School Lambasted for Weighing Students in Front of Peers

LEARNING THE HARD “WEIGH.” –

Nov. 25, 2022 – An Australia primary school is under fire for weighing young students in front of their peers before the kids were publicly ranked based on their number on the scale. Butterfly Foundation, an organization that supports those with eating disorders, said it recently received a disturbing message from a concerned parent whose friend’s 10-year-old daughter was weighed during class on a set of scales the teacher brought into the classroom, 7News.com reported.

The students were forced to weigh themselves, write their names and weights on the board, then were ranked from lightest to heaviest. The friend’s daughter was the heaviest. “In the case of this child, over the following weekend, she didn’t eat in an attempt to no longer be the heaviest child in the class.”

The organization added they are seeing a rising number of younger students, specifically those aged 9 to 12, struggling with body image and problematic behaviour.

“We’re increasingly hearing reports of students expressing low self-esteem, not eating at school or who are uncomfortable doing so in front of others, students over-eating and under-eating and expressing a desire to count calories and diet from a young age,” Damiano said.