From Sasha, Child's Age 14 - 04/09/19 - IP#: 121.99.145.xxx Click here to reply
Hi all, I stumbled across this page and I writing as I am growing concerned for my 14 year old son Parker. I was always under the impression that my son was your typical active 14 year old boy as he loved to play sports, get outside and run around with his friends. I had noticed that Parker has been gaining some weight since around about last October, where I saw his stomach was then slightly pudgy and had replaced his formerly flat and toned stomach. Initially I wasn’t concerned as he has always been a normal weight, if not slightly underweight. I admittedly did not pay too much attention to this small gain as my older son Carson who is now 16 went through the same phase at around this age and is now as thin as a rail. However in January I started to grow more concerned as I walked in on Parker getting changed for school and see the poor wee thing struggling with his pants and his belly pushing through his shirt. At this point I had started to get concerned I made a doctors appointment and was a little bit shocked to see that my boy had gone from 13 years old 5’3 and 105 pounds in June last year to 14 years old and 5’5 136 as of January however the doctor reassured me that this was still in a normal weight range for 14 year old boy and that he would soon grow out of it. This reassured me, and up until last week I was sure that this was a puberty growth spurt, however last week Parker came to me saying that his clothes which we went up a size in January were already growing tight on him. Confused I got him on the scales and was shocked to see the numbers land on 163 pounds, my once thin active boy is now very chubby with a growing belly, some love handles and some “man boobs” as they call them. Upon reflection I noticed Parker has stopped going outside as much and wasn’t as interested in playing soccer and basketball as before. It is sad to see my little athletic boy go from running around being one of the best on the team struggling to button his pants and sit around doing nothing. I am at a loss if anyone could help me out that would be much appreciated.
Reply from Tom, Child's Age 16 - 05/01/19 - IP#: 73.243.205.xxx I'm sorry to hear about this. Its good that you are on it quickly. The faster you can correct the easier it will be. Is there any external event that may have lead to this? Are his friends staring to notice or are they also big? If his friends start to make fun of him this might make the problem worse. I think the best thing you can do is make sure he knows you are here to support him.
Reply from Janis, Child's Age 14 - 04/11/19 - IP#: 72.235.193.xxx I'm no doctor, Sasha, but I think if this weight gain is just due to puberty there's not much you can do about it.Like your older son, Parker will outgrow it. On the other hand, have you noticed that Parker is eating and snacking a lot more now that's he's put on this weight? You mentioned that he's less active. Is he self conscious about his chubbiness now or does he feel awkward and so is not participating? As you know, keeping him as active as possible would be the best as well as making sure he has healthy choices to eat and snack on. My son is 14 and is just finishing puberty the doctor says (voice has changed, needs to shave a couple times a week, etc. ) and his appetite has been enormous for the past couple of years. I make healthy meals and have healthy snacks available for him. If Parker is self conscious about being active with his friends, can he exercise with you (daily walk after dinner etc.)? Also, does he have an allowance? If so, his he buying candy or fast food without you knowing (comfort eating)? Just some suggestions. Best of luck to you and your son.
