- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Parenting
Me with my littlest.
3 year old with a bit of belly flab?
No flames, but my 3 year old (about 40 inches tall, 39 pounds) has some belly flab.
Not a lot, but noticable because our other kiddo is lean.
Does your 3 year old have a little extra around the stomach?
I wouldn't be concerned, but MH was an overweight child and he and I both don't want DS to be that way.
Me with my littlest.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: 3 year old with a bit of belly flab?
He's 3. As long as you are feeding him a healthy diet, and he is active, don't worry about it.
Is it really the end of the world if a 3-year-old has a little bit of a tummy?
Eff you. Did I say it was the end of the world? No. I was asking a parenting question that concerned me.
So, let me reiterate: Eff you.
Me with my littlest.
Chances are, he's about to hit a growth spurt - and get taller and even out. My DS is HUGE (he's 4 1/2 and about 45 inches and 48 lbs). He's very solid, but not fat - he's always been fairly proportional - and completely off the growth charts.
BUT, at his 3-year appointment, he had gained more weight than he had grown and I got a little BMI lecture about him. Within a few months, he shot up a few inches. And frankly, he barely gained any weight in the year between 3 and 4.
Meantime, my DD is tiny - like 25th percentile for weight and height.
Anwyway, that was my long way of saying not to worry about it too much (and if you are, an easy way to make yourself feel better is to drop down a fat percentage on milk - DS drinks a lot and usually drinks skim or 1%).
Oh eff you right back. You are being ridiculous and someone should tell you that. Your kid is going to end up with an eating disorder if you keep worrying about his "flab."
Thanks Ginny.
If you'll remember, J has always been over the 100 percentile for weight, so obviously as he's supposed to be slimming down, I'm concerned. His diet isn't that great (he's 3) and he's not been incredibly active this winter.
There's a history of diabetes and being overweight in MH's family, so it's not for aesthetics that I'm concerned.
Me with my littlest.
I'm being ridiculous because I'm worried about diabetes and the health of my child? Oh, I see.
Is there something else you think I shouldn't worry about as a parent? Maybe carseat safety?
Me with my littlest.
Type 1 diabetes isn't tied to weight. 3-year-olds don't get Type 2 diabetes.
I'm aware. However, if someone is chronically overweight from childhood on, isn't there a good chance they'll be diabetic? (yes, is the answer)
And are you REALLY debating with me that it's okay for a child to be overweight?
Me with my littlest.
that's what I was wondering. It's normal for their bellies to stick out. DS's didn't really get flat until he was 4. He's much leaner at 4 than he was at 2 or 3. DD is 2.5 and thin, but has the biggest potbelly I've ever seen, especially after she eats. I agree with the fill out before they shoot up comment too.
You are smart to be aware given family history. Diabetes (especially in children) is nothing to mess with!
Elise - It's actually fairly valid if she's not asking about aesthetics.
My DS is a tank, eats fairly poorly, and it could easily tip from "solid" to "overweight" if we let it (and let me state that DH and I are very not in shape - I don't want him to have our habits). Good habits start now.
Steph - just keep an eye on it - I bet he'll gain a few inches and even out. I can even see the difference in T's face from his 3-year pictures to his 4-year pictures. They go from looking like babies to looking like boys and lose a lot of the baby fat in that year.
It is flab, not a pot belly.
I just want him to be healthy. My IL's have several health conditions all stemming from a poor diet.
Me with my littlest.
I doubt a little flab is a big deal, but I would talk to his pedi about diet suggestions and maybe get him involved in a physical activity (like a gym or bouceyhouse place). Get a trampoline or a one of those indoor bouncehouses. I know it's hard to change a 3 yr olds diet, but with diabetes running in the family, you need to do it for him so he learns healthy choices now. I can just imagine it will be harder when he's older.
We have the opposite problem (DS is in the lower 3%) and we have changed his diet since his last appointment. It's not easy, but we're doing the best we can. Good luck!
David "BD" 2/8/07 Spencer 9/12/11FFS, you are being a drama queen. This is the nest, and you should know that not every response is going to be puppies and rainbows and a pat on the head.
And, no, I don't think you should be concerned. Like the other posters said, he is probably on the verge on a growth spurt.
Cole Joseph 7/05/07
Nora Anne 11/03/12
9lbs, 6oz
I think that the best thing to do right now is make sure meals and snacks are relatively healthy. Offer lots of fruits and veggies at those times. Limit milk and juice. And, keep him active with classes and lots of playing outside. i'd just keep an eye on it, but not get too worried just yet. I feel the same way about my DD. She loves to eat and is a great eater, so I just try to offer healthy things. Seems to do the trick.
Son-10.5
Son-4
Daughter-2
#4- EDD July 14
Its a slow Sunday morning on the Nest. Of course this post is going to get a star!
Elise is never puppies and rainbows. FFS.
Me with my littlest.
I would also guess he is about to have a growth spurt.
Now, my DS has some cellulite on his as$ and has since birth. Poor kid. Nothing we can do about that one.
Dear winery,
Thank you for bringing Elise B out of hiding.
Smooches.
~~TQT
Son-10.5
Son-4
Daughter-2
#4- EDD July 14
Since when has Elise been hiding?
That's very true. However, without posters like her, everyone would be bitching about how slow and boring the board is. Besides, she is right.
FWIW, my mother worried about the same thing, for the same reason when I was a kid. Kids are very perceptive, and I picked up on it by the time I was about 4. (There is a home video of me at age 5 crying because I looked "too fat" in my swinsuit.) I never felt good enough for her standards, and had an eating disorder by the time I was in jr. high. At 29 I STILL have a terrible body image.
Cole Joseph 7/05/07
Nora Anne 11/03/12
9lbs, 6oz
You are on F&B all the time with new outfits and should I buy this and that and are so concerned with looking good and fashion and such.
Nothing at all wrong with that.
But if your are going to say that this is 100% motivated by by health, your kidding yourself.
I don't think it's a big deal, but it never hurts to reevaluate what you (or your kids) are eating and work on making it healthier.
Jackson doesn't really have any flab, and he's always been a pretty big kid (36-37lbs, 42in tall). The thing w/ us is both MH and I were really skinny kids and could eat whatever we wanted. It still hasn't caught up w/ MH, and it caught up with me after college. Even though we don't struggle w/ obesity and those health issues, I really try to make sure I have Jackson eat healthy b/c I don't want him to end up like me (23 and trying to figure out how not to be a picky, horrible eater). I think we all bring something like that w/ regards to eating to our kids' lives, and it's good to work on a healthy diet for them, no matter what the reason.
I think it is pretty crappy to toss out "You're going to give him an eating disorder".
Second of all, KKB, who gives a crap that winery posts on on F&B? I also know that she posts on H&F. Is she not allowed to care about her health and her appearance?
What one of us can actually say that being fit is purely for health reasons, not just aesthetic reasons? I call/bullshit if so.
She is asking about the health of her kid. I think that if she would have made the statement "I'm worried about my son being overweight", there wouldnt be these spiteful comments. However, because she was directly descriptive of where he was overweight, she is "going to give him an eating disorder".
That crap pisses me off when people toss around eating disorders like that.
Son-10.5
Son-4
Daughter-2
#4- EDD July 14
I wouldn't worry about the "flab" so much as I would concern myself more with the number on the scale/percentile/etc. Will has this (adorable) round little pot belly, but he's also in the 45 %tile for weight. He's tiny, but has the little belly. I've noticed it sticking out more lately, which tells me he's about to have a growth spurt of sorts.
If it seems like he's gaining weight rapidly, then I would be concerned and talk to the doc about it.
You take my ovaries, I take your yarns.
You're right. My personal experience with a super health conscious mother causing my eating disorder and lifelong feelings of inadequacy is completely irrelevant. I retract my previous comment, and leave this one instead...
Cole Joseph 7/05/07
Nora Anne 11/03/12
9lbs, 6oz
If you go back and REREAD what I wrote dumbass I said who cares. But being she's really big into that stuff, I'm sure she's not 100% concerned into the health of her kid.
I'm sure its looks too. She sounds like the type of mom that if her kid wasn't slim and was slightly overweight she'd be driving a whip over him.
She was already comparing him to her other kid and we all know that no 2 kids are alike. The kid is 3 with a little flab? Give him some time to grow a little before you send him off to fat camp.
Kate is almost exactly the same size. She's 40 inches and 38 lbs. My MIL's best friend, who is a pediatrician, called her "husky." I was livid! She is definitely solid, but she is NOT chubby, husky or fat. She's proportional,and she had a GIANT head which I am sure is at least a pound heavier than other kids her age (seriously, we had to get it checked out--it's massive). She eats like a truckdriver, so I try to make sure that most of it is healthy stuff.
I used to worry a little bit about it because my friends' kids are all super lean for the most part, but then I looked at pictures of me from when I was a kid. I had the same solid look about me, and starting when I was 4 or 5 until today I was extremely thin. I was a skinny, skinny kid, and I'm very thin now (5'9" and 123 lbs). So, I guess what I'm saying is that genetics take over at a certain point, and if he's prone to being overweight that is when to worry about it, but I don't think that a bit chunky at 3 yo means you're going to be a chubby older kid.