Mum reveals she weighs her six-year-old daughter daily

Should kids be weighed every day? This was the question raised yesterday on This Morning by the story of Nadia Udin, a mother who weighs her six-year-old daughter daily.

Speaking about her own childhood, Udin recalls a mother who always made sure to let her know she could have more food if she wanted, but who also practiced portion control.

Udin then explains that these are approaches she uses on her own six-year-old daughter. Presenter Emma Willis asked:

You look at [your daughter’s] portion size, you teach her healthy eating and you also exercise with your children as well. Isn’t that enough for children of a very young, impressionable age?

Udin dismisses the idea that she weighs her daughter in order to police or control her in any way, explaining:

It’s a very fun thing – when I jump on the scales, she jumps on as well, and we all have a laugh about it. If you were to ask her, ‘Does your mum weigh you every day?’ She would probably say, ‘What are you talking about?’

Conversation then switches to an equally sensitive subject: bullying. Recent research reveals that, in 2017 alone, 1.5million young people were victims of bullying in the United Kingdom, with over half of them admitting they were too worried to seek help. According to Udin, weight is a factor which can exacerbate the problem:

The name-calling – she’s going to be more affected by that. Why not take control and do something about it, and be in control of her?

Although this logic makes sense, it’s fair to argue that bullies will always find a way to hurt their victims – if it isn’t weight, then it’s race, sexuality, gender, religion or just physical appearance more generally. The onus should be on the bullies to stop – and to argue that we should all modify our behaviour or appearance in order to avoid being picked on can be seen as damaging.

More: More children want plastic surgery because of bullying