AIBU to think young girls shouldn't have to be skinny?

[Pseudo341]

DD5 is 5 and is what you would describe as a "big child", always at the top end of all the growth charts and a few sizes up in clothes from her age.

Ever since she moved into age 2-3 years clothes (shortly after her 1st birthday) all the trousers are designed to be skinny fit and simply won't fit her. I used to be able to get away with boys trousers but now she's in age 7 clothes they all seem to be tight too, I can't get anything to fit.

It appears I'm now faced with the possibility of having to buy even bigger size trousers and taking the legs up because there's only so many layers of rolls you can manage in the bottoms before they become uncomfortable and look absurd.

She's literally a head taller than some of her classmates, she's not overweight (consultant paediatrician she's seen for years for unrelated issue confirms this). She eats healthily and gets plenty of excercise, she's just got a bit of meat on her.

I appreciate lots of children are naturally thin but there seems to be this assumption that that's how they should be. We seem to be finally getting to grips with the idea that some adults naturally have a bigger build then others, why can't it apply to kids? She's just genetically predisposed to be big and I expect will always carry a bit of weight on her. Why is there anything wrong with that?

In case anyone thinks I have anything against those who are naturally thin, I'm a life long natural stick insect, madam has inherited her size from her Dad's side.

This whole thread is disgusting!

We are all different shapes and sizes. Thank god!

I have seen rather chubby kids grow up to be thin. I have seen thing children grow up to be chubby.

Thin children of course...

Clothes are cheap and how we pay for that is by the shops only selling 'regular' sizes with those who don't fit that description having to pay more. We have the opposite problem with DD1 being tiny (second shortest child in her year), she has no problem with her legs in skinnies but the waist is always far too large. Which seems bizarre because as a 7 year old she's just straight up and down. She takes after DH who is one of those irritating types who eats shite most of the time (his lunch yesterday was a sugar laden mocha and a big piece of rocky road because he 'wasn't hungry' followed by fish and chips and fizzy drink from the chippy for tea) and still in his mid 40s is super skinny.

whoregasm. What a relief to find someone else's dd of 9 who took much older age clothes. My dd turned 9 in July, and is 5ft 2. She is roughly in age 12-13 clothes, although I tend to buy bigger on top for growing room. She's not fat, but not skinny. She is however very very tall for her age, and was born on the 98th percentile for height, and stayed on it ever since.

I agree with the poster up thread who said that someone always trots out the taller child= overweight. I'm tall, and stopped growing at 13 (at 5ft 9), dh is tall, so dd will probably be tall. But not because I've over fed her The majority of dc on Mn seem to be these dainty elf like creatures, but not everyone is like that. So it figures that not every child is like that.

You are deluded.if you are having to roll up trouser legs then your DC is too fat

My brother is 6 ft 4 and a broad build, and my 3 year old DS is 98th percentile for height already, and the exact same build. Long torso's, broad shoulders and chests and comparatively short legs. My brother (who is nowhere near overweight, and neither is my DS, in fact his GP said he could afford to gain a few pounds as she's worried he's a bit too thin) has the hardest time finding pants, and I'm having the same difficulty with my DS. Pants that fit around his waist, are way too long in the leg. My brother has joked for years that he needs to but short, fat man pants. So the only one deluded here is you.

I'm tall. 6'2. I was 6'1 by the time I was 14. No boobs until a few years later though. I've never been overweight/overfed either. I wasn't a big baby or chubby kid. My brother is 6'5. He was just over 7lbs when he was born. Didn't get his height thought until he was 16 (grew approx 6 inches in 18 months). He's a lanky streak too. Never been a chubby kid. Where does this tall = overfed come from?

Blimey so being tall means you're over fed,who knew.

If there is no diff in metabolic rate or no genetic tendency to gain weight then why do my twins have such a different shape when they both eat the same stuff and do the same amount of sport?

One is like a whippet and prob eats more than her sister, who is about 3 stone heavier.

DD is tall and a bit overweight. DS was exactly the same but now 3 years later is probably the thinnest and most toned of his friends. I expect dd (5) will go the same way. She's also under a paed for unrelated issue who agrees with me.

Obviously we are keeping an eye on her diet and she is VERY active, her legs especially are just muscle. She carries weight on her tummy. She's just started 2 new sports classes too.

My aim as things stand is for her to grow into herself. I do NOT want her being overweight as a tween / teen and she won't be.

Clothes sizes in shops are so unpredictable. She had a 6-7 pinafore for school which fitted fine, I went and bought another 2 from the same shop and they were too small. Really annoying.

Ds is 8 and lives in joggers because he can pull the waistband tight whereas jeans that fit his legs fall off him and he refuses to wear a belt.

I too have hugely different twins. One wears a size up,the other a size down. Both very healthy weight as per the school screening.

My skinny bean with a concave belly and no arse we can never find jeans skinny enough to stay up eats double what his taller,stockier twin does of exactly the same meals.

I've just discovered winter leggings, maybe I'll just abandon the idea of trousers altogether. It would be a lot cheaper to clothe her if she could keep a set of clothes clean enough to wear a second day :)

My son is 8 and has always been very tall and very skinny. He's recently upped his swimming sessions (he swims for a club) and has suddenly filled out - he's all muscle with very broad shoulders and strong legs and arms. He even almost has a six-pack which is slightly odd!

His new school trousers are age 11 and his shirts are the same. He has size 4 feet.

I have no idea where he is on percentiles but I imagine he's quite near the top - he was off the scale at his scans for length and was 63cm long when he was born.

His younger brother was always on the 50th for both and still wears the right clothing for his age.

manor, i could honestly scream at your post! so you think everyone has an identical build? does this apply to adults too? what if shops only stocked size 8 jeans with varying leg lengths? would everyone not fitting in them be considered fat? or is there a healthy range? are all skeletons identical proportions apart from the length of limbs? you are being ridiculous.

Agreed Mirror Mirror. People are generally taller through better nutrition not over feeding. And most tall people are tall for genetic reasons. But someone on here always has to trot out that height=greedy. It drives me mad. It makes me feel guilty for being tall and having tall cd. Ds is 21, 6ft 5 and as thin a lat. He was a bit chubby around 12-13. Some people have chubby phases as part of their growth pattern. I did. I was chubby around 9-10. By the time I was 11 I was long and thin. They hysteria on here about any child that isn't teeny tiny is almost akin to an eating disorder

crazy. all this talk of euphemisms for fat on this thread.

also, what about width of pelvis? surely that will determine width of thigh, to a degree?

i have 2 dds. one robust and sturdy and early into puberty. and one tiny build, much shorter and still getting into jeans for a child 2 years younger. they. are . all. different. some dc are overweight, yes, but not getting into next slim fit for your age is not the criteria!!

They hysteria on here about any child that isn't teeny tiny is almost akin to an eating disorder

I agree Orange. Its no wonder that there is so much pressure these days. If a toddler has a little pot belly, it is scorned and the parents blamed for feeding their child wrong.

A child who has short legs is now overweight.........

If your child isn't waif like it seems its down to bad parenting....

I've ploughed through the whole thread purely in order to tell Manor to FUCK RIGHT OFF.
As OP said a page or so back, with such pernicious and ill informed opinions, it is no wonder there are so many eating disorders and unhappy people.
I am 5.11" and DP is 6.2". Astonishingly our kids are at 98% for height and up in the 90s for weight. They are perfect -occasionally DS looks a bit over padded and we scale back the grub for a week or two and his ribs and backbone show again. This tells us he is spot on,not some uninformed hobbyhorse rider on the internet so FOD, and make your own life a misery, not tthat of others.

Well in fairness if the same details had been entered in to a school height and weight check thread and the parent was claiming that the result stating their child was overweight was wrong she Would be told these things by people.

usually tt would also turn out that the "healthy" diet the parent was claiming their child had and therefore couldn't he overweight ends up being extremely high in cars and sugar and low in protein with snacks being given several times a day.

In this instance the Dr is perfectly happy with the child's height and weight and that should be enough for us.

doesn't stop the information potentially being correct about someone elses child though.

And op If your still reading, given she receives checks from the Dr familiar with her case I would opt out if the school health check or you will get told the sane stuff as you are here.

drs happy so no need fir ot

Oh and winter leggins link would be fab!!!!!!

Thanks

Thanks Gileswithachainsaw, I am still reading. Maybe I'll send her to her health check with an old class photo of her Grandma to show them. She's just doing her growing early. Her diet has been discussed with a dietician and we're careful. I have to cook everything from scratch due to food allergies anyway so I know exactly what she's eating. I've often been surprised when visiting other people at what they give their kids for snacks and how skinny they still are, I'm sure DD would be piling on weight if we did the same.

Winter leggings are on the GAP website. Though I've now found some cheaper on ebay.

I will take a look thanks

MN is very competitive with how much food their kids do and don't eat or how much or little they weigh.

as with life there is clearly a huge range and what would make my dd overweight is merely a snack fir someone else's bean pole.

I too am amazed at where some kids put it

I grew up with one I put on weight just watching him eat.

OP my DD is very tall and at 4.6 weighs just over 3 stone. Like me she has a long torso, so had same issue as you with vests/sleepsuits and could never wear dungarees. Tops are never long enough but if buy couple of size up sleeves far too long. Tunic tops/dresses with leggings are our staple. Shopped around for uniform. In M+S i wouldve had to get 6-7y pinnys just to get knee length. She isn't fat at all. She is same shape I was at that age, just slightly taller. Good size thighs and a bum like jlo. I grew into a very slim pear shape, size 8 top, 10 bottoms, tiny waist. (My sis was like a stick as a child and yet puts weight on very easily as an adult but It goes on waist/bust rather that bum/thighs).

With older DD we have always emphasised how 'good' it is that she is so strong and athletically built. She'll never be spindly and dainty like some of her friends but she's gloriously fit and healthy and a joy to watch when she picks up a tennis racquet of cricket bat.

The emphasis should be on the child being healthy and fit and active. Not on whether you can count their ribs.