Mom Gets Pre-Teen Daughter Lap Band

Pffftt!! She ain't that hot!!!

Oh okay, glad to hear that she's 14 and not 12.  But she still looks like a hooker though.

Read this first, then I will go into my two cents;

The teenage years are also called adolescence. During this time, the teenager will see the greatest amount of growth in height and weight. Adolescence is a time for growth spurts and puberty changes. An adolescent may grow several inches in several months followed by a period of very slow growth, then have another growth spurt. Changes with puberty may occur gradually or several signs may become visible at the same time.

There is a great amount of variation in the rate of changes that may occur. Some adolescents may experience these signs of maturity sooner or later than others. It is important to remember that these changes happen at different times for everyone. Being smaller or bigger than other girls or boys is normal as each child experiences puberty at his/her own time. The following are the average ages when puberty changes may occur:

• Growth increases between 10 to 14 years:
  • weight: 15 to 55 pounds
  • height: 2 to 10 inches
• Age of puberty: 8 to 13 years of age

Medically, she is 99% grown in height and weight, so any arguments for her need to "grow" more, are just not accurate. . The psychological state of a teenagers ego driven world, would surely have predicted that this child would have put the weight back on, which is why a 12 year old would not be approved in the US for this surgery. HELLO!!!! If it were my child, WLS over the border, would not be an option. I am not in favor of the following; 1.) Being taught to take the easy way out from a young age - this will open a door to a host of emotional issues for this CHILD. 2.) Going to an impoverished country to cut through the red tape - I don't think I need to elaborate here. 3.) The mother said the childs problem is in the stomach and as a side note, she said, oh yeah.. and the compulsion to eat. The stomach does not have a brain..Perhaps she was thinking with her stomach when that came out of her mouth It is evident by the fact that the child has regained 50% of the weight, that there was inadequate aftercare, regarding maintenance, and how to eat moving forward from surgery so she would not regain. If she had the surgery in October of last year, she should still be loosing, not gaining. Can you say .....Behavior modification ..... So here we are, in a more better faster now world.... WOO HOO

As a mother of an overweight child myself, I can understand her wanting to do everything possible to help her child, but I do think she went to the extreme. My oldest is overweight and I'm not trying to not take the blame, but it comes from my ex!  He lets him have McDonald's every morning for breakfast or will feed him M&M's for breakfast. They eat out a lot when he's there and my poor kiddo packed on the pounts. He's 9 years old and weighs almost 90 lbs.

But, since embarking on my weight loss journey, I'm doing my best to education him and my other children. I felt back at first when they'd ask me how many calories are in something, but in a way, it's good that they see. When we are at the store - they ask for grapes, apples and oranges rather than the candy. Yes, they still ask for poptarts, but I show them how many calories it is and how much healthy food they can eat for the same amount of calories. I've also gotten them outside more and signed all 3 of them up for karate. My boys will be doing flag football in a month. I think it's important for them to understand weight and good food.  As I've said before, I wasn't morbidly obese as a kid, maybe a little overweight. According to the weight charts, I should weigh 150 lbs to be considered "normal".  I weighed that or about 160 pretty much all through high school and hated my body. I just wish that somebody would have helped me understand food, calorie intake, calorie burned the way I am to my children so I wouldn't have let myself get this out of control. I think it would have helped.  While parents can't be totally blamed for overweight kids (genetics, diseases, etc) I think we have to help them make responsible choices and not give in to the fast food --- I know I was guilty of rewarding my kids with Happy Meals for good behavior - but it was the cheeseburgers, fries and soft drink. Now, I try to reward them with different things such as outside bike time or driving to a certain park they love to go to (its 10 miles away, hence the driving). If we do have a Happy Meal - they get nuggets, apple dippers and either water or milk.  Kids overall can be mean and spiteful to other children who are "different" and I want to do everything I can to keep my kiddos from being teased and taunted about their weight.

okay this girl is rediculous. i can't get the sound either, but i do recognize her from all the hubbub she created from having 40 lbs of lipo sucked out of her followed by the TT a little while ago. i can't help but think there is maybe just a tiny bit of attention-seeking going on with all the media and press this family has created. apparently the doc she used proudly claims to be the biggest fat sucker in texas and has performed lipo on himself while videotaping it. large volume lipo is extremelely dangerous and controversial (as if the fact that she is 12 and having these procedures isn't controversial enough). i think the lesson here is that quick fixes don't work. removing 40 lbs by force did not help her keep off the weight or (apparently) motivate her to start taking her food/exercise plan any more seriously. lipo is HELL! if that didn't motivate her to keep up a healthy regimen, why would the lapband be any different? i don't have the time to read this whole string, so i'm going to stay out of the "blame mom" argument. although clearly, it seems that the mother has not exercised the best judgement.

I have been a Mom for 25years, Healthcare Professional most recent years Managing Laproscopic Surgery including Bariatric Surgery in a Operating Room and have had the Lap Band 11/05 which with all the Professional knowledge I have, did all the right things like eating  and exercising complications happened and I ended up having many many mnay surgeries since 11/05 and lost the Lap Band on 6/5/07 (which almost ended my life due to severe Band Slippage). Weightloss Surgery is a tool not to be used lightly. As with any and yes ALL surgeries there are risks to be taken. It was not the easy way out for me to lose weight or even to get healthy. I struggled to eat, to not get sick and to live my life. It was my decision to have the surgery and I knew what I was getting into more then most of the population. Not funny when before go to sleep for each surgery I was asked hey if we have problems with the equipment can we wake you up and you tell us how to fix it. What I am trying to say is that it is hard very hard with or without WLS. WLS fixes our stomachs but it does not fix our head. To be honest I can not even remember when I was hungry the last time. I now eat healthier because I have to for health reasons. I dont want to go back on the over 12 medications with insulin that I was on before the WLS. Incentive for me. What do I tell my 17 year old daughter that is very over weight one might ask. WLS is not the first choice to save your life but an addition along with exercise and healthier eating as it is a lifestyle forever. I would agree to her choice when she was old enough to make her own decisions.......