Dd in bigger clothes than her age. Does it really matter?

[Karleeb30]

Dd is 6. She's 122-123cm tall and weighs just over 4 Stone. She is in mainly 7-8 clothes and some 8-9 yet she still has some clothes in 6-7 that fit. Depends on the fit and style. It's mainly because she does have a little tummy so does need things a little roomier plus 6-7 is usually way too short on her!! She's had a massive growth spurt since the first lockdown . Went from clothes being too long to now too short.

Mil works in a clothes shop that sell kids clothes (won't say where). She's asked if Dd needs anything, I told her she needs 7-8 or maybe 8-9 and she seemed disgusted implying that my daughter was huge or something!

I know some of the cute clothes Stop in 5-6 or 6-7 so she will have to look in the older girls section... but does it really matter?

we all know that kids are not all built the same! Sizing for an average sized kid of their age. Dd is quite tall so anything smaller than 7-8 is just too short and often a little tight around the waist. To think all 6 year olds would fit into one generic size is madness.

Plus it really depends on the shop. Some shops come Up crazily small and some bigger. H&M is my go to atm. Dd wears their 6-8 or 7-8 years clothes and fit perfectly!

She definitely has my body shape and tall like me!

She doesn't necessarily look big compared to her peers, maybe a little but not massively bigger.

@PinkyU

Children’s sizes are based on averages and “normal” height for weight ratios. If your child is wearing clothes far beyond their age then I’d recommend seeing their doctor.

6 year olds shouldn’t have “a tummy”, they should have visible ribs, collar bones, vertebrae etc. Their still developing bodies aren’t designed to carry excess weight.

The whole “sturdy, muscular, big bones, rugby player” etc really isn’t a thing in children who are prepubescent. Worst of all is seeing parents describing their 6/7/8 year old as “curvy” .

Yes this is true. Excess weight just pushes kids into early puberty and then they never achieve their full adult height.

Doesn’t matter at all!

They make them a bit stingy so you have to replace more often!

@Ozanj is that true? I was a very overweight child. Dd is nowhere near my size as a child and I was very late starting puberty (15-16 for not obvious reason, I was just a slow developer). I lost it in my late teens through hard work though!

@MyMabel

My DD is still a 9-12 months on her lower half, 12-18 is still massive and she’s now 22 months. Not worried, she’s just a titch. I wouldn’t worry the other way either as long as he/she is healthy.

Mine’s the same - she’s always been small. She started school last year in uniform aged 3-4. She’s in year 1 now and still in a shoe size 9! Not even 17kg yet either.

[quote Karleeb30]@Ozanj is that true? I was a very overweight child. Dd is nowhere near my size as a child and I was very late starting puberty (15-16 for not obvious reason, I was just a slow developer). I lost it in my late teens through hard work though![/quote]
Unfortunately yes it is true. If it took you 15-16 that is unusually late you might have had other factors.

A pediatrician can explain it to you better than I can, which is why I’m surprised they aren’t keeping on top of this. They need to be actively and proactively guarding her from future weight gain as she won’t be able to easily lose it again from what you’ve posted.

I've always ignored the ages and looked at the measurements instead. As adults we vary massively in height and build, why not children too?

(As a baby at measuring clinic my DD nearly sent a HV into a panic as according to the graphs she was badly underweight... senior HV just pointed to her legs and said she's just long, not underweight... shes 10 now and she actually looks the right height for once (although wears 11-12) as she hasn't had her puberty growth spurt yet unlike a lot of her friends)

The mumsnet trope about all children who are tall being overweight drives me mad. I'm almost 6ft and am the short one in my family. I hit my almost full adult height at 13, incredibly skinny. Very late starting periods. Some people are just...tall.

Are you a doctor @Ozanj?

No doesn't matter. Kids grow at different rates and clothes sizes are inconsistent.

My daughter is 12 and is wearing age 16 clothes sometimes a size up, she’s very tall.

Children’s sizes are based on averages and “normal” height for weight ratios. If your child is wearing clothes far beyond their age then I’d recommend seeing their doctor.

Even if it’s due to their height?

Both my ds are in bigger clothes than their age (5 year old in 6-7 and some 7-8 and 8 month old in 9-12 clothes since he was 7 months). I don't think it matters at all especially if she's getting weighed etc at her appointments with professionals and if she is tall for her age.

My 10 yo wears 12/13 which she needs for the length as well as waist.
My 7yo pretty much wears her age range but I found a onesie which is age 5 yesterday that Will still fit her! It’s like adult clothes. They vary so much.

@Ozanj might not be a bad thing. I was a tall, overweight child and as an adult I'm still tall enough to cause difficulties. I also have to shop for plus size clothes that look ridiculous on me because I'm not fat enough. I wouldn't mind being a normal height.

Are there more serious issues with "tall" children?

Clothes sizes for kids are ridiculously small - not every child is a little dot of a thing. My 5 year old is in 7-8 and she's not the biggest in her class for her age. Wouldn't worry

@RobinPenguins

Children’s sizes are based on averages and “normal” height for weight ratios. If your child is wearing clothes far beyond their age then I’d recommend seeing their doctor.

Even if it’s due to their height?

Obese children will grow tall first as babies toddlers and then become obese in weight. That’s the pattern of ‘front loaded’ growth that GPs and HVs watch out for - especially if the parents are shorter than average. This can happen from birth. Babies of very obese mums are often taller.

There are some great BMJ articles on this. The early years frameworks and nutritional guidelines at nurseries and schools uses some of it which is where my knowledge comes in. We get taught to recognise some of the patterns in under 4s to prevent obesity later - but it requires parents to be on board. And many think they’re just going to have a tall child even when they themselves are short & don’t take action until they have been obese for a while.

For anyone wondering how big my daughter is. Here is a recent photo! I don't think she's by any means massive just maybe a little bigger than average! I was a big kid, it sucked. Dd has a very healthy diet. She is active as she can be without pain. She is always in the garden playing. There isn't really much else I can do.

She's been on the high percentile lines for weight since a baby

[quote Chouetted]@Ozanj might not be a bad thing. I was a tall, overweight child and as an adult I'm still tall enough to cause difficulties. I also have to shop for plus size clothes that look ridiculous on me because I'm not fat enough. I wouldn't mind being a normal height.

Are there more serious issues with "tall" children?[/quote]
Front loaded growth is usually the problem. It means obese kids will grow in height (as babies and toddlers) first before growing in weight and becoming obese. But this is only really a problem if both parents are obese or average/short height.

She doesn't look tall in photo but she is. I'm tall, Dp is tall. I come from a family of 6 footers, Dp's sister is 6 foot tall and slim! We aren't short people!

My 7 year old is wearing 8-9 and some 9-10. She's very tall and slender for her age, so we struggle with waistbands as I always need to to take them in, but other than that she needs to older ages for length. I have struggled though as she still likes some of the younger girls/cuter stuff which they stop around age 6.

My 12 year old was always 1to 2 clothes sizes ahead. Now she wears a size 12 adults.

My 7 year old is in 8-9 and 9-10 I have big kids.

@RobinPenguins absolutely, there are a few conditions that can cause an abnormal rate of growth that would be beneficial to the child to be explored and ruled out.

I got so sick of the age dependant sizes and bought a clothing measuring tape. I measure both 13yo DD and 8yo DS and buy their clothes based solely on them.

I've got an 11 year old ds. He's in size 14-15 because he's tall and wears size 8 shoes. Had to by him a mans small coat a few weeks ago. Pissed me right off paying vat on a kids coat. Sizes are all over the place and I'm convinced teen clothes are made small so you have to pay more.

Not disagreeing with @Ozanj - but some children have to be on the top centiles for height. Both of my very tall kids progressively moved up the centiles. DC1 actually had IUGR and was born on the 0.5th centile and a tiny toddler before starting to fulfil their genetic destiny at about 4.

But I don't think clothes sizes themselves are a good measure- too much variation between brands and between boys' and girls' clothes. Much better to use growth charts and actual data.