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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

DS - 9th percentile: too small?

28 replies

Thaleia · 20/08/2012 16:57

Hi,

My DS is in perfect porportion, being on the 9th for both weight and length @ 16 weeks.

However, I am a bit worried about his length. Both my husband and I aren't the tallest people with 5.7 and 5.10 but looking at the chart for our son, at the moment, he'll only be 5.6 when he's grown up.

As with every family we have tall people (lots) and short people (mainly my husbands dad and brother, the rest of his family is tall too).

If a boy starts out to be small, will he be "forever" small?

Thanks, Thali

OP posts:

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notcitrus · 20/08/2012 17:02

Too early to say. If you look in the back of your red book there's a formula to predict adult height from height age 2.

They don't measure babies any more in my area as it was so unreliable and didn't mean much.

Sirzy · 20/08/2012 17:04

I really wouldn't worry, 9th centile is just as normal as 50th or 99th, the spectrum covers "normal"

N0tinmylife · 20/08/2012 17:06

Yes, he is too small, you should send him back! I'm joking obviously, but seriously, he will be whatever size he will be, there is nothing you can do about it. As long as he is healthy and happy there is little point worrying about it. My DS has been between the 2nd and 9th centile from birth to now, (almost 5) I am just thankful his size is the biggest thing I have to worry about with him!

ChunkyPickle · 20/08/2012 17:14

Don't believe those charts - if you read them it says that 4/5 children will be within 6cm either way.

ie. 4/5 children will be within 6 inches of the height estimate - ie all their saying is that you have an 80% chance that your child will be between 5'3'' and 5'9'' one in 5 will be outside of that range. It's so vague as to be almost entirely useless.

Traceymac2 · 20/08/2012 17:15

It is too early, as notcitrus says, often a baby can have a growth spurt and go up a percentile or two. My dd grew an extra 6 cm on top of her projected growth length wise. She was born on the line at the bottom of the chart at 42 cm so even then she only reached the 0.4th. She has a delayed bone age too, which is not uncommon, so will have later growth spurts and grow for longer than other children and eventually reach a normal adult height. If her bone age was advanced they would have recommended growth hormones. If you are still concerned when your dd reaches toddlerhood then you could request an endocrinology referral but for now try not to worry too much as he will probably catch up a little to reach his genetic norm.

Original poster

Thaleia · 20/08/2012 19:18

Thanks ... It's my first and possibly only child so I most likely worry too much. It doesn't help that I gave him such a crap start (IMO) and want his best so much.

OP posts:

rollonfriday · 20/08/2012 19:35

My first born was 96th percentile and is now an average sized 8 year old, my second was off the scale (top end) and is now an average sized 3 year old. Where they start is certainly not where they end up (or so far for my two anyway!!). Don't worry, whatever their size, if they're healthy and happy then all is good!

beela · 20/08/2012 19:51

Too small for what?

Our GP said to me (when I was worried that DS was too light) that you don't want to be at the very bottom or the very top of the charts, but otherwise don't worry too much about it.

Original poster

Thaleia · 21/08/2012 09:51

too small to .... we'll, call me shallow but I like men being tall .

But there is nothing I can do but sit & wait if he'll grow a little bit more. Re the weight and being too light, I've come to term with - nothing McD can't fix in the long run (JOKING). No, he's quite a vomitty baby so we'll see if he'll go up once on solids but I plan to bf him for the whole of 6 months because of allergies.

I didn't know and couldn't find it in the book re the 2 years - strange!

OP posts:

Traceymac2 · 21/08/2012 09:56

Were any of you 'late bloomers'? Were you small kids that eventually caught up in your late teen/delayed puberty. There is a history of this in my family, that's what the delayed bone age will result in with my dd. It seems these things run in families.

Daisy17 · 21/08/2012 10:11

We all have our preferences, OP, but thankfully you'll not be having to marry your son, some loving person who doesn't mind how tall he is will have that pleasure instead.......honestly, why is it ok to be shortist?!

Lottie4 · 21/08/2012 10:33

There's nothing wrong with 5'6" and to my mind it's perfectly acceptable for a man to be that height.

My daughter was very small (lengthwise) when born and is just under the 2nd centile for weight and height. She's obviously going to be very small, but is generally healthier than many of her friends shaking illness off quickly, is full of life, from school feedback is one of the most popular girls in her class (and has some lovely close friends) and does exceptionally well at school, so I can't ask for anything more. She might ask for an extra couple of inches when she grows up, but all of the other things above are a great start in my mind.

lljkk · 21/08/2012 10:46

Don't be daft :), you can't tell anything from his size at so young an age.
If it makes you feel better, DS was 9th percentile for weight most his babyhood & 25th percentile for height the one time he was measured (2.5yo), one of the very smallest boys when he started reception. One day late in year5 I noticed he was taller than all the other boys in his class. No clue when he overtook them.

He's 12 now & about 50th percentile for height, no obvious signs of puberty yet, either. It's great having a compliant adult-size kid, they push buggies, help carry heavy things & move furniture around.

HappyJoyful · 21/08/2012 10:58

5"7 for a woman is quite tall no ? I understood - (from no scientific proof I might add) perhaps just one of those old wives tales that boys will never be shorter than their mothers ? I have a friend who has a short hubby - and she's tall and their son is very tall like his mum and daughter short like dad.

I would really, really concentrate on enjoying your time with a wee new baby rather than worrying about what if's and buts, honestly it's very precious time now and you've got to relax and enjoy it. He's your beautiful son and as others have said no changing him now!

Teddymonkey · 21/08/2012 11:01

My DS is small, so I understand that you may be concerned - but really, your view is a bit skewed. You like men tall? He's your son, you're not choosing a suitor. As it stands, it's far too early to tell, so let it go...anyway, he is who he is

ReallyTired · 21/08/2012 11:04

lol... dd was on the 0.4th for weight and hieght centile for ages. I had the health visitor breathing down my neck and coming round to my house to weigh dd.

At the age of three dd is on the 9th centile for weight and between the 2nd and 9th centile for height.

My husband is 5ft 6inch and my brother is 5ft 5inch. Their lack of statue has not caused them any problem in adult life.

duchesse · 21/08/2012 11:20

OMG you sound like my bloody sister!! If your kid is going to be small, he's going to be small. If he's going to be tall, he's going to be tall. Feed him well and he most probably will reach his own final adult height. There is NOTHING you can do about it. Useless worrying about it.

duchesse · 21/08/2012 11:23

Oh, and you can't extrapolate final adult height from those charts- they're crap. They sampled children at every age 0-18, then found the median line and drew it. It takes no account of individual growth rates and patterns. eg in both sides of my children's family, we have a tendency to grow late, even the girls. My 17 dd is still growing, I and my MIL grew beyond age 18. The books will tell that girls stop at 15 and boys at 17. It's not true for most people. Some girls stop growing at 10, some keep going to 22. Same for boys. There's no telling what height your tiny son will end up.

bruffin · 21/08/2012 11:34

I really don't think you can go on length at 4 months.
Both my dcs started off as fairly short.
DS was on 25th centile i think when he was born and was on 75th by the time he was 1 and at 16 is on the 90th

DD again something like 35th centile, was on 50th centile for many years, hit puberty and went up to 75th.
I am 5'2 and DH 6'2 so a big difference between us, but dcs seemed to have inherited dh's taller gene, rather than the diddy one that runs in my family.

bruffin · 21/08/2012 11:36

meant to say DS is 6ft and has been since he was 14.

duchesse · 21/08/2012 11:39

My DS was always 25th %ile as a child. At 14 he was about 5ft2. He is now 19 and nudging 6ft (DH is 5ft9) so even the supposedly nifty way of working out your child's eventual height from their parents' doesn't work (he is taller than both of us).

Flisspaps · 21/08/2012 11:43

Following on from my message on our other thread Thaleia, not only is DH 6ft 2, his DM is 5ft 3ish, his DF 5ft 9ish and his DSis is about 5ft 3. Really, DS's length now is not an issue

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 21/08/2012 11:47

IME you can't tell til they stop growing.

I'm 5ft 5 (and a bit). Dh is 5ft 9. ds2 was small, at one point being mistaken for his younger sister's twin, that went down well . He's now 5ft 11 after having a fairly late growth spurt and my elder son who was much taller than him as a youngster is 5ft 7.

EBDTeacher · 22/08/2012 18:34

beela I wonder why your GP has a problem with the top and the bottom of the chart?

My DS is off the top of the chart by exactly the same amount for both his weight and his height (and his head circ). According to that formula thing he is going to be 6'7. Nobody has ever suggested it is any sort of problem.

I think there is only a problem if there is a big discrepancy either way between centiles for weight and length/height.

MainlyMaynie · 22/08/2012 19:22

I was talking to DS's Dr (who we see instead of a health visitor here) about this yesterday as he's now above the 99.6% centile and there is no reason for this based on our heights. She said that lots changes after 2, some children's growth really slows and some speeds up. They don't start to really look at height until after then.

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