A 13-year-old girl was left in tears after a school nurse pulled her out of class to ask about her weight, prompting questions about whether the school had overstepped.
The teenager was questioned about whether everything was okay at home and at school, before the nurse explained that several teachers had noticed a significant change in her weight. The conversation became more uncomfortable when the nurse began asking personal questions about her eating habits and whether her clothes still fitted properly.
Reddit post shares the incident
The girl's brother's girlfriend shared the story on Reddit, questioning whether the school had crossed a line by raising the teenager's weight with her. She wrote: "She asked if she noticed some mood changes, if she's eating more than usual, if her clothes still fit her normally. My boyfriend's sister was in tears the whole time. She then got asked to get up and show her inner thighs (to see if her jeans are ripped from chafing). Is this allowed?"
She added: "Can teachers/nurses speculate on students weights like that? And talk to them about it? We're not wrong to think this is inappropriate, right?" The teenager spent the weekend in tears following the conversation, and her brother's girlfriend feared the school's attempt to check on her wellbeing may have done more harm than good.
Concerns about sensitivity
She explained: "I know weight gain can be a sign of depression or something more serious, and my boyfriend's sister is very quiet and just stays by herself most of the time. I get why the nurse/teachers might've thought that, but I think it's extremely inappropriate to ask a teenager those kinds of questions. Especially a 13 year old, as if they aren't already self conscious enough."
She added: "Now, she doesn't trust her teachers, because she doesn't know who's secretly judging her. My boyfriend told me that she's probably not going to go to school Monday, but this is just such a weird thing to say to a kid, I don't really know what you can do. She doesn't want to talk to her parents about it, she only told her brother and me."
Mixed reactions in comments
The post sparked a debate in the comments, with some suggesting the nurse may have been carrying out a welfare check, while others questioned whether the situation could have been handled more sensitively. One user wrote: "It likely was an internal welfare check. And it was not orchestrated well. I work with kids and we do these kinds of checks in a much better and tactful way with kids that either rapidly gain or lose weight. Sorry it upset her so much. Is she ok though? Rapid weight gain or loss is cause for concern."
Another suggested the nurse may have been trying to establish whether the teenager was pregnant, commenting: "I'm guessing the nurse was trying to figure out if the girl was pregnant, which would be a concern. Not sure if that makes it a mandated report, but...?" A third user defended the school's decision, pointing out that sudden weight gain can sometimes be linked to underlying health concerns. They wrote: "Rapid weight gain can be caused by diabetes, PCOS, hypothyroidism, pregnancy, etc. If it was enough several teachers to notice, it had to be pretty extreme. Being concerned is a teacher's job. Now, asking about the jeans is weird, but being concerned she's not sick or pregnant is not."
