Obese grandchild - what to do, if anything?

[NDak15]

The kid is 16 now people.

[gouligann]

Originally Posted by GloryB

Being really overweight is so hard for kids as they go through their school years. It just affects their whole social world and self esteem. I'm one of those kids of grandmothers who would say something regardless of whether my kids got mad or not. They have to know you are right....they just are in denial. For the sake of the child, perhaps you could just sit down and talk to them.

I don't have a link, but I read a study a long time ago that obese kids AND adults are looked down upon and bullied far more than any other reason.

People with deformities, different personality traits (geeks), poor hygiene, minorities, etc, have far less chance of being teased or bullied than obese kids.

It's sad how judgmental society is that fat shaming is a thing, especially with kids. It must break their hearts.

When I was young, I was self-conscious about an almost undetectable deformity and any time it was mentioned, I wanted to crawl under a rock. I can't imagine the torment overweight kids go through.

[clevergirl67]

Three years later, another regurgitated post.

[Seguinite]

Originally Posted by clevergirl67

Three years later, another regurgitated post.

Yeah, but rest assured, some other grandparent probably needs to hear that it's none of their business!

[southernlady5464]

Stay out of it. If she visits, just make sure you feed her healthy food but don’t make a big deal of it.

I wasn’t obese as a child, but at 12 when I hit puberty, my weight blossomed due to PCOS which no one knew about back then. I got told by my grandmother that “I’d be so pretty if I just lost weight” which I internalized as I was ugly.

I stayed overweight to morbidly obese til 13 years ago when I decided to have a bariatric procedure called a Duodenal Switch. I now weigh 119 lbs at 5’3. I’m being called tiny by medical professionals which is something that had never happened before in my life. Too bad my age has marked my face with time and I’m not “pretty” in the same way a teenager would be. But I am NOT UNHAPPY WITH HOW I LOOK. Also I understand my grandmother meant well, she just didn’t know how to express her concern. She should have said ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.