Key Highlights :
     A mother recently blasted a nurse for telling her two-year-old daughter to lose weight. The anonymous parent, from Australia, took her daughter for an annual checkup with her Maternal & Child Health nurse earlier this year. During the appointment, the nurse measured the toddler’s weight and height and then told the mother that her daughter needed to lose weight as she fell in the 70th percentile.
     The nurse suggested that the mother should cut out all fruit and carbs from her daughter’s diet and said that if she was giving her milk, she might as well be feeding her a bowl of ice cream before bed. The outraged mother ignored the nurse’s warning, despite her toddler being overweight.
     The parent explained that she hadn’t been feeding her daughter ‘garbage’ and that she was a ‘great eater’, happily tucking into everything from curries to chicken stir fries. The mother allowed her daughter to have sugar, but it was ‘generally kept to a minimum’ and she mostly had fruit.
     The nurse then went on to suggest that the mother should eliminate fruit from her daughter’s diet altogether. Despite feeling confident in her parenting, the mother admitted that the nurse’s comments had ‘thrown [her] through a loop’ and she left the appointment feeling anxious and stressed.
     The mother argued that parents shouldn’t place too much importance on what percentile their child falls in. She also decided not to drastically alter her daughter’s diet out of concern it may lead to her developing disordered eating habits later in life.
     According to the NHS, children can be given whole cows’ milk from the age of one. Parents are encouraged to give their children 350ml of milk a day or two servings of food made from milk, such as cheese or yoghurt. Fruits and vegetables should be included in every meal, as they contain lots of minerals, vitamins and fibre. Iron is essential for children’s health and can be introduced into the diet in the form of meat, fish and leafy greens. A minimum of two portions of protein from vegetable sources (beans, chickpeas, lentils and tofu) or one portion from animal sources (meat, fish and eggs) should be given each day.
     It’s understandable that parents may feel anxious or overwhelmed when their child’s health is discussed, especially if a nurse suggests that their child needs to lose weight. However, it’s important to remember that it’s ultimately up to the parent to decide what is best for their child. It’s also important to ensure that children are eating a balanced diet and to be mindful of any potential disordered eating habits that could develop as a result of drastic changes to their diet.