Page 15 | "He's always been on the 99th centile"

StickerPlace · 2022-02-16T09:46:29+00:00

I'm in a bad mood this morning. So I may we'll BU. But I've seen this twice today. (Granted was on the same thread about child size) But I feel like I've read/heard that comment so many times. But it can't be true? Or are the 1% of parents with 99% children very keen to talk about that? (FWIW just weighed/measured mine for new dance uniform as had a growth spurt and nothing fits and 11th centile.)

bungaloid · 17/02/2022 17:04

It's a weird thing to be proud of, it's not like it's much of an achievement to pass on your genes (barring some Victorian level of malnutrition being an obstacle to your genetic potential). Or maybe you fought off other humans to get the biggest / strongest mate, in that case fair play you should be proud.

Runningupthecurtains · 17/02/2022 19:36

But people on this thread talking about what centile their 12 year olds are on - surely health concerns notwithstanding, noone is plotting their pre-teens height against a wee chart in the red book?!
I don't need to plot anything to know that a 10 year old needing age 13 trousers for length isn't average. I can't think when I last weighed or measured him but he has regular hospital /clinic appointments for something totally unrelated approx. every 6 months the first thing they do is measure him then they comment that he on the 99th centile (or off the chart if he's just had a growth spurt). Then they weigh him. Then they usually remeasure him or hop on the scales themselves because the 50+ centiles difference between his height and weight. When a child is at the extreme end of the charts (at either end) you are reminded of it pretty much daily just but the visual difference between your child and their peers. Only in the OP head is it a parental obsession.

Cheekypeach · 17/02/2022 19:59

Only in the OP head is it a parental obsession.

I don’t think it is actually. There’s loads of parents on here who seem to know the exact centile their 11 year old is on. I’ve got no idea about my daughter and she’s 2! It’s also regularly dropped into comments even if totally unrelated to the thread content.

Sweetpeasaremadeforbees · 17/02/2022 20:22

I don’t think it is actually. There’s loads of parents on here who seem to know the exact centile their 11 year old is on. I’ve got no idea about my daughter and she’s 2! It’s also regularly dropped into comments even if totally unrelated to the thread content.

I agree, in RL I don't remember anyone discussing centiles (apart from HVs). I'd either forgotten or never knew that they went beyond 5 years!

CautiousOptimist11 · 17/02/2022 20:22

@Cheekypeach but is your daughter exceptionally small or tall compared to her peers?

Why don't people get that centiles are far more relevant in people's lives of their kids are at extreme ends of the spectrum.

Popable · 17/02/2022 20:24

Am I the only one who doesn't even know nor care what centile their child is on?

He's tall, healthy looking and active. That's enough for me.

SleepingStandingUp · 17/02/2022 20:39

@Popable

Am I the only one who doesn't even know nor care what centile their child is on?

He's tall, healthy looking and active. That's enough for me.

Most people who know their percentiles normally know it from babyhood tho, when tall, active and healthy looking is harder to discern. And bad eating, low birth weight, failure to thrive, allergies, reflux etc are much more pertinent. Its great you've never had cause to worry s out his growth, we're just not all that fortunate

RedRobyn2021 · 17/02/2022 20:42

OP I don't even understand percentiles!!

My daughter was born on the 50th percentile
Then she dropped to the 25th
Then the 9th
Then she started going up up up up up

And now she's on the 97th

She's only 1

I don't even get it, like she doesn't even look that big but she's meant to be like one of the bigger babies around? I checked her height and that's the 55th percentile so it's not even that she's super tall or anything?

Anyway, I've been wondering if it's a load of nonsense too but I have to say after the hell we went through with her weight the first 4 months, I do feel a lot of joy looking at how heavy she is

AlwaysLatte · 17/02/2022 20:42

I don't understand what you're concerned about exactly from your post. My oldest was always on 98/99th and was 6ft 1 with size 11 feet before his 14th birthday! Not overweight at all nor skinny. But one of his friends is tiny and that's also completely normal.

nanbread · 17/02/2022 20:45

@Popable

Am I the only one who doesn't even know nor care what centile their child is on?

He's tall, healthy looking and active. That's enough for me.

Fucking whoopie for you, has it occurred to you that you're approaching it from a place of massive privilege to not know or care?

SleepingStandingUp · 17/02/2022 20:48

@RedRobyn2021

OP I don't even understand percentiles!!

My daughter was born on the 50th percentile
Then she dropped to the 25th
Then the 9th
Then she started going up up up up up

And now she's on the 97th

She's only 1

I don't even get it, like she doesn't even look that big but she's meant to be like one of the bigger babies around? I checked her height and that's the 55th percentile so it's not even that she's super tall or anything?

Anyway, I've been wondering if it's a load of nonsense too but I have to say after the hell we went through with her weight the first 4 months, I do feel a lot of joy looking at how heavy she is

What don't you understand? She was born an average weight. You said yourself you struggled for four months with her weight, so she lost or didn't gain as much as average so her centile line dropped. Then she started gaining weight faster than average pushing her centiles up. If she's maintaining her line it just means her growth has slowed to average. She doesn't look big to you as she's average length but she'll look chubbier than a baby who looks a few lb lighter

rainbowandglitter · 17/02/2022 20:49

@AlwaysLatte

I don't understand what you're concerned about exactly from your post. My oldest was always on 98/99th and was 6ft 1 with size 11 feet before his 14th birthday! Not overweight at all nor skinny. But one of his friends is tiny and that's also completely normal.

Did he steadily grow or have a huge spurt? My 12yo ds is 98th percentile but still desperate to grow!

red30505 · 17/02/2022 21:02

with a dd on the 99.6th percentile (tall and gloriously chubby)

it's brought up a lot of my own anxiety about being tall and getting mercilessly picked on for it, so mentioning how big she is is a bit of a coping mechanism I guess.

LaviniaB · 17/02/2022 21:09

I read this heading and assumed it was about intellect and IQ scores.

masmoeker · 18/02/2022 08:59

I guess that at either side of the percentiles, parents are more interested by it. It could be an indication that something is not right, so...

DistantSkye · 18/02/2022 09:02

@Runningupthecurtains

But people on this thread talking about what centile their 12 year olds are on - surely health concerns notwithstanding, noone is plotting their pre-teens height against a wee chart in the red book?! I don't need to plot anything to know that a 10 year old needing age 13 trousers for length isn't average. I can't think when I last weighed or measured him but he has regular hospital /clinic appointments for something totally unrelated approx. every 6 months the first thing they do is measure him then they comment that he on the 99th centile (or off the chart if he's just had a growth spurt). Then they weigh him. Then they usually remeasure him or hop on the scales themselves because the 50+ centiles difference between his height and weight. When a child is at the extreme end of the charts (at either end) you are reminded of it pretty much daily just but the visual difference between your child and their peers. Only in the OP head is it a parental obsession.

Oh I've got a tall DC too - she was premature when tiny but is now tall for her age. I mean I guess people comment on her long legs sometimes and we make conversation about how she must get her height from me and her dad, but DC2 is much smaller etc. I just never heard people discussing centiles outside of plotting their weight and height as babies. And even then I can't remember what centile that was!

Cheekypeach · 18/02/2022 09:03

[quote CautiousOptimist11]@Cheekypeach but is your daughter exceptionally small or tall compared to her peers?

Why don't people get that centiles are far more relevant in people's lives of their kids are at extreme ends of the spectrum.[/quote]
To be honest I don’t know! She seems smallish compared to her peers but at the same time takes age 3-4 leggings 🤔 so she might be small but long legged.

A2M4 · 18/02/2022 09:14

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

RedRobyn2021 · 18/02/2022 09:22

@SleepingStandingUp

What I don't understand is I thought they were supposed to follow around the same line as they grow, but she hasn't.

We didn't have feeding issues or at least the doctors I spoke to didn't think so. She's been breastfed the entire time and her weight has just jumped around. I was worried about her weight, everyone else thought I was worried about nothing.

To be honest it's seems stupid to me. If my daughter dropping from the 50th to the 9th wasn't a concern then I don't actually see the point of it. It seems to exist to create anxiety.

Nc4post99 · 18/02/2022 11:00

@RedRobyn2021 fluctuation is expected though. Typically if a child fluctuates 2 it is considered faltering growth, so your child falling from the 50th to the 9th was ‘faltering growth’ and should have triggered some sort of investigation. Typically though HV don’t actually provide support and if mum is breastfeeding they just say ‘give formula’ but mum should be referred to infant feeding team. It depends the birth centile too, if a child is born above 91st the child can fall 3 centiles before it’s faltering growth, under 9th it’s one and everything in the middle it’s 2. However sometimes it can be completely normal and be catch down growth, when baby was born larger than their normal.