Why do kids seem a lot smaller these days?

[Parker1970]

I was helping out at my daughter’s elementary school, and it dawned on me. When I was attending back in the day, I remember having to look up at the third graders, I was actually pretty nervous because they looked a lot bigger than me. Why is this not the case now? When I was a child they were huge what is going on?

I thought this the other day, some of the kids I see also have unusually thin arms and legs.

Not sure where you are but statistically children grow taller with each generation.

They’re fed Billy Bear ham and UHP crap because people can’t afford real food.

unusual for what? see where?

Op Is this in a disadvantaged area where adequate nutrition is challenging. It does sound unusual as generations usually grow taller .

Are you saying there is minimal difference between the younger kids and the older ones?

I've worked in Education for 20 years and I can assure you...kids vary!
I am currently with a class of 5 yr olds. Some are indeed dinky... look like they should still be in a stroller, others however are easily the height of 7-8 yr olds... mostly depending on genetics.
There are a few which I suspect are being 'kept thin' ..their diets would be admirable for a middle aged woman trying to lose weight, but not enough carbs for very active growing kids; mostly because parents want them healthy and not to have overweight children. Rice cakes are not enough!
Sadly there are some who are simply not receiving an adequate diet at home at all... we keep food to top them up, and some always need breakfast when they arrive. Some parents assume that school dinners are adequate for their main meal... frankly our school dinners are woeful and wouldn't fill up a 5 yr old let alone anyone older.

I read something some time ago that the younger generation is actually malnourished. They have caloric needs met but they are more likely to be empty calories and lack a lot of nutrition, vitamins, minerals etc.

The case I read about was about identical twins, adopted and separated at birth. The two girls met aged about 8 and the girl brought up in Scandinavia was significantly taller then the girl brought up in America.

Considering that our diet is getting worse and worse so something similar may be happening here.

There's a big mix at my kids' high school. Some really tiny kids, including my ds. It's hard to believe they're in Yr 7, but also really tall kids, much taller than me.

My ds would be one of the tiny ones with skinny arms and legs. He definitely gets adequate nutrition though, just that me and his dad are both small.

I ate billy bear in the nineties, DS doesn't even know what it is!

Seriously ,.. do you have a link for this?

I don’t doubt many kids have more snacks than they should but with fruit as a standard snack at nursery and school and free school meals for infants as well as wraparound care I doubt the country is full of malnourished kids

I agree with you there, that some of the kids look super dinky. But I was referring to Ethan if you were to ask the third grader which one of you is the biggest. They still seem really small. Why was it that when I was attending I had to look up at those same Exact third Graders? I remember looking at them thinking that they were jacked, and Standing amongst all of them now they all just look A whole lot smaller and weaker than the way I used to see them . And yes my daughter is the same age but it didn’t dawn on me until I went to her class.

I wonder if they grow later? I am 5'9" and a lot of 11 year old girls are at least as tall as me...in fact I get to feel short in their presence.

Are you particularly tall OP?

I'm 5'3" and some of the year 6s (11 year olds) at my DCs school seem to be the same height as me already.

There are slim pickings at most schools and a bit of free fruit doesn’t do much to nourish children. Just go and see the difference in the posh school rugby or football teams and the inner city schools. That difference lasts!

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/21/children-raised-under-uk-austerity-shorter-than-european-peers-study

Honestly. fruit really won't solve our problems If the rest of the diet is rubbish. Fruit isn't all that great for us anyway because they have been bred to be higher and higher in sugar and lower in fiber over time.

A cursory Google got me this

foodfoundation.org.uk/press-release/health-and-food-experts-warning-amid-significant-decline-childrens-health#:~:text=Poor%20diet%20could%20be%20due,UK%20reported%20experiencing%20food%20insecurity.

Thank you. Fruit does not have all the nutrients we need. They are basically packets of sugar with some vitamin c and fiber, there are much better sources of nutrients then fruit.

Vitamin c is the one nutrient that we eat too much of, we don't need more of it.

I I am 6”. Pretty much all of the third graders there just seemed so tiny, even my daughter. I don’t know. For some reason it just dawned on me when I picked her up when she was next to all of her other classmates. It got me thinking when I was attending school. When I was in the first grade I was pretty intimidated by the third graders. I thought they were jacked, and they looked really huge to me. Now they just look really tiny honestly. Like, I can pick up my daughter and more than a couple of her classmates in both of my arms. So why was I Seeing them as the opposite when I was attending?

When I was a child they were huge what is going on?

Forgive me for stating the bleeding obvious, but you grew up and are taller now.

Like, I can pick up my daughter and more than a couple of her classmates in both of my arms. So why was I Seeing them as the opposite when I was attending?

Because you were a child... In the same way lots of things feel bigger when you're a child...

Are you sure its not because you are now bigger?

You were probably shorter when you were younger

I was eating an orange as my dessert and you made me simultaneously choke and spray the table with orange. I'd been puzzling about that but thought I'd missed some thing. The OPs latest update says she's 6" so I am a bit worried that the children look small to her.

This! The post is ridiculous.

Wow that’s crazy and terrifying. Just shows how far the UK has fallen relative to France, Germany etc