"He's always been on the 99th centile"

[StickerPlace]

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.)

I thought it was a MN trope that everyone's DS is 6 foot tall at 12yo and eats 7 dinners a day?

Yes I've noticed this. (All sustained by the MN chicken)

As well as everyone (or their 6'2" DH....or both) earning 100k but only buying 1 chicken with their earnings

Also, with rising obesity & overweight levels in children, this may also mean more than 1% are on the 99th centile. The centile charts are based on optimal growth which recognises that a very small proportion of children will be at the extremes (high and low) for weight and height. As more children are becoming overweight there will be a bigger proportion in the top centiles although the centile lines themselves won't have changed.

When I had DS (9) I didn’t really bother being concerned about parents comparing baby sizes he was and still is 99th. DD (8months) is compared to all of us tiny (born 75th now below 25th) I have only come across these sorts of posts now that i’m concerned about her size. They appear to always be about parents bragging about how big their babies are. My DD is small, that’s just how she is. And I am no worse or better a mother because of that.

It’s just concerning as it may put down other women or make them unduly concerned, I share your frustration.

Our eldest was at the 99th centre. With a big child it gets noticed so talked about. #2 was more average so not really talked about.

But I see your point about the seemingly large number of kids that are at the 99th centile. I wonder if the stats are old or assume a bell curve when the population might not be a perfect bell curve. Might be worth a Google to find the stats behind those measures in the red book if you have time.

Mine were always on 99th. Like others I spent lots of time having to justify their ages and people's expectations of them were skewed.

DS1 had irregular but massive growth spurts, in one summer he grew a whopping 8"! He was always head and shoulders (and more) above his peers. At age 14 he reached 6ft and there he has stayed, now he's not the tallest anymore and he likes it that way.

DS2 just grew steadily year on year. I had to take proof of his age to attractions to show how young he was. At 20 he is 6ft 4 and who knows if he's stopped. However, he is not the tallest amongst his friendship group, there are at least 4 others taller than him.

DH is 6ft 6. It was unusual to be tall when he was young so he always stood out.

You remember your child being consistently on the 99th, perhaps not so much moving about the mid ranges. And people comment on their size more.

DS has always been on the 99.6th for height and weight, almost perfectly, since the first belly measurements. People obviously say he's big when they ask how old he is. So it's something I say somewhat often.

I have a taller one, at the minute he hovers around 95%, he’s six in June, at this door frame measure in November he was 128cm. He may not be tall as an adult, some children who are tall in year 6 can end up being the smaller ones in year 11. Birth mum is above average height, no idea about birth dar.

His sister is the other end of the scale, she was premature and birth mothers health wasn’t great, she is 19th percentile, so it will be interesting to see how that increases in the coming months. With a corrected age she is the 24th percentile.

Better nutrition does mean we’re becoming taller, so we surely are going to see the average percentile increase up to a point.

How many people are on mums net? A few hundred thousand? If 1/100 have children on the 99th percentile, that's a LOT of people on this site alone. And, just like you don't usually post in AIBU to ask if you're unreasonable to be feeling very happy and content with your DH, you don't usually post on here asking about weight/height etc if your child is consistently 50th percentile.

When DS2 was born, the midwife asked if I'd given birth to a turkey - so strangers commenting on their size starts early! But he was 12lb so kind of understandable.

I'm the same as @Whatafielddayfortheheat DC1 has always been off the chart for height. DC1 is the youngest in the year but second tallest - behind a boy who is old in the year but I suspect also a high percentile. I feel the need to comment because she looks to be one of the oldest in the class but up until yr3 academically she was what you'd expect from an August baby.

The only time I've seen centiles discussed on here is with regard to various concerns, in which case of course the extremes are going to be disproportionately mentioned. Average is just that, and doesn't generally raise concerns

My oldest was born on 99.7% for height and 75% for weight. She is now on 90% for height (it normally drop when they move from length to height) and 90% for weight. So not quite the same. She is noticeably taller than most of her peers despite being summer born.

And to increase my statistics comment above, I think as on this thread, people will reference their child being probably at least 95th percentile and above. Which increases the number of posters for whom this kind of thing is a factor by five times....

My youngest followed the 25th centile for both weight and height as an adult in is 6ft 2
My oldest followed hovered around the 50th centile for weight and height as an adult he is 5ft 7
I never took any notice of the height as long as it corresponded to weight as once puberty hits you never know what is going to happen height wise.

I have one on the 25th centile and one on the 99th. I probably mention one being on the 99th more because it’s more ‘remarkable’.
Why do you think people would lie about it OP?

@UnbeatenMum

I'm slightly anxious about how tall my 2yo is because people already approach him and talk to him like he's 4, it's happened twice in the last two weeks. So I probably talk about it more. Didn't really ever talk about my closer to the average height children.

I remember people looking in horror at my 2 year old still in her pushchair, because they assumed she was 4/5 and just too lazy to walk! She's now 13 and 5'6" and still growing.

Mine was always on the 2nd centile from birth. Still is. Someone has to be at the top and someone has to be at the bottom.

I think people mention it because a very tall child gets commented on. My 3yo DS is 98th centile for height and very lanky, he towers over his little friends. It sometimes gets mentioned because I'm very small and DH is a bit shorter than average too, so his height is surprising. I was average height as a child but stopped growing early, my sister was so tall that she had to lean her head down to listen to some of her friends. My height was never mentioned, hers was quite frequently commented on.

"Are the centiles wrong? Are the doctors wrong? Are the parents wrong?"

The centiles are designed for the average white population. I know lots of Nigerian families whose children are big and in the top centiles. So I think it's possibly more than 1% of children in the higher groups. As a Grandmother whose watched lots of children of all shapes and sizes grow up, I don't understand the fuss over them tbh. They can be a useful tool.

I think people who post on certain threads are self selecting.
Just like 100% of parents who don't understand SATs or CATs seem to have high performing children
and if you look across the education boards you'd be forgiven for thinking that all children either get straight 7-9s in their GCSEs, or have SEN. The average 4-6s are very under represented.

fwiw My DD is at the opposite end height wise and is 17 and just under 5ft.

Mine are both above the 99th centile for height, but my toddler has always been around the 50th for weight, he's just tall and slim. There has never been any concern for either of them, they've been following their "curve" so far.

The only issue I find is people sometimes wonder why my 2 year old isn't talking as much/is sometimes in a pushchair because they think he's much older. People will ask him questions and sometimes think he's being shy/won't talk to them. I've gotten used to parents with kids the same age saying "wow he's so tall!" about both of them though. 😂

After having my first, I did go a very long time wondering why other people's babies of the same age were so tiny. I remember thinking we were next to a newborn at a baby group, and when her mum asked how old mine was, saying "oh they were only born 8 days apart then!". It was then that I realised those babies were around the average side for their age!

I dunno. I do know that DS (4.5) is on the 98.8th centile for height, and the 40th for weight, and has followed that trajectory his whole life so far. When I look at him next to his peers he's noticeably taller and on the skinny side.

Mine was on the 99.6 for hight weight and head size. Perfectly in proportion but big. It’s heartbreaking that people have expectations of an older child when he’s only 3. Also he’s at a disadvantage as toys made for his age group have always been to big for him.

It depends on the context.

1. this post is a bit strange. Are you bitching for a reason? Just seems a bit of a pointless judgy thread

2. I'd assume it's linked to parents feeling defensive as many people assume baby or child is overfed or inactive due to weight when it can just be a case of a high percentile baby.

3. you don't get to censor people. If you don't like comments, just scroll by. No need to make another post about them?

I can’t say I’ve noticed that. Obviously you’re reinforcing your view with this thread as lots with 99 percentiles are commenting.
I don’t see it as something bad like boasting about achievements etc. If anything it could be an issue. I was referred to doctor by HV as my baby was 97 percentile for head (though turned out to fine).