% for height and 70% for weight--and she's always been like that since she was 4 months old--weighs more in percentiles than she is tall. </p> <p>As I posted in the other thread, since I have 2 girls with the same parents and same food choices (I pack lunches and snacks, they get no school food at all), it's interesting to see how biology and genetics play into it.</p> <p>My husband is tall and lean and was the skinny kid growing up. His parents were always concerned about if he was eating enough. While I was never overweight (until recently, after having 2 kids, haha!), I was also never skinny at all---pretty solid. Hovering around 140-145 lbs at 5'7 from 8th grade until my 30's. </p> <p>My parents were not overweight at all, but my siblings are really split. And my nieces and nephews are really split. I have a sibling who is morbidly obese and one of her adult kids is morbidly obese. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I have a siblings who runs marathons with her husband and her children are extremely fit. In my family's case, there is a genetic component (even the fit sibling isn't particularly "thin" in build, but there's not an ounce of fat on her and she's had 2 kids), but there is also definitely a family environment component. My overweight siblings orders out most meals for the whole family. She and her husband are very picky eaters and only like carb-heavy foods (lasagna, cheesy version of casseroles, etc) and they both have desk jobs and are pretty inactive (I'm not judging them, I feel like I fit the same criteria unfortunately--I try to eat slightly healthier but I haven't exercised in months). My "thin" sister exercises daily and has for the past 20 years. So does her husband. So do their kids. It's kind of a family requirement. They all go to the gym together, they all take runs together, they sign up for half marathons together (kids are 13 and 17). And they've always been active. At family holidays, they literally get us all to do a family exercise because it's part of their daily routine. They have splurge days for sure, but they cook most meals at home and most meals are healthy. The kids are involved in cooking.</p> <p>So when I see my own kiddos with their own biological makeup--I have some of the same concerns you have. My 5 year old is like my husband--she will forget to eat if we don't tell her it's time to eat. I could put an entire bucket of halloween candy by her bed, and she would probably never touch it. My 3 year old is the opposite--if there's a carb or treat in the house she will hunt it out and beg for it. We don't do any type of daily dessert at all, but my 3 year old has been known to climb up the shelves of our pantry to reach my baking chocolate chips (that I put in pumpkin muffins) or to reach for my fiber bars (with all their added sugar). Like if we go to a birthday party, my 5 year old takes 1 bite of cake then runs to play. My 3 year old finishes her cake and then will ask for another!</p> <p>So I'm not sure how to approach this dynamic either other than to just keep making sure we have healthy options in the house and the encourage physical activity daily as much as we can (this is an area I need to improve in, for sure) It's less about weight and more about physical health for me, but it's a tough line to walk. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857906 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 10:49:40 +0000 Mamatimes3 2857906@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She sounds like a wonderfully perfect eater which is awesome! Some kids have growth spurts where they gain a bit and then stretch out and get taller. That may become her norm. </p> <p>I would maybe take her for a weight check at her doctors office to see what her weight is at their scale to be consistent. Keep an eye on it for a few months and reevaluate it she keeps gaining. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857837 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 07:28:45 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2857837@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrsbells: a pretty standard digital one. She randomly got on it, it’s never even out but we were cleaning some cabinets out and it was sitting on the floor in the bathroom. It’s probably not fully accurate but I’ve definitely noticed that she’s gained noticeable weight since starting kinder- the weight reading yesterday was more of a panic button to something I was already mindful of. I just didn’t know if I should worry about a medical issue or if I need to calm down and it’s just her body changing (I probably already know that answer :)) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857832 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 04:19:30 +0000 Mrsbells 2857832@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Carrot: what kind of scale do you have at home? A lot of home scales arent accurate enough to reliably weigh kids and are super sensitive to being moved and also whether they are on level ground or not. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857830 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 04:00:59 +0000 Purpledaisy 2857830@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’ve noticed that my 5.5 year old DD definitely grows in spurts, so a 4 pound gain wouldn’t worry me at all. She will literally be the same weight for like a year and then suddenly gain 3-4 pounds and go up a clothing size. You sound like you’re doing a great job of giving healthy food options and keeping her active. I wouldn’t worry about it at all. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857802 Tue, 20 Nov 2018 22:12:03 +0000 KT326 2857802@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What I’ve noticed with my son is that he will get a bit off a belly and then he has a growth spurt and thins out again. </p> <p>Our pediatrician told us to not even look at his BMI because it isn’t a good indicator at this age, his would show him as overweight even though he really isn’t. </p> <p>Also, random thing, but a coworkers daughter was gaining a lot of weight (she is 8) and she didn’t realize the steroid cream she was using for her eczema would do that. They stopped using it and now she is slowly losing it again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857800 Tue, 20 Nov 2018 22:06:05 +0000 bees_knees 2857800@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’d also like to chime in that if she is eating (mostly) healthy and being active, I wouldn’t obsess. Also FWIW, my scale and the scale at our dr office are WILDLY different! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857793 Tue, 20 Nov 2018 21:42:45 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2857793@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catgirl: that’s all fair thank you. And yeah, as I typed this I’m thinking it’s not like I’m going to put her on a diet so what’s the point of obsessing but I’m definitely channeling some personal childhood weight issues, especially when I hear the well meaning comments in her direction from relatives. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857790 Tue, 20 Nov 2018 21:37:45 +0000 catgirl 2857790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So my DD is not quite 4 but a couple of things to keep in mind: weight fluctuates throughout the day (DD has a 2 lb range depending on time of day, when she ate, when she went to the bathroom, etc.), and the average weight gain in a year is not always well spaced out. I know DD will not gain anything for months, then jump a couple of pounds, and then not gain again for awhile. She also tends to gain weight right before a growth in height. Also different scales can give different readings.</p> <p>Not to say your concerns aren't valid, just some things to remember. But I think all you can do at this age is continue to eat a healthy diet and keep her active - and it sounds like you are doing great with those things! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-weight-gain#post-2857788 Tue, 20 Nov 2018 21:27:47 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2857788@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Never thought I’d be asking a big kid weight question but alas...</p> <p>My almost 5.5 year old gained 5 lbs since July (she randomly got on our home scale while changing into pjs and it shower her just under 50 lbs, and she was 44 in July at her annual physical). From what I am reading this is a reasonable yearly weight gain, not in 4 months. Unfortunately she’s a product of two short and overweight parents so genetics are not in her favor anyway and she’s visibly getting a belly and love handles, but just from a health perspective this seems like a lot of gain in a short time. She’s a very healthy eater, not picky, has a full bowl of veggies with lunch and dinner, plenty of fruit, we limit sugar to one small dessert a day, rarely eat out, and she loves being active (swimming, rock climbing, monkey bars are current favorites) though with school and work we mostly get that during weekends when weather cooperates. The two big changes I can think of are that she’s in kinder and has a half hour of playtime instead of 90 minutes she had in preK, and because her school qualifies for free breakfast and lunch, she’s given the same carby snacks and milk that other kids get (we pack her lunch) so there are added calories that way and we can’t really stop that from happening.</p> <p>I grew up with a lifetime of weight issues and I really don’t want to inflict that stress on her and we use nothing but body positive language, but I’m concerned about the quick gain and more about the social aspects of being the kid with a belly and a BMI that now puts her in the overweight category. Am I obsessing about this unnecessarily? Would love thoughts. </p>