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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To wonder why so many parents describe their children as....

124 replies

ILoatheMickeyMouseClubhouse · 09/09/2011 14:16

Being "tall and skinny" and "very bright". This seems to be commonplace on any internet forum threads about either childrens' clothing or childrens' abilities. Everyone will claim to have tall skinny children or very bright children.

Surely there must be some children that aren't those things?

OP posts:

JemimaMuddledUp · 09/09/2011 22:40

All three of my DC are quite short. But they are all skinny (standard fit trousers fall down). And they are all the upper side of averagely bright. Still short though

festi · 09/09/2011 22:47

upper side of average bright can we coin that one jemima

ouryve · 09/09/2011 22:59

Er, mine are both tall and skinny and DS1 is frighteningly bright and a budding geek. DS2, on the other hand, is in year 1 and disapplied for the national curriculum because he's barely registering on the P scales.

naughtaless · 09/09/2011 23:08

I have a lovely curvaceous daughter who just got great grades at GCSE. If I was asked to describe her to you, I would describe her as my hard grafting girl, with a lovely smile and probably the best looking toes I have ever seen. To anyone else, simply - My lovely girl.
I have a short, thin boy with learning difficulties and C.P. If I was asked to describe him to you, I would say, My boy, who has defied all odds and makes me proud of him every day. To anyone else - My lovely boy.

GeneralCustardsHardHat · 09/09/2011 23:21

Mine are tall skinny and extrordinarily bright how would you have me describe them? Short, fat thickos? Would that help you improve your sense of self worth if we all had short fat spotty bottle bottom glasses wearing trouble making edjiits?

hiddenhome · 09/09/2011 23:22

My ds1 is tallish and chubby and bright. Is that okay?

ds2 is tall, slim and bright, but he does have red hair

TaperJeanGirl · 09/09/2011 23:27

Dd1 (6) tall, slim, attention span of a gnat, can barely read her own name, beautiful face

dd2 (4) VERY short, round, average-ish in school, stubborn little bugger, looks a bit like one of those trolls people used to collect with the sticky up hair, but in a good way, shes pretty

ds (2) tall, stocky, satanic, looks like a surfer, stubborn with violent tendancies, I would say he will be smarter than any of his sisters...

dd3(3 months)= potato

lurkinginthebackground · 09/09/2011 23:27

So what id a child is tall and skinny?
My dd1 fits that description and yes she is very bright, to the point of annoyingly so.
At 5 foot 8 I can hardly say she is short can I?

fivegomadindorset · 09/09/2011 23:29

DD, tall chunky very bright loves learning
DS, small, skinny, very bright

elphabadefiesgravity · 09/09/2011 23:30

Ds is bright but stubborn and very short (well tiny actually ) and skinny.

Dd is clever and argumentative (in an arguing political issues sort of way) she is a dreamboat and avereg build.

ANd I adore them both for whoever and whatever they are.

thecaptaincrocfamily · 09/09/2011 23:37

lol at this
dd1 is tall and skinny in 8-9 clothes at 5yo with no waistband to fit and she is bright (reading level is expected at the middle of yr2) but actually I describe her as a chatty, helpful, lovely little girl who makes me laugh with constant questions and has a brilliant imagination .

DD2 is very different although due to genetics is very tall at 3yo and in 5-6 clothes, but her waistbands fit , she is also bright and is reading first books. However, I describe her as pure mischief, stubborn, cuddly and a comedian

DanJARMouse · 09/09/2011 23:54

DD1 - tall (not fair!) slim-normal size, clever when she applies herself and very bouncy! (ADHD)

DD2 - not so tall (yay!) more rounded (not fat but solid!) and needs to work for her successes unlike her sister!

DS - average for everything bar speech - waiting in SALT referral. Otherwise the cutest, funniest most adorable 3yr old I know!!!

HipHopOpotomus · 10/09/2011 00:15

DD1 aged 3 and 3 quarters is amazing, intelligent, quick and funny (everyone says so, not just her parents) and gorgeous too - always has been. I usually just say bright though.

Morloth · 10/09/2011 02:13

DS1 used to be tall and skinny, now he is tall and broad shouldered. Sobs, when did my baby start to change?

He is clever enough, I wouldn't say he was brilliant, but what he is good at is people.

DS2 is a squidgy little podge who is just as cute and as naughty as hell.

If your Mum can't think you are hot shit and say so, then who will?

Iteotwawki · 10/09/2011 02:41

DS1 - average height & build. He's 5, appropriate age trousers fit in both leg and waist. I think he's cute as a button :) he is exceptionally bright (has been assessed at request of school) and has been accelerated up a couple of years. He has the social skills of Shrek before he meets Fiona, is somewhat clumsy/uncoordinated, can't run as fast as his classmates and still wobbles like mad on his bike. He is bossy, knowitall and irritating beyond measure, enthusiastic, inquisitive, has amazing 3D spatial skills and I adore him. Oh and his sense of direction and mapreading ability put me to shame (he is my official navigator!). I would describe him as clever, bossy and awkward.

DS2 - 3 - average height, average build, think reasonably intelligent (reading / writing badly / simple maths), sunny and placid and more friends than I think I've ever had. He's a demon on a balance bike, crap at swimming, has a wicked sense of humour and can sit at a jigsaw for 2h+ till he's finished it. Guess what, I adore him too. In 3 words... Mischief, sociable, dimpled cuteness. Oh all right, 4 - boys obviously get their brains from their father :)

CardyMow · 10/09/2011 02:53

DD (13yo) - My baby bunny. Average height, average build, adorable and irritating in equal measure. A brilliant cook, but not very academic.

DS1 (9yo)- My little Yogi-bear. Tall, slim and bright, with a rapier wit. Sorry. They ARE the first things that spring to mind when I think about DS1!

DS2 (7yo) - Fairly tall, my little pixie, likes collecting stones, likes being in his own little world, my little daydreamer.

DS3 (7mo) - VERY very tall (100th centile), looks skinny (50th centile for weight), into EVERYTHING - a tiny terrorist that has decimated my sofa covers, my little gingerbread man (red-head). Cheeky Monkey that grins at me when told 'no'.

CheerfulYank · 10/09/2011 02:53

DS is the most beautiful and brilliant boy to ever walk God's green earth. Fact. :o

He is very tall but solid. Oddly enough the thing people say most about his looks is that he looks "very American." Which of course he is, though I don't know what that means. He's blond and rosy.

He is clever and has an enormous vocabulary, and has always been a pretty sunny little guy.

He is also very argumentative lately. Every sentence begins with "But Mommy...". And he can be very stubborn and emotional. Erm...he gets that from his father.

duchesse · 10/09/2011 02:55

I don't understand why being tall is a boasting point. You are the height you are. My sister is utterly bloody obsessed with her children's height! Drives me nuts. It's not like anyone can do anything about it or that it makes any difference once you can reach cupboards and before you start to be brained by doorways.

FWIW my children have all been short and skinny/average build (depending on chil) until adolescence. They are now all average height and average build and still growing a bit.

Still all very clever though.

nooka · 10/09/2011 03:03

My dd (11) is very tall (5'5" after another growth spurt this summer) she's currently at a sleepover with one of her best friends who is quite petite. They are both lovely. I do describe dd as tall as that is always the first thing people comment on when they meet her.

Niecie · 10/09/2011 03:26

I would call both my two tall but they are both 98th centile on the height chart so they are tall.

DS1 is tall and stocky though he used to be slim. Now he is carrying a bit of weight but he is very muscular too. Not surprising with me and DH as parents - we are not tall and skinny!

DS2 is built like a prop forward and tbh has got a bit porky over the summer holidays due to the lack of proper exercise. He plays football daily at school but DS1 won't play with him in the holidays so he is inclined to put on weight. Hopefully he will grow upwards a little soon too.

DS1 is bright because he is over average in tests but not proper clever. He has dyspraxia and I think that affects his attainment in tests a little but I dont think he is secretly G&T even then.

DS2 is proper clever though. If the boy had confidence in himself and wasn't so afraid to try things for fear of not being perfect first time he would be unstoppable.

So don't think I have called either of mine tall and skinny (who wants skinny children anyway) but may have called them bright on occasion because they are.

spiderslegs · 10/09/2011 03:47

DS is short, he has Welsh legs, push him down he'll keep getting up, he can ride his bike without help & stabilisers & build the best lego models ever, he has the largest brown eyes & looks like Mowgli.

DD is the prettiest child you will ever see. She is a Psychopath. Or a cyborg. You cannot kill her. Ever.

Firepile · 10/09/2011 03:52

DS is wee and very slight. And has the longest plushest eyelashes ever. He seems quickwitted enough.

nooka · 10/09/2011 03:53

Oh and ds is quite tall and very skinny (5th centile). Being skinny isn't actually that great, he gets cold very easily and worries when people comment on his bony physique. He really is skin and bones despite eating a ton. Luckily it runs in the family otherwise we'd probably be quite anxious about it.

I don't know any other child as thin as him, so yes there are lots of non-skinny children about!

spiderslegs · 10/09/2011 04:38

Oh, but I am tall & skinny.

& Bright.

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