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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

Do you think my extreamly tall daughter might have a growth disorder??

53 replies

mummyloveslucy · 22/12/2013 20:07

Hi, my daughter was quite a long baby, but weighed 6lb 12oz. Quite normal. She then grew very quickly and has followed the 99.9th percentile most of her life. I believe she's now off the scale.
She will be 9 at the end of February and she is currently 5 foot 10 and weighs 7 stone 12. Her feet are a 5.5.
She has started puberty, and has breast buds and some pubic and underarm hair. She also has learning difficulties and poor balance/co-ordination. She finds it hard to walk long distances, due to twisted tibia's, awkward foot positioning and poor muscle tone. She has to wear special boots to help keep her ankles straight.
I am 5 foot 6 and her dad is 5 foot 10. I was tall as a child but not as tall as my daughter. I'm just wondering how tall she'll be as an adult and weather or not it's normal for a child to be this big at her age. It's a nightmare buying clothes as she ranges between an age 13 and an adult size 12.
I'm wondering weather a doctor might advise something to slow down her growth rate and delay puberty? Do any of you have experience of this? Thanks

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Original poster

mummyloveslucy · 22/12/2013 21:04

She has soft pale skin, as she has red hair. She's always getting bruises on her shins, she is bendy but is not thin at all. I'd describe her as cuddly. She still has a kind of toddler tummy.

OP posts:

Skogkat · 22/12/2013 21:11

I had that, I was 5ft. I'm now 6ft2. My sister was also 5ft st that age, she's now 5ft4. I wouldn't worry.

TheGonnagle · 22/12/2013 21:17

Hhhm. Bendy, hypermobile, poor muscle tone, soft skin that bruises easily (does it take ages to heal/scar quite deeply? Do the scars look like cigarette burns?). Needs corrective shoes, twisted tibias...
I would request a genetic referral for EDS. I am about to do this for my dd. She will be the fourth in line on my maternal side to have EDS. I am type three, my dm is type three/classical crossover. And none of us are thin!
Do some reading, pm if you want someone to talk to.
PS don't panic, we're all fine, although not entirely normal.....

CheckpointCharlie · 22/12/2013 21:22

My dd is just 11 and is 5 ft 2. She is taller than all her friends but not in a shocking way.
She is also getting boobs and the rest.

She sounds ok to me!

Original poster

mummyloveslucy · 22/12/2013 21:27

Thank you. I think it seems a lot worse as she's been placed in a year group younger than her age due to her difficulties. She's almost 2 years older than some of them. Perhaps it wouldn't be so obvious if she was with her own age group.

Her bruises do seem to take longer to heal. She's actually never cut herself or scraped her knees enough to cause a scar, so I'm not sure about that. She is extreamly cautious and doesn't take risks. She still can't/wont ride a small balance bike.

OP posts:

Idreamofsunshine · 22/12/2013 21:28

Ds1 is 10, 5 foot tall size 6 shoe. Theres a couple in his class similar to him (boys and girls). Hopefully shes fine

mercibucket · 22/12/2013 21:33

has she been referred for ehlers-danloss (spelling?)
it is the same as hypermobility essentially but hypermobility that causes problems

Littlefish · 22/12/2013 21:36

With the height and weight you have given, according to the children's BMI calculator, your dd is obese. 23 is not a healthy BMI for a child. Given her hyper mobility etc. I think you need to go and see your GP and discuss all your concerns with her/him.

Original poster

mummyloveslucy · 23/12/2013 16:50

You only need to look at her to see she's not obese! That's ridiculous. The consultant recently did her height and weight and she was on the same percentile line for her height and weight.

OP posts:

CatAmongThePigeons · 23/12/2013 17:04

I don't think she's overly tall, my son is 4'10 at 7- I was a similar height and I'm 5'11. Not massively tall as a woman today.

Do See the doctor for help and advice for you.

Littlefish · 23/12/2013 17:08

Mummyloveslucy - I put the measurements you gave into a children's BMI website and it said that she was obese. This is not an insult to your dd, it is a medical measurement.

HannahLaRouge · 23/12/2013 17:09

I was definitely taller than that at her age,and was 5ft6 at the age of 11. Fifteen years later and I'm still 5ft6! So I would say height wise nothing to worry about

3littlefrogs · 23/12/2013 17:11

She should see a doctor and have a thorough check up, including her heart.

Does she have longer than average arms/legs? Any visual problems?

Poor muscle tone is a significant thing.

3littlefrogs · 23/12/2013 17:13

Have now read a bit more of the the thread and Marfan's syndrome was what I was thinking. Wasn't going to say it outright, but now see others have mentioned it.

Ploom · 23/12/2013 17:22

I'm tall (5ft 9) & dh is 6ft 3 but I was worried how tall dc2 was becoming. I'm not in the UK but he was referred to the radiology dept to have an xray of his left hand. They can then look at the growth plates & assess whether they are comparable to a normal 9 year olds hand. I'm sure this must be available in the UK too.
Dd is now 12 & started her periods a month before her 12th birthday. She was 170cm when they started & 6 months later she's only grown 1cm. Read on the internet that the hormones act as a brake on growth.
I think if you have concerns you should go to the GP as a start.

Littlefish · 23/12/2013 17:30

Ploom - yes the hand x ray thing is available in the uk. Dd had it done when she was 2 as they were concerned that her rate of growth was too fast. It turned out that the HV had recorded her height wrongly at one of her check ups!

crazykat · 23/12/2013 17:38

My dsd is 11 and 5 foot tall and size 6 shoe. She's always been tall for her age. Doctors have said she will be about 5 foot 7 when she stops growing, she's just doing all the growing at once.

If you're worried see the doctor and they may refer her for blood tests and/or X-rays.

DeWe · 23/12/2013 18:01

4'10 is about 145cm.
That's tall, but I don't think worryingly so. My (just) 10yo dd2 is about that height, and was about 138cm at your dd's age. Although she's at the older end of her year, she's not stood out, there have always been several of her height. Her shoes size is 4. (mine's only a 5!)
Weightwise, your dd is bigger, but that's because dd2 is very thin, and dd2 isn't going through puberty yet.

There is a girl in her year who is very tall though, I noticed her at sports' day last year (year 4) and she must be at least 5'4, and I think she's taller. She does stand out.

The hard to walk etc, is the thing I think you need to talk to your GP about. You can mention the size at the same time in case it's part of a syndrome, but I suspect she's in the "normal" range.

purplebaubles · 23/12/2013 18:05

I was 5'1 at 9....and only reached 5'3 by 12..and then have stayed this way a gazillion years later!!! My feet were size 5 by age 9. Still are now aged 40 .

I was the tallest child by a mile in primary.

On leaving secondary I was the smallest.

Original poster

mummyloveslucy · 23/12/2013 18:08

Littlefish- I know you didn't mean it as an insult and that it was the children's BMI. I didn't write the response very well, but what I meant was that the whole BMI thing is ridiculous. I don't see how an adult is different to a child if they are the same height as well as weight. Anyway, the consultant wasn't concerned about her weight so I guess she's o.k. She eats very healthily, but does have a big appitite. She doesn't exercise as much as other children due to her feet, legs lack of muscle tone, co-ordination etc. I'm trying to find her an activity to help with this but it's really hard.
I'm sorry that my response sounded spikey, I realised when I re-read it that it didn't come across as I meant it.

OP posts:

Littlefish · 23/12/2013 18:25

Please don't worry Mummyloveslucy, but thank you for your apology. . I think as a society our view of what is normal has become a little skewed. My dd is 9 (just), weighs 5 stone and measures about 4ft 6 inches so she is 4 inches shorter, but nearly 3 stone lighter than your dd. You can see her ribs and she has muscley but not skinny legs. She is spot on average, on the 50th centile, which surprised me as I thought, given her skinny ribs, that she'd have a lower percentile rating than that. Children are supposed to look thin!

I think that given your dd's hypermobility and other concerns, you really do need to speak to your GP and look at her height and weight as part of a package of concerns, not as a seperate issue.

plentyofsoap · 23/12/2013 18:50

I was 5 ft 4 around 9 years old and had my period around this time also.
I am still 5 ft 4

DorisButtons · 23/12/2013 19:03

Size 6 feet at 10 and 5' tall.

Now: siZe 6 feet and 5'4".

TheZeeTeam · 23/12/2013 19:09

Dd is 10 and 5'3. Our pediatrician said she's going to be tall as, puberty wise, she's exactly where she's supposed to be. If you're worried, take her to see the doctor/practice nurse for a medical. We have them annually here and it's a great opportunity to discuss and worries in their development.

titchy · 23/12/2013 19:16

Just to add in case people are confused - adults and children have very different builds which is why there is a separate bmi range for both (kids' heads make up a proportionally larger part of their whole weight than adults). There should actually be a sliding scale from babies whose heads are maybe a third of their weight, to adults whose heads should be around a seventh.

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