To be worried my 5 year old hasn't grown in a year?

[glutten4punishment]

So my 5 year old DD hasn't grown at all in a year. She's very small for her age as it is. She was measured at school last June and has remained the same height all year. Same size uniform for the duration of the year etc.

Should I be worried?

My DD was always quite small and she was always well below the averages on the height/growth charts. I started raising concerns when she was about 4 but no one would listen. She developed type 1 diabetes when she was 7 and so has hospital check ups every 3 months or less and there has always been very, very slow growth on height and weight.
Whenever I queried it I was told that she would get her growth spurt when she was approaching puberty - it didn't happen.
I was then told that the growth spurt would happen when her periods started - it didn't happen
The hospital worked out that she should reach 5'6" when mine and DP's heights were assessed. For the last 3 years she has grown less than 2cms.

Last year the consultant finally decided that there was something to worry about after all as DD has been having periods for 18 months. The consultant talked about growth hormone treatment so we were hopeful. Unfortunately, DD's bone x rays have shown that her bones have fused and are now adult bones so growth hormones can not be given. The consultant is very sorry but my DD is now stuck at 4'7" and will have the hands and feet of a child forever. DD is now nearly 16.

I would say to you, OP, that if your gut is telling you that something isn't right then pursue it. Raise with your GP now and keep a growth chart and if there isn't significant growth and your DD is still at the lower end of the charts by the time she is 7-8 years then raise it again and insist on a hospital referral to have it investigated. Health professionals will tell you that she will catch up, that once puberty starts she'll catch up, that when periods start she'll catch up - she may or may not but the current attitude of wait & see has let my DD down.
The other thing that was significant was that she had trouble shedding milk teeth and her adult teeth were very slow to appear. The hospital is also very sorry about this too as she now needs surgery to remove the rest of her milk teeth and the adult teeth that grew but didn't descend and are stuck in her jaw - this is also connected to her lack of growth.

I know that ours is an extreme example but I knew that something was wrong and I was fobbed off and fobbed off and fobbed off again. I saw some notes on her medical records a few months back and with regards to her height it read her height with the words "growth stunted" in brackets. Says it all really.

One of my children is very small.

We asked for a referral from the GP to the paediatrician.

The health visitor/school nurse also measures and weighs when they start school?

The list was quite long but we were able to get a private appointment and the growth x Ray was done and some blood tests.

She was a little bit anaemic. Appetite is generally awful so we've tried to make some improvements. She was old enough to understand she had to try to eat a bit better.

Her general health is better but she's still small! The GP keeps an eye and measures and weighs her regularly to see if any further intervention will be required.

I keep a rough check of height at home and can see the big difference between her and her not very big sibling at the same age.

Pretty much as MothralovesGojira says right down to the stuff about teeth, DD never achieved her full adult potential height, she is 4ft 11 as an adult, she was predicted that she should've reached around 5ft 6 at one of her hospital appointments as a child.

Have a chat with your GP, just for peace of mind. I stopped growing when I was around 5 years old and at that time it was just thought I was genetically short.

I am a very short adult, standing at 4'8", and much shorter than all my family members (my sister is 5'3" for example). Not sure what is the reason behind it but I do wonder if there was anything that could have been done).

I would definitely take her to GP. Even if it’s nothing at least you would have checked.

Thanks all!
You've made me feel like I'm not losing my marbles for being so concerned.

I'm going to keep an eye on her until end September - see if she has a summer growth spurt - and then take it from there.

I would ring GP and ask advice - if she needs treatment it may be best to start sooner rather than later.

My 6 year old only grew out of his 4-5 year school trousers, he’s had them 2 years so has hardly grown at all in that time.