Health visitor has made me worried about three year old's height :(

[Reesewithafork]

DS had his last health visitor check via video call so I got a letter asking me to drop in to the clinic in town so they could weigh him and measure him.

He's three and a half now and definitely stocky, he takes after my side of the family who are all short with a rugby player type build I think, even though DH is six foot.

He's currently due a growth spurt I think, he's put on a bit of weight which is usually a sign he's going to suddenly have a spurt, and I did mention this. However the HV plotted his measurements on the red book chart he used to be 99th centile for weight and 50th ish, sometimes slightly under for height. He's now 75th centile for weight (slimmed down a lot as soon as he got his scooter and decided he likes to run everywhere) and just under 25th for height.

She's referred us to paediatrics for growth concerns even though she said herself he looks like a completely healthy child and he does have a sturdy build. He's very heavy, even when he's slimmed down, as my back will tell you. But now I have all kinds of things running through my head, like he has something wrong with him that's affecting his growth. She also laughed and said well he's definitely not going to be tall mum, so you'd better get rid of that idea! (When I have her DH's height, she asked for it).

Did anyone else have anything like this and it turned out to be ok? He's always been stockier than his friends but doesn't look tiny in height next to them and all his clothes seem to fit - trousers slightly long but nothing major.

I feel really guilty as I haven't checked his weight and height against the charts for ages.

Thanks @Caravanvirgin its not something I’ve looked for before, I’m presuming you mean just visible rather than looking like they would if you stretch? I’ll have a look later that’s useful.

I hear you on the guilty. There is always something we feel like we should or shouldn’t be doing.

It's good that they're monitoring him, but try not to worry. Kids all grow in fits and starts, at different ages. When mine was 3, I was worried about his short legs, as he was still in 12-18 month trousers and his legs didn't seem to have kept up with the rest of him for about a year. He started Reception in the shortest school trousers I could find and he still looked like Charlie Chaplin. He's now 16, over 6 ft tall and all legs - I couldn't find school trousers long enough for him last year and he's in adult men's long-length jeans.

@Caravanvirgin it does seem that way. But I’m also grateful in a way to have a bit of a nudge just to review his diet etc as you can get lost to routine and slip into bad habits and I always want to lead by example and set him on a healthy course. His nan has been looking after him recently and I suspect she is free and easy with the treats so I’m going to speak to her later about that as well.

@spiderlight you’re right and I know he never gains weight and grows in height at the same time he never has. He always starts looking really chunky and stocky and then suddenly slims right down again when he grows a cm or two. Diet will obviously be a factor as will exercise but I’m going to try not to become obsessed about it all!

Look he eats well and takes lots of exercise, no one knows what height he will be when he grows up, even the health visitor. Children grow in spurts so their is no real point worrying about percentiles, he is down at this check, he could be up at the next one. And if the medical experts who deal with your son have no concerns about his weight, it doesn't matter what some randomer on MN thinks.
Health visitors told me all sorts of nonsense over the years, one that stands out was when i was told my middle dd was exceptionally tall for her age, I was surprised because I thought she was on the small side, we discovered that she had measured her wrong when she was 3 inches shorter at her next check up!

So sorry wrong thread 😱. OP I’m sure your DS is a sweetheart even without his PR team to bolster his image

Try not to worry - it's impossible to tell how tall he'll be at this stage, really. If you and DH aren't particularly tall, statistically it's unlikely he'll be a giant but you never know how he'll turn out. It's good that she's going to refer you.

@Sugarplumfury 😃

@WolfFoxHare thanks, you’re right. Im short, all DH’s side are tall he’s six foot one and the shortest!

Also, just wanted to be clear I’m not worried that he won’t be tall, he is what he is, and I’ll never be upset by that but I’m just concerned about the discrepancy between centiles and whether that means something else is going on.

thanks so much to everyone has posted though it’s been really reassuring, helpful and useful.

Her laughing about him never being tall is ridiculous, she has absolutely no way of predicting that

It s growth rate that counts from now to 3 , to 6 months.
Coeliac can cause growth to stop. It did for my dc.
If he gets referred they will measure properly and ask you to go back in 6 months to get a growth rate .
Did you have a good reference from 6 months ago? Dont compare with birth wright and height.
If growth is actually dropping centiles now then needs investigating and monitoring yes

I doubt it, I had a similar panic a while ago and read a ton of threads and only rarely did they result in a growth hormone problem.

Has he been poorly a lot over his toddler years? I think that’s why mine has dropped a little. He was unwell every other week for about a year after joining nursery, I’m sure that had an impact on his growth for obvious reasons - he didn’t eat much when sick and looked noticeably skinny for a while. Apparently it’s been particularly bad for kids who started nursery in the year or two after covid.

@Sweetashunni yes last year was horrendous it was similar, every other week for ages. This year has been like night and day in comparison.

he was measured in February but I don’t have what it was as comparison it was just done as part of an appointment.

My dd was born on the 99th and is now on the 9th. She’s the smallest in her class by a mile.
Kids grow at different rates and me and her dad aren’t tall. No one has ever been concerned about her height

Ah, well that could be your answer! And a perfectly innocent explanation.

So I’ve had a look and I can see his ribs but not very clearly if that makes sense - I can’t see every individual rib, and they are clearer when he’s moving his arms around so maybe he is a bit overweight at the moment.

Just thought I'd post an update. I spoke to DS's GP and his nursery, as I was starting to feel quite anxious about the whole thing and nursery said they wouldn't have flagged any concerns as he's a bigger build than other children, so doesn't look like he is carrying too much weight (wider shouldered for example). They also said he's on the shorter side but not the shortest there for his age group and nothing that stands out to them. GP also said they wouldn't be concerned right now, but would probably check to see how much he's grown by the same time next year and suspect that he will even out as children this age aren't linear in the way they grow, whatever the charts say. He said anecdotally he's seen a lot of children who grow quite a small amount over one year then shoot up 10cm or more the next, or once they get to 5-6 suddenly just keep growing. They also said he could go either way with height, as there are also many children are late growers and tend to shoot up at puberty, especially boys. Just thought I'd post what they said incase anyone in a similar position comes across this thread.

I do feel more reassured but I am still going to keep a bit of an eye on his diet as I do think we have fallen into some bad habits so it's not a bad thing to have a kick up the bum and make sure he's not having too many snacks etc.

Lots of useful posts here so thank you very much for taking the time.

Thats good!
Also generally the nhs height measurements are not very accurate. Often my kids are 2cm taller.
Mine was 25th centile at 4 according to a hospital appt but actually more like 50th. And now... 91st as having a growth spurt.

@Busornobus67 it was actually me who measured him, so I'm willing to guess I was even less accurate as it was quite hard to get him to stand still! Thanks for your post though, very interesting!

If he was 2cm taller, he would be bang on average so I guess not as much of a concern against his weight centile. I'm going to try not to get too hung up on it now. I also don't want him to pick up on it and think there's anything wrong with his weight/height.

Just under the 25th centile is not really very small. My DS2 has been similar since he was a toddler. He is slightly smaller than many of his class mates, but he does not stand out at all. I do not think you need to worry at all. Your boy sounds lovely.

It is all about accurate measuring
And growth rate over 6 months

@cestlavielife yes I doubt my measuring was very accurate to be honest so he could easily be taller…. Or smaller! I think he’s actually about to shoot up - chunked up recently, very tired, very emotional, very hungry.

My husband was always chubby and short - when we met he was very round and 5ft 6/7... we were 16.
By the time he was 18 he was 6ft 1 and definitely not chubby.
Try not to worry, he may be short for the next 14 years and shoot up. He may just be a short person.
Paeds will only check he continues growing