Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Your weight is like a polar bear


The Manhattan Children's Museum has this awesome pictorial scale that uses animal pictures instead of numbers. What an awesome way for kids to get a sense of the concept of weight! And, ok, yeah, I thought it was pretty fun too and couldn't resist stepping on.

I had seen it many moons ago prior to my weight loss journey and "weighed in at that time," coming in decidedly in Polar Bear territory. Unfortunately, a family member I was with that day weighed in also and we were both shocked to find the arrow pointing directly at the Elephant. OUCH. I think I would find that painful to see.

So recently I was back at the museum with Magpie and I hopped back on again, hoping to see that I'd transitioned to Horse from Polar Bear (yes, I'm weird, I admit it).

But no! This time I weighed in as a Boxer Dog! Magpie weighed in also and the arrow pointed to Kitty Cat.

Not sure how accurate or precise this scale is, but it's a really cool idea to convey the idea of weight to little ones in a way they can understand. I look forward to Magpie moving closer to Boxer Dog territory as she grows. : )

Mo

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4 comments:

  1. Wow-ee! I wonder how they decided what animals depicted what? Our children's museum has a scale that shows you how much water is in your body, but it doesn't do much for the understanding of weight as a concept, just sharing the idea that lots of us is made of water.

    Congratulations on being closer to a cat than an elephant!

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  2. Certainly not accurate as a horse will weigh in, on average, at 3-400 pounds! A 200 pound horse is severely underweight! I like the concept, to help children understand weight differences, but not sure I like the animals they chose as I know that if I were compared to a horse it would be a real kick to the self esteem :( Some kids are very susceptible to that and could create issues with eating (though I do understand there is another side to that spectrum and some children DO need to slim down for health reasons)

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  3. @Brookes4boys yeah -- not so much on the accuracy. A (smallish) pony, maybe at that weight. My 15.2 hand (5'6") thoroughbred weighed in at 1250 lbs (yes, I really did stand him on a scale), and while he was a bit plump at that weight, it really was just "a bit" (he was retired at that stage). The newborn filly at the barn where I'm riding now weighs in at 140 lb. So, yeah. I'm thinking, useful (maybe) for kids in terms of concept, but not so much on the accuracy!

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  4. I like! I think it's a fun way to depict weight

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