Parents Question about height

[Deleted member 18037]

[QUOTE Why is height so important? I don't undertsand the concern if they are otherwise healthy.[/QUOTE]

Because the world is designed for people who are at least about 5 ft. Cars, counters, adult clothes, cabinents, a whole bunch of stuff.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

She's grown 3 inches in the last year, which is bigger than any previous year, so it's interesting that the doctor is concerned now. I would just continue on, without much concern and go back for the check in 6 months.

Its about following the typical growth pattern for the child. So child on the 10th percentile, always on the 10th percentile, no problem.

A child on 50 percentile drops, its time to look into it. Notice I said look into. No big deal necessarily, but time to do some checks.

My daughter, always a 25-50 percentile girl dropped. Doc and I curious. Some basic blood tests done, all OK so far. So we are watching.

A level of concern is not bad. Take it for what it is due diligence. Not bad or good. Just keeping an eye out.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I agree with this entirely. No weighing or measuring here, not since they were babies. They are all taller than me, that's as much as I know.

If you weren't weighing and measuring would you be worried about her?

If not, stop weighing and measuring, and you'll find the problem goes away

My DD's were last weighed/measured as babies. I wouldn't know which centile they were on, never mind if they'd fallen off it.

Numbers are just numbers with out any context. If she's growing in proportion, healthy, well etc it's likely she's waiting on a growth spurt. Not everyone grows in a smooth curve on a graph, some go in steps, drop off, jump up. Remember it's average, so not exact

I agree with this entirely. No weighing or measuring here, not since they were babies. They are all taller than me, that's as much as I know.

Sounds like your kids are not on the short stature side. That's great. I am sure if they were way shorter than most your level of concern might go up.

Again. Doctor wants to check. No harm in keeping a eye out. I would imagine a doc actually monitoring a specific childs growth curve might have a slight edge over us who do not have the history at hand.

 

[Shooosh]

Some doctors can be alarmists and some parents seek attention when 'worrying' about their kids' height. Follow your instincts. Is she healthy? Physically and mentally? It never hurts to keep and eye on things! I have three daughters and my tallest is in the 12th percentile. At one point in her life she was in the 66th. She just gradually came down. But it was equal with her weight and she is so healthy! Sudden changes are concerning and a pattern of not growing is too. The major question really is...is she healthy? Don't let her doctors make you paranoid.

 

[samsmama]

I don't weigh or measure my kids either, but I do take them for annual checkups where that is a standard part of the exam, as is plotting their growth on a chart. Don't all doctors do that? Makes it kind of hard to avoid knowing their stats.

 

[mimi]

[QUOTE Why is height so important? I don't undertsand the concern if they are otherwise healthy.

Because the world is designed for people who are at least about 5 ft. Cars, counters, adult clothes, cabinents, a whole bunch of stuff.[/QUOTE]

This is what keeps me up at night.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

You all also realize there has been some publications about gymnastics slowing/hindering growth.

 

[mimi]

You all also realize there has been some publications about gymnastics slowing/hindering growth.

You should ask @dunno about that. I believe he has addressed that assertion before if I am remembering correctly.

 

[l.c.o]

At my DD's 1yr well baby check, she was >97%ile. Our doc joked that had she actually been TWO years old, rather than just one, she would have been 50%ile. Said he wasn't concerned about her size yet, but that we needed to casually monitor her growth. I'm 5'1" tall and DH is 6'0", (not huge but above average) so we figured it could go either way.

At DD's two year check? She had barely grown and dropped to mid-60%ile. Doc was then concerned that she hadn't grown enough and put DD on quarterly weight checks. Determined the kid just didn't really like food. I started letting her eat French fries . By age 3 she'd added height/weight but %ile dropped again.

She's now almost 11 and she's been hovering pretty consistently between the 25-35th %ile for height for 5 years or so. Weight is similar.

Doctor says sometimes clinic visits catch kids right before/after a growth spurt - those plots on the graph can sometimes incorrectly skew a bit.

This just to say that I totally get ruling out metabolic problems is important, but sometimes genetics are just weird. If it were me, I'd follow doctor's recommendation. That said, these days as long as DD eats healthfully (and whenever she is hungry until she is full), and she's active and sleeping well, then I don't really worry. Good luck!

 

[Gymmom826]

Thanks so much for all your comments. I'm so glad I signed up here. It really helps to get feedback from parents who've been there. I'm trying not to get too worried about it. I've just never heard about issues with height before.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

My personal experience, not a doctor nor do I play one on tv...
My oldest was always quite small. My husband and I are both fairly tall, I'm 5'8" he's 5'11". My mom and dad are tall. His dad is tall... His mom is 4'10"!! So, when DD was around 1 she started dropping off the charts for weight, was still on there for height but barely. Doc wasn't worried, she was very active and had great muscle tone and growing according to her own curve. She was always growing, just not super fast, and she was always healthy. She didn't get back onto the charts again until she was around 9yo, and then it was like in the 3rd percentile or something for weight, and 10-12th for height. She was almost always the shortest/smallest in her class, but very healthy. She was a little worried about it, she didn't particularly like being the smallest all the time, but we would just bring up the advantages of being petite in her field (she is a dancer) and that eventually she would grow. She didn't get out of her booster seat until 6th grade, when she was 12...the height requirements here are 4' 9". And that was halfway through a pretty massive growth spurt!! She is now 13 and almost 5'2". She has grown over 9" in a little over 2yrs. Not tall by any means, but not abnormally small either. Some of her friends grew more and a steadier pace, she grew slower for many years and then had a huge jump. she has caught up to many of them now, girls that she was always a head shorter than.
So, while it's always worth checking out if you are concerned, there are huge differences in how much or how fast kids grow, when they grow etc. unless they are unhealthy or something is setting off your warning bells, I wouldn't worry too much about someone simply being petite. Sometimes there's just a massive growth spurt on the horizon...

 

[Daffodil]

My 8 year old daughter dropped off her growth/weight curve about a year and a half ago. She was always somewhat small, but she dropped from the 30th percentile to lower than the 10th percentile. The first pediatrician in the practice wanted to do a weight/growth check in 6 months. We ended up seeing another pediatrician in the practice b/c my daughter was experiencing reflux and stomach pain. The second pediatrician ordered blood work and a celiac panel to see if anything was going awry. She didn't see any point in waiting the 6 months. It turns out that my daughter has celiac disease. Now that she has been on a gluten free diet for the past year or so, her growth has normalized and she is back on her regular curve. I would definitely take it seriously if there is a drop in percentiles. As much as a gluten free diet is a bit of a nuisance, there can be serious long term consequences if celiac disease is not caught early on (i.e. a higher incidence of type I diabetes, thyroid issues, intestinal lymphoma, malnutrition, bone density issues, and other autoimmune issues).

I hope that it is a non-issue for your daughter, but just wanted to let you know that a drop in percentiles can definitely be a clue that there is something wrong within the body. Good luck!

 

[stillgotmyleotard]

Sounds like your kids are not on the short stature side. That's great. I am sure if they were way shorter than most your level of concern might go up.

Again. Doctor wants to check. No harm in keeping a eye out. I would imagine a doc actually monitoring a specific childs growth curve might have a slight edge over us who do not have the history at hand.

This is true. My kids were born long and thin and have remained long and thin. As babies, there was some concern at their weight in relation to their height but I have never been worried. Mainly because their father is (guess what) long and thin.

And of course, you are right. I would probably monitor more closely, were I concerned in any way about their height or weight. Likewise, if I suspect a fever, I take their temperature. But I certainly don't take their temperature as a matter of course.

 

[profmom]

The most important question: when did your child's biological parents have their major growth spurts? If one or both were late, that may well explain it. My eldest DS, who is 16, just started to grow, following me and my husband, who were both quite late bloomers.

Very glad DS's pediatrician had this talk with us when he was two, as we have never worried about him or his two younger siblings.

 

[Faith]

Sounds like your kids are not on the short stature side. That's great. I am sure if they were way shorter than most your level of concern might go up.

.

DD1 is the shortest in her class, despite being the oldest. Still, she eats well, has plenty of energy to train 18 hours a week, and is growing- she is growing out of/into clothes, and is taller than her little sister still. That's all I need to know. I'd be worried if I suspected she wasn't growing at all.

We went through a Dr's obsession with weight when DD1 was a baby. I learned that the figures mean nothing without context. A top paed told me that you could gauge a lot more simply by looking at the child as a whole, general health, growth patterns within the family and for the child, parental height. He advised against weighing and measuring an otherwise healthy child as it just led to anxiety, and often, unnecessary tests.

She was always somewhat small, but she dropped from the 30th percentile to lower than the 10th percentile. The first pediatrician in the practice wanted to do a weight/growth check in 6 months. We ended up seeing another pediatrician in the practice b/c my daughter was experiencing reflux and stomach pain. The second pediatrician ordered blood work and a celiac panel to see if anything was going awry. She didn't see any point in waiting the 6 months. It turns out that my daughter has celiac disease. Now that she has been on a gluten free diet for the past year or so, her growth has normalized and she is back on her regular curve.

I hope that it is a non-issue for your daughter, but just wanted to let you know that a drop in percentiles can definitely be a clue that there is something wrong within the body. Good luck!

So in fact it wasn't the measuring that led to the diagnosis, it was the clinical signs of stomach pain etc that led to the investigations for coeliac disease. I know several children with coeliac and the were all diagnosed on symptoms, not by a drop in centiles. Context. The measurements alone mean nothing.

 

[OzZee]

All my kids are petite.
Fun when one is born rather late and a reasonable weight and 56cm long baby then drops to where they should be. Doctor sits with nose in a chart lecturing that said 9 month old baby who is running around the room, climbing on the furniture is failure to thrive.
Sometimes its a cause for concern, sometimes needs investigation, sometimes doesn't, but each case is individual, however many health professionals don't do individual.

 

[Daffodil]

is actually not true. Many children are tested due to a drop in height and weight percentiles b/c the kids are no longer absorbing nutrients properly. The reason that it took her a year to get back on track with her height and weight was b/c her intestine had to heal to allow for proper nutrient absorption. The diagnosis did not come from the drop in percentiles, and I did not say that it did. The diagnosis is determined by blood tests and endoscopy results. The original pediatrician specifically mentioned that celiac testing would be the next step, if my daughter had not gotten back onto her curve at the 6 month check (and my daughter was not complaining of the other symptoms at that time). The second pediatrician simply did not see any point in waiting the extra 5 months to investigate. The fact of the matter is, if there is a significant drop off of a child's height and weight percentile curves, it is a possible sign of problems. It absolutely may not be an issue, but what exactly is the benefit of encouraging a parent to ignore it? I am simply sharing my experience and am a bit confused about your desire to debate it with me.

 

[Daffodil]

So in fact it wasn't the measuring that led to the diagnosis, it was the clinical signs of stomach pain etc that led to the investigations for coeliac disease. I know several children with coeliac and the were all diagnosed on symptoms, not by a drop in centiles. Context. The measurements alone mean nothing.

That is actually not true. Many children are tested due to a drop in height and weight percentiles b/c the kids are no longer absorbing nutrients properly. The reason that it took her a year to get back on track with her height and weight was b/c her intestine had to heal to allow for proper nutrient absorption. The diagnosis did not come from the drop in percentiles, and I did not say that it did. The diagnosis is determined by blood tests and endoscopy results. The original pediatrician specifically mentioned that celiac testing would be the next step, if my daughter had not gotten back onto her curve at the 6 month check (and my daughter was not complaining of the other symptoms at that time). The second pediatrician simply did not see any point in waiting the extra 5 months to investigate. The fact of the matter is, if there is a significant drop off of a child's height and weight percentile curves, it is a possible sign of problems. It absolutely may not be an issue, but what exactly is the benefit of encouraging a parent to ignore it? I am simply sharing my experience and am a bit confused about your desire to debate it with me.

 

[Daffodil]

Sorry for the double post...still trying to figure out how to maneuver the posting system.

 

[2gymkids]

Is there a certain time of year that they usually have a growth spurt? Mine pretty much only grow in spring, so if you measure them in Jan/Feb it looks like they've totally dropped percentage-wise, but they usually level back off by May or so. My youngest will go from 60ish % in May to 20% in late winter, then back up. My oldest is shorter with less fluctuation but still a similar trend.