My Son is a very big 8 year old.......?

Question

My son is 8 years old and in the second grade. His weight is at 180 and he is 5'7, I am worried that he is getting more detached every day from kids his age. I need some advice about getting him more active. His doctor told me to put him on a diet and that has been HARD but going well. I do understand that his health is at risk and that is why any suggestions would be GREAT!!! I just don't know how to get him excited about it and want to do it.

Answer 1

Best way to get active is to find activities that don't feel like exercise but actually get you moving.  If your son is truly that tall, he's not really overweight, so a little activity (especially since you're already making sure he eats healthy) will go a long way.  There are so many fun things you two can do together.  Any sport he enjoys, swimming, playing tag with him, rollerskating, anything you two can do together.  And be sure to switch it up...don't do the same thing everyday.  And for the times when you are stuck in the house and all he wants to do is watch tv, make a game out of exercising during the commercials.  Thirty second intervals of jogging in place or seeing who can do the most situps in 30 seconds can really add up.  And who can't exercise for 30 seconds?  Just make it fun.  Don't call it working out, and don't make a big deal out of it.  He's 8, and playing will come naturally to him soon, if it doesn't already.

Answer 2

5'7' is very tall. Have you had him checked to why he is so tall? Just keep encouraging him to bring friends home to play

Answer 3

hes 5'7?

where does he get it from?

are you and your husband really tall?

Answer 4

He's so tall i don't think he needs to loose any weight ... put him in basketball he''l tone up if anything, and he'll be around kids.

He isn't at a health risk he's a giant ! there is no way he can be fat.

Answer 5

Get him on a healthy diet with fresh vegetables,fruits, salads. Beans, peas, and low fat cheeses and yogurts. Salmon, fish, and low fat meat like turkey and some chicken. Stop the colas, junk and sugary foods like cookies, candies, and doughnuts. Processed foods with salt and fat are bad. Cut him down on the portions, but make sure he has three good meals. Breakfast can be oatmeal, or whole wheat toast for fiber. Get him from the t.v. and computer. Get him at the regular time to walking, and start out with easy arm and leg exercises for like twenty minutes. He can build up to small weights in time. But, how about exercising along with him?!

Answer 6

wow that is kind of amazing

my bro is 8 and he is like 4'10 and weighs like eighty pounds

i was surprised that  is wow..............



but ummm just motavate him with a prize of like a little dollar toy

they get excited for those kinds of things

keep it simple

GOOD LUCK : ]

Answer 7

Have him check out Nick.com "get active" - they do a great job in putting out family challenges about getting healthy.  It's not about the "D" word (diet) it's about eating healthy and being active.

Also, try to tell him it's OK to be a "big guy" and that he can be helpful to friends and classmates who are not as big as he is.  

Have him get involved with as many sports as you can handle.  My son is also 8 and, while not a big as your son, is a big guy in his class.  He is 95 pounds and is 4'8".  I have him play whatever the season sport is that his friends are playing (right now baseball) but he also plays tennis year round and swims at the Y.  I also involve him in shopping for healthy food and helping me plan meals.  I ask him to help cook or prepare food so he's invovled.  

His friends are half his size, but they call him the "big guy" and he helps them carry stuff so they call him "strong man" - it's all about the positive angle of what he is doing.

Also, have your son check out the my food pyramid for kids which explains why it's important to eat right, exercise and have fun.

Also, don't know if you have a Wii gaming system, but Wii sports is a great way to have activity while playing video games (tennis, boxing, etc.)  plus, they are coming out with Wii fitness in May.  It's for the whole family.

My other suggestion is to call him "big man" or BMOC (big man on campus) so you put that into a positive light that it's OK to be a big man but - as Spiderman says - "with great power comes great responsibility."

Good luck!

Answer 8

there is nothing wrong with being tall, no matter how old  but if you are worried about your child's weight then there are so many things you can do to help him!

i dont suggest a diet. the reason for that is, he is only 8 years old. if he goes on a diet now, chances are, he will be a yo-yo dieter for the rest of his life and you dont want that for him.

once one goes on a diet, one must stick to that diet forever so as to avoid piling on the weight again and it wont be fair for your son to be on  diet for the rest of his life in order to keep his weight down.

there are many outdoor activities which are fun and do not feel like exercise. why dont you take him to the park every now and then so he can run around and play, maybe take a ball with and kick it around, that way, he will be having a good time and not realise how much exercise he is doing.

also, you can take him on a hike, kids always love hikes cos they can get dirty and not get into trouble and they can explore (what kid doesnt love exploring haha)!

try find him a sport that he likes and can enjoy, but one that doesnt make him too tired otherwise he will stop loving it and wont want to play...

its very important to keep kids of his age entertained all the time so instead of letting him watch tv or play tv games, take him out to do something fun!!

Answer 9

I know just how you feel! My daughter at age 8 looked like she was 12 or 13 maybe even older. She is now almost 12, taller than me (I'm 5' 1") & well not over weight but big boned. She has worn womans clothes for a few years now too. Scary isn't it?

I remember when my daughter was 8 she was starting to see she was bigger than the other kids. She'd ask about it and it was hard to respond.

The main thing is not to make a big deal about the "DIET". Make it way and time for the whole family to eat healthy. Buy healthy food, don't talk about weight loss and involve EVERYONE in the family.

Take a family walk together around the block each day. It can be in the morning, after school or after supper. What ever works for you.

Switch healthier drinks. We would water down my daughter's juice when she was about 8 & it just became a normal thing for us now. If he wants grape juice fix it half water & half juice.

Let him help you cook the meals. Don't make a big deal about calories, fat, sugar and stuff. Just make it fun.

As for the other kids, remind him that he will even out. My daughter was never put on a diet, but we were told she would catch up. She is almost 12 and her dr. said she is getting close to leveling out to where she should be.

Yet she is still so much bigger than other kids her age. Since I am 5' 1" there are times people think she is the mom and I'm the kid! I'm 32 and still have a baby face. People often think I'm a teenager.

The key is find something he enjoys. We got my daughter a bike and she enjoyed riding that. She also had fun walking with the family, skating & playing on play grounds.

Also summer is coming so maybe join a pool. You will not believe how active kids are in the pool! He can wear a t-shirt if he is embarrassed. My daughter was and still refuses to take off her shirt at the pool. I join her in wearing one too & so does her sister. It is a family think not just focused on her.

Also remind him he isn't alone. We belong to a homeschool group and my daughter complained a few weeks ago about being the biggest of all the kids even some teenagers. I mentioned 2 other kids who seem to have the same problem and are her age and also just as tall.

I hope this helps. You are not alone.

Answer 10

Well he really doesn't need to lose that much weight.  At 5'7" he can be 170 and be considered ok.  He is very tall for his age though.

Answer 11

Since he is almost as tall as the average height of a grown man, you should see a doctor and get him checked out for "gigantism".   You say your 8 year old  is 5 feet 7 inches and that doesn't worry you??    The average height of a grown man is 5'10" and at the rate your 8 year old son is growing he'll reach that height in a few months.     By the time he's a grown man, he'll be close to 8 feet tall.   Maybe taller.   Ask the doc if he could get him a CTscan to look at his pituitary (sp?) gland.    The adults who broke world records for being the world's tallest had this problem and it is not healthy.   Lots of problems with the heart, bones and joints.    I think you should do this first before worrying about a diet.   Your 8 year old sounds like a giant....seriously.

Answer 12

there is no way i am 15 almost 16 years old and i'm not very athletic but just make him do it i have been forcing myself to be on a diet , work on weights for like 10 min,  run for 20 minutes every day and then kick the punshing bag evrey day for another 20...i don't like it but it's for the best i usually listen to music to help me or try taking something away and saying you can have it back after. He may hate you now but he'll love you later for this.

Answer 13

No kid wants to go on a diet or work out or go running or any of that. Get him into a sport. Try each one until he finds one he likes. That will get him active AND make him friends.

Answer 14

Learn to enjoy sports and exercise with him... Nothing like having family time. Remember to follow a healthy diet yourself. Replace most snacks in your home with fruit and low calorie snacks. Keep one or two regular snacks for occasions... Do not replace them before your next food shopping time.

Answer 15

ok try getting him in football or baseball or ask him what his favorite sport is and try to encourage him to do it and try to get him foods that he would normaly eat but with all calories and satured fat etc. I realy hope this helped and good luck

Answer 16

Make sure that you are willing to become more active along with him.  If he can see you making healthy food choices and exercising along with him, he will be more willing to adopt healthy lifestyles that will remain with him for the rest of his life.  Try sports like tennis or soccer that you can play with him.  Also, remind him that people come in all shapes and sizes!!

Answer 17

Did he hit like a big growth spurt? If he didn't than he will. He's going to get very tall! He's 8 and he's gonna get taller and even out.

If you're still concerned than get him in a sport and eating healthy. I recommend a sport because like someone said above, no 8 year old wants to do hard workouts and conditioning! Make it fun :)

Good luck.

Answer 18

At  8 years old he's 5'7!!!! Wow My daughter is 8 and the tallest girl in her class she is only 4'5

I would try some outdoor activites such as biking my daughter loves that pick a different route everyday.... or laser tag that requires you to be pretty active or even his favorite sport. Good luck to ya

Answer 19

My son is considered big at 110 and 5ft tall.  He is gurthy though.  Sounds like an excuse, but truely... his is a lil chunky, but he has broad shoulders and thick muscles for his age.  We were told he would reach 6'5" at full adult height.  That was from a bone age test done on him at 2 yrs old because they wanted to make sure he didn't have an aging disease because he was off their height charts.

Anyway, I tell you all that so you know that I understand where you are coming from.  I can tell you what we did that helped.

First off (and I am sure you have heard this 100 times, but I am just going to list off anything that we did, so if you had doubts that it will work... we can say it does so that can easy your mind a lil)  We got rid of literally all the sugary or snacky things out of the house.  Not only for weight issues, but because our sons body was building itself way faster than normal and needed good healthy stuff to do it with.  That is not to say that we don't go OUT for an occasional ice cream or that I don't buy A candy bar once in a blue moon (literally like once every other month or so).  It was hard at first, even for me.  I was used to having things to snack on, soda to drink etc etc.  We instead keep brocolli, celery and tomatoes on hand.  (my son loves to eat tomatoes like apples).  There have been times where my son says 'there is nothing to eat!!'  I always tell him that if he were truely starving, what is in there will suffice.  The craving passes and he is fine.  I tell him to go play or do something to take his mind off of it if he doesn't want a snack that is in there.

Next we got him enrolled in sports (since where we live the schools don't have enough touching brain cells to have PE for the kids).  He chooses a sport every season.  All the sports here seem to work out to three seasons.  Summer/Winter - Winter/Spring and Spring/Summer.

The best thing we ever did was put him in football.  Because of his size... the coaches loved him and the kids were always rooting him on.  He was their 'tank'.  Because our football league here goes by age and not weight... my son towers over the other teams.  I had to laugh... in fact I wanted to send this in to Amer. Funniest Home Vids... We got this on video.. Our son stood up off the line and knocked down the two kids in front of him and started running after the guy with the ball... He was reaching for the kid and the kid 'hot potatoed' the ball and laid down on the grass.  Staring wide eyed at our son the whole time.  These kids were about 7/8yrs old at the time.

The cool thing about having a gurthier bigger kid is that you don't have as much to worry about them getting hurt in sports.  My other son is super small for his age and wanted to do football last yr.. we let him and thank goodness he doesn't want to do it this yr, lol.. he will do soccer over ftball season, lol.  I had a heart attack every time he went on that field because he was so tiny.  But my gurthy son loves football.  He has played every year since he started.  He likes that he is a pivitol player because of his size.  It gave him an arena where it was a good thing to be big.  A proud thing to be big.  And... he lost 15lbs the first year we did it.  Now he plays Basketball, which your son would love because it is a very height advantaged sport, and then my son plays baseball in the spring.  Just to keep him active and healthy.  It sounds insane to some people, and I won't lie... it gets exhausting as a parent running them to games and such... but that is what parents do.  If that is how I can make my son feel worthy and healthy then so be it.  Small sacrifice compared to the alternative.

I would recommend just finding sports that are good for tall bigger kids and let him shine.

Get any junk out of the house.  I don't know if you have talked with your son either about food being fuel... my 6 yr old even got it when i told both of them.  I explained that even though food is soooo yummy... it really should be used primarily as fuel.  I use the parrallel of a car needing gas.  I tell them if I put soda in my gas tank my car might run for a second... but will stall out and possibly kill it.  I have to give it gasoline so it will run the way I want it to.  My youngest who is naturally thin (gag... gets it from his dad)  doesn't really like sugar.  He will eat one cookie and if offered more will say.. no thank you... I am not hungary so I don't need it.  I have had a junk free house for about 4 yrs.  We usually get inundated with sugar during holidays.  My inlaws gave us one small bag of jelly beans about 5 days before easter.  I put them in a bowl on the table... figuring even if they ate it all that day at least it would be gone, lol.  I still have four beans in the dish!  Get them unused to that stuff and they will naturally not need as much to cure their sweet tooth.

I want to clarify that I don't mean to preach.  I am not a thin person.  I enjoy my food, lol.  And I do snack, but it never enters my house.  I don't even hide anything because I don't want my oldest finding it and thinking it is ok.

I hope my experience helped you out some or at least gave you some good ideas.