So it seems that some of you might have been offended by my last post, which believe me was unintentional. I was only expressing my outrage at what I see as an idiotic solution to the ever expanding problem of child hood obesity. If your child is large for their age and they eat well and there are no health concerns then it is not you or your child that I am referring to. Healthy children come in all different shapes and sizes. What I am referring to is the growing problem of childhood obesity, children who are overweight and unhealthy. It is an epidemic in this country and it is being overlooked and hidden behind band aids such as the changing of sizing standards to suit the larger size child instead of simply expanding the sizes offered or measuring the clothing by something actually useful such as a waist measurement. The shorts I bought for my daughter in size 18mo when she typically wears a 2t were still huge on her. When I measured their waist they were 21 inches. That is not 18mo I am sorry. Older pairs of size 2t pants in our wardrobes measured 19" at the waist. That is a drastic difference. I don't see how changing the size 2t to a larger waist band s doing anything other than trying to hide the fact that the child wearing the pants is larger than the original size.
In women's wear this is a common practice that has been going on for a long time, and to compensate for the larger sizes being marked as smaller numbers they have started to label some of the smaller sized clothing a a "00" So how offensive is that? If you are small you are no longer a nothing but a double nothing! There has even been talk of making negative sizes. How ridiculous is that? So now you are less than a double nothing. It is crazy, but the thing that does not change is the actual measurement. You are the waist size you measure regardless of the arbitrary # attached to the tag. So we should all stop putting so much on a stupid size and either accept our measurements or work to b healthier and possibly chance the if the # is not to our liking.
I just think that we should not take our children down the same ludicrous path that we have been on for so long as far as clothing size goes. I also think that childhood obesity is a real problem and needs to be addressed asap, with real solutions and not with cover ups. The statistics are talking here, not just me. This is the first generation of kids expected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents generation in a long time! Something to think about!
4/06/2010
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No offense was taken by me and I totally agree with you. We have been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution USA http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution
ReplyDeleteand were totally shocked and appaled that french fries are considered a vegetable in the school lunches!!!
Right on sista. Childhood obesity is definitely one of the biggest epidemics in America right now. People shouldn't take that so personally if they KNOW their child is not obese or if they are dealing with an issue that they see. The problem is that most people with obese children that are obese due to junk food and too high of caloric intake, well many of them are the ones that seem to be ignoring the issue. And plus, I say you are a "true blogger" if someone posts a negative comment. At least that is what someone told me when I got my first. LOL
ReplyDeleteYou make some important points :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right, some brands have gotten ridiculously large. I don't care what size it says on the label, I just want it to fit. However, it would be easier in all types of clothing, kids or adults, if the sizes were at least consistent.
At the same time, I haven't found this to be a huge problem with my boys. We don't find things to be very large too often. Usually they are about right. Are you sure your older clothes haven't just shrunk from all the handing down? Me Too consistently wears 2T, but any outfit that is on it's fourth or fifth kid (we wear almost all hand me downs from a friend with three boys) is much smaller than it says. He is wearing 4T pajamas because they have been washed so many times. Also, I am sometimes disappointed that I completely miss out on them wearing some of their brand new "gifts." We dont' wash new clothes before wearing. They look so big on the hanger and are so big on them before they are washed. Sometimes, I wait until they "fit" before we wear them, then I wash them once and they are too small.
Not disagreeing, just trying to throw some water on the fire to maybe make you less mad :)
Winter coats for children, however, are a mystery to me. They both wore a "12 month coat" starting at about age two. An "18 month" coat at age three.
A very timely post. This is an extremely important topic I think and it is high time that we address it now, because if our life expectancy is increasing we don't want to see what is predicted!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting, I had been thinking in these lines the past few days too, and wrote an article in my web page- http:www.bead-z-mommys-business.com/tween-health.html.
I came across a wonderful book co authored by a now 17 yr. old teenager who has gone through it and his journey of losing 150 lbs! The name of the book is Cut in Half. Available in Amazon. Take care. Dita
from: http://www.bead-z-mommys-business.com
I really like Old Navy's toddler/infant pants because they come with elastic with button holes so you can tighten them up and get a perfect waist fit.
ReplyDeleteI bet they work for larger kids too, since they seem to be cut loose enough to go over cloth diapers.
So far we have one pair as a gift, and one pair from the resale shop, but the next time my daughter needs new clothes I might just go ahead and buy new.
This childhood obesity problem is worldwide. Not only in America but also the Asian countries. =(
ReplyDelete