How old was your DD when she hit her growth spurt or did the most growing?

[B&M's mom]

Growth spurts, what are those? My daughter (11) only grows about 2" a year. She just had her physical and her pediatrician was very happy that she had grown that much. Right now she's 4'3" and 62 lbs of solid muscle. She's no where near puberty physically (though emotionally she's getting a lot closer). I'm hoping she's got 3-4 more years before she's done growing so she gets close to 5'!

 

[gymmom14]

My dd has been waiting for a growth spurt for a long time. She was 14 in May. I would say between 13-14 she grew over 4 inches and her body really changed. She was 5 ft 1/4 inch and 100 lbs at her check up in July. I think she has grown since then too. I will have to measure her. She is thrilled to have broke 5ft. lol

 

[MdGymMom01]

I did the official measuring this morning. Her bday isn't till January and that is usually the only time she gets weighed and measured for her dr check-ups. It looks like dd is officially 4' 9" and 74 lbs. Here is a percentage calculator that I found:

Children's Growth Chart Percentiles Calculator

And dd's results:

At 12 years and 7 months:


your child is 74 pounds, and that is
at the 6th percentile for weight.

your child is 57 inches, and that is
at the 7th percentile for height.

 

[SkiBumGymMom]

I second TQM! My oldest DD is 20 and barely over 5'... youngest DD is about 5' 5 1/2" and 18. She hit her biggest growth spurt when she was about 13. I'm a whopping 5' 3". Youngest DD is still mad at me that she's not taller, she says she'll never be able to dance professionally. Life is clearly very hard ha ha.

 

[MdGymMom01]

I second TQM! My oldest DD is 20 and barely over 5'... youngest DD is about 5' 5 1/2" and 18. She hit her biggest growth spurt when she was about 13. I'm a whopping 5' 3". Youngest DD is still mad at me that she's not taller, she says she'll never be able to dance professionally. Life is clearly very hard ha ha.

Hahaha--I love how our kids "get mad at us" because they are not tall enough or too tall like it is something that we can control LOL. Sorry kiddies--we can't control our genetics!

I am also 5' 3", my mom was 5' 3", my older sister 5' 3" and my younger sister 5' 1". On my ex's side he is 5' 11", his mom is about 5' 9" and his sister is about 5' 5". So, I am guessing dd will probably be taller than 5'.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

with regard to the weighing and measuring - it came about actually beacuse of one boy and one girl - they lost several skills and the coach gave them a little bit of a hard time ( not a lot she is a sweetie) about putting more effort in. Here in the UK we don't have regular checkups as you seem to do - once a child is past baby stage thats it, and then the boys mum mentioned in passing that he'd grown 2 inches and put on over 7 lb ! - no wonder his skills were off. Thats why they want to do it - then we know. Its a growth thing - not a weight thing - we don't care how much you weigh, its changes that are important, and if a girl looses weight ( as we don't have any overweight gymnasts on our team) its a good indication its time to speak to her parents about upping the calories. As another poster said - its about how you do it. We tell them that as young athletes they need to eat properly to cover their extra needs. I had one girl complaining about the size of her shoulders - saying they were "manly" - till I pointed out that broader shoulders make you waist look smaller - plus side to everything:applause:

'Margo

 

[AlexsGymmyMom]

I did that growth calculator and this is what it said about Alex

At 11 years and 10 months:
your child is 67 pounds, and that is
at the 4th percentile for weight.your child is 56 inches, and that is
at the 14th percentile for height

I am sure she will get taller as I am 5'6" and her dad is 6". However his dad is only 5'9" and my mom is 5'2". My brother is also only 5'9". Not sure how much the grandparents weigh in to the equation but my DD is tired of being the shortest at school. Most all her school friends tower over her!

 

[Deanna]

Kadee just turned 6, so no MAJOR growth spurts..yet. Although she had a little bit of one this spring. I did the growth chart on her..and this is what it said...my poor itty bitty thing..lol. It will be interesting to see what her ending height will be. I am 5'2" and her Daddy is 6'6"..lol.
At 6 years:
your child is 36 pounds, and that is
at the 4th percentile for weight.your child is 42 inches, and that is
at the 4th percentile for height.

And my little guy isnt doing much better..although I think he will pass poor Kadee up by this time next year..lol
At 4 years and 5 months:

your child is 34 pounds, and that is
at the 18th percentile for weight.your child is 40 inches, and that is
at the 19th percentile for height.

 

[TexasRose]

My DD is pretty tiny also. She's 6, will be 7 in December. Currently weighing in at a whopping 35 lbs! lol. She's 42 inches tall. No big growth spurts yet. She actually fits in all ehr school uniforms from last year, including the shoes. I'm 5'3'', hubby is 5'8''. My mother-in-law is tiny- 4'11'' and weighed 85lbs before having her kids. So I'm guessing dd got those genes. I'm just hoping she gets some curves from me, lol

 

[coachmolly]

I don't recall a huge growth spurt, more like a gradual increase over a few years. However I was put on medication as a 10-11 year old that caused major weight gain and that really threw off my gymnastics. Just thinking back to that time, I would have been mortified to be weighed by my coaches for any reason. It was embarrassing enough to be facing those challenges personally and showing up in a leotard every day, having my coaches know about that number too would have been a recipe for disaster. I really struggled with my weight as a result of medications and illness throughout my time as a gymnast and was very scarred by coaches comments, so when I hear of coaches weighing athletes, I think it's important to remember that each child has very individual circumstances that a coach may or may not be aware of- medications, problems at home, physical/mental health issues, the list goes on.

 

[bookworm]

She still hasn't had a "major growth spurt"...

 

[Blackie6]

I would say my DD probably hit a bit of a growth spurt this Summer, but not major. She has Sever's in her heels and now Osgood Schlatters in her one knee. I used the growth calculater (Thanks MDmom) and she is 10 yrs old and 73lbs and 52 inches. Funny how I thought she was a chunk-a-monk, but she is only in the 40th percentile for weight. She is 54 inches and that puts her in the 28th percentile for height. I am curious if she is still going thru growth spurt which could explain the knee problem that just popped up! Guess I will measure her next month too! My 13 yr old son we are still waiting on the puberty fairy for. He is short and still probably about 90lbs, which isn't much more than he has been at for past 3 yrs! He is a wrestler and has been in the 85/90 lb group for 3 years. I am not tall, about 5 ft 4 inches, and hubby about 5 '11. My oldest is 15 and has passed me already, but he may be the only one blessed with some height.

 

[SkiBumGymMom]

Hahaha--I love how our kids "get mad at us" because they are not tall enough or too tall like it is something that we can control LOL. Sorry kiddies--we can't control our genetics!

I am also 5' 3", my mom was 5' 3", my older sister 5' 3" and my younger sister 5' 1". On my ex's side he is 5' 11", his mom is about 5' 9" and his sister is about 5' 5". So, I am guessing dd will probably be taller than 5'.

Hahahaha I know! For such a smart girl she can say some very not smart things. Still love her though ;-) Maddy has dreamed of being a prima ballerina since she could walk. I've never had the heart to tell her that might not be in the cards. She's a smart girl and knows most major dancers are much taller, I think she's still waiting on a growth spurt. My entire family is on the shorter side and my late husband's family could be described as average at best, he was just over 5' 9". She's dancing with the main ballet company in our state and is thrilled. I just don't want her to be heartbroken when she stops getting higher positions and bigger roles. Bri on the other hand, picked the perfect sport for her size, very muscular and short. But I think she would have done gymnastics if she was 6 feet tall, she loves it so much. Goes to show you it's more about how bad you want it and not body type!

 

[scanlri]

My Dd is just plugging on a little bit at a time as well. She is the smallest in her class (3rd grade)... most 2nd & 1st grade kids are bigger.

Her pediatrician said that gymnastics may delay her puberty since she has such a small body fat %. She also said that was a good thing since that would give her more time to grow (finished puberty = finished growing) and she may gain an extra inch or two.

At 8 years and 3 months:
your child is 38.5 pounds, and that is
at less than the 3rd percentile for weight.
your child is 46.25 inches, and that is
at less than the 3rd percentile for height.



​

 

[Billy]

I just measured DD today, one month before her 10th birthday. She is 4'9" and 72 lbs, that's about the 80th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for weight. Height predictors put her around 5'8" when she's 18, which sounds about right given that I'm 5'7" and DH is 6'. She's excited to be tall and could care less about what's "normal" for gymnasts. LOL

 

[raenndrops]

Weighing/Measuring

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!? For what purpose????? I would definitely have a problem w/someone weighing and measuring my daughter! What is their purpose for doing this? It has got to more than just "curiosity" as far as I would be concerned.

Some gyms do this, like she said- without letting the girls see their weight, to be a little more understanding when a girl loses her skills due to a growth spurt. We had a girl on our team grow 4 inches in like 2 months and she lost her RO BHS BT. She couldn't even connect a RO BHS for a month afterwards. She is still working on getting it back.

As long as they aren't doing it to get the girls to lose weight, but are doing it to understand fluctuations in skills, I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

[gymnut1]

There isn't any need to weigh them though - just the height would show that.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

As long as they aren't doing it to get the girls to lose weight, but are doing it to understand fluctuations in skills, I don't see anything wrong with it.

There is plenty wrong with it. In this day and age when we are surrounded by stick thin models, girls are affected by eating disorders, etc., any time you even pull out a scale and ask a girl to step on it, it becomes a big deal. Even if the coaches are "convinced they're doing it to understand 'fluctuations' in skills", it is still sending a message that weight matters... Call it what you want, it's still just plailn wrong in this day and age with the knowledge we now have.

Also, coaching methods don't change whether or not you 'know" what is causing the lapse in skills.

 

[bribri514]

Not on the whole growth spurt issue, my loving mother covered that lol, but on the weighing and measuring girls. All I can think of is Christy Heinrich. I think it's great that gymnastics has started to move away from that 80s and early 90s super tiny and skinny ideal with loads of horrible stories about eating disorders and coaches calling girls fat, etc. Well maybe not in the eyes of the public but they never understand gymnastics anyway. If coaches are worried about growth spurts... well can't they just look and see? I know if you see a girl everyday it's harder to see the 4 inches and 15 pounds she's gained growing, but there's no reason to measure the girls for that. A good coach knows his/her athletes well enough to see when they're uncomfortable with a skill for whatever reason, growth, fear, whatever, and they can adjust their coaching to help them.

My coaches were great about body issues, no forcing only leos so girls got uncomfortable, no comments about size at all, really supportive, etc. But I still knew a girl on my optionals team who struggled with bulimia. A lot of it was because of her home life and her super competitive parents (the kind that take their kids every weekend on 40 mile bike rides and go for 10 mile runs in the snow and compete in triathalons, one was a former college skier who coached at Ski Club Vail, which is like WOGA's program for elite skiers). It was really sad and she ended up dropping out and ended up going down a bad path. Even our cheerleading coach for high school would regularly tell girls they were getting too big to fly, myself too. We all crash dieted together, and would have diet coke and an apple or something for lunch thinking it's not like we had real eating disorders. It's really sad in retrospect our coach passively encouraged that. By the time girls are teenagers they're bombarded with enough pressure to be super skinny. Forcing the issue with younger girls only makes that worse.

It's really easy to talk about weighing and measuring and molding girls body types until you actually know someone who's had a bad eating disorder.

 

[NOG]

As always BriBri - very insightful!! I wish every girl could have a role-model like you to look up to - I wish that I could clone you and put one of you in every gym ! I'm sure that you're mother is very proud of the woman that you've become .