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A mother has been left furious after her young son came home with leaflets encouraging them to join Slimming World in his bag.
Mum-of-four Emma Barker – not her real name – was emptying her five-year-old son’s homework satchel last Friday when she was discovered the ‘Be Slim for Life’ booklet.
The mother, 42, said her son had already been worried about his weight, adding it was ‘appalling’ of the school to allow the ‘inappropriate’ material to go out to impressionable children.
Slimming World consultant Nikki Anderson came forward to admit it was her who asked the school to put the flyers in the pupils’ bags.
She claimed they were intended for parents, not the children, and insisted there was ‘no need’ for the mother to be upset about it in the first place.
Emma, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, said: ‘I was quite shocked. It’s appalling. There’s so much pressure on kids at the minute already.
‘They are meant to conform to be stick-thin insects. Then they’re having this leaflet in their face saying ‘be slim for life’. If they’re not ‘slim for life’, does that mean they’re not accepted?’
Emma said her son has since been asking how he can lose weight and took to social media to share the booklet, to which parents said it could risk children developing eating disorders.
She wrote: ‘I was taking out my son’s work to do his homework and it was just there with all his books. I’m not sure what [school] year it stopped at. We have an eight-year-old too and he didn’t bring one home…
‘It was saying “join Slimming World and you can be like this”. On the back it had the consultant’s details.
‘I thought to myself “is it me? Am I being over sensitive?” But quite a lot of people agreed it was inappropriate’.
She added: ‘My eight-year-old was weighed at school and they did the kids’ height. I got this letter home saying he was obese.
‘Now with the leaflet coming home, he’s now looking at himself in the mirror saying “mum, how can I get rid of this?”
‘I explain to him that he’s getting extra skin ready to grow upwards. [Now, we] have leaflets around when we’ve already got a child that’s conscious of his weight.’
After spotting Emma’s post online, Slimming World consultant Nikki admitted she requested the leaflets to be distributed so parents could read them.
She wrote: ‘The leaflets aren’t given to the children to read or even a subject addressed on it to the child in class or in the leaflets.
‘I had a lot of people come forward from it and actually asking me for more information or advice about it. It’s something that is completely family based and works for people with children.
‘It’s not at any way aimed at kids, and who has time to stand and talk on school runs everyone is to busy to get to work or get home to start evening routines, and I have actually been there with my t-shirt and information to talk if anyone wanted to or needed.
‘The children are addressed on healthy eating keeping active, healthy lifestyles to keep fit, there is not much difference except the front saying keep slim for life.
‘It was in no way shape or form sent out to upset anyone, but it’s an agree to disagree subject.
‘You can’t please everyone and if it’s not for you please just pop it in the bin, there was no need for this post to be aired and also wouldn’t of been difficult to find out it was myself and come to me directly, if you have [or] had any issues I will wait for you outside the school this morning please come and speak to me yourself.’
A spokesperson from The Woodlands Community Primary School said: ‘The school unreservedly apologises for any distress caused to parents who found slimming world leaflets in their child’s bag.
‘We would like to assure all parents that the school was acting in good faith in letting parents know about the existence of the classes but appreciate that putting the leaflets in children’s bags was ill-advised.’
A Slimming World spokesperson said: ‘Slimming World encourages healthy family eating and lifestyle. Consultants, who are self-employed and run local groups, are encouraged to share information about the support that they offer to people who are overweight in their communities.
‘We work closely with organisations like schools, leisure centres and health groups to promote our programme. These leaflets were intended for the parents, not the children of this primary school and we apologise for any upset caused.’
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