A mom from Naples, Florida, is a bit upset that her 11-year-old daughter’s school is calling her athletic child a fatty.
Mom Kristen Grasso was told in a letter sent to her home that her daughter, Lilly, was overweight and in the “at risk” category. Below is a photo of this “overweight” girl.
Does she look overweight to you?
“Lily is tall,” Mrs. Grasso told WFTX news. “She’s athletic. She’s solid muscle. But by no means is she overweight.”
Clearly this young girl is not overweight, but that is what mom was told in a letter from the Collier County Health Department, the agency that evaluated her child’s health at school.
Mrs. Grasso is worried that the wrong message is being sent to many kids that are already getting to that self-conscious age.
“My concern is you know, kids that see the results of this test that may be classified as overweight that aren’t and the self-esteem issues that they may get,” she said
But the County Health Dept. says it has no choice. These screenings are now a state law. They have to send these letters. Plus parents are allowed to “opt out.”
“All health departments in the state do screenings for school-aged children,” said Collier County Health Department spokeswoman Deb Millsap. “Now, parents can opt out.”
But Grasso says that when she got the supposed “opt out” form it was so long and hard to understand that she had no idea what it meant. Not only that, but she had no idea that the schools would be screening kids for their weight in the first place.
So, is this weight screening a good idea? Is a kid’s weight even the business of a school or government official? We’ve seen this before in other cities, too, schools sending letters home telling parents their kids are fat… or “at risk” because of their weight, anyway.
Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as Breitbart.com, among many, many others. He has also written for several history magazines, has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows.
