Should I be worried - advised to see Doctor about rapid growth of toddler?

[mellymell]

my 15 month toddler is growing like a weed and has always been in the 98th quartile for height and weight. The health clinic has advised me to have him checked out by a doctor - I am presuming bone health, but should I be worried?

To my eyes he's growing fine, is robust and (very) strong - both grandfathers are over 6ft 2" and his father had reached full height by 14 years old.

Any comments?

I got told to do this with DS1 for the same reasons. he is now almost 10 and is wearing clothes for a 12/13 year old. he is very tall and skinny and eats like a horse. i didn't worry, I'm 5'11/6ft tall, as is Dh, my brothers are 6'4 and 6'7 and BIl is 6ft2. So no midgets

sounds like scar-mongering - someone has to be on the top percentile! Unless he was on the 2nd percentile last week, I wouldn't worry too much...

they do the same if your child follows the very bottom line too!

what HV fail to realise tho is that centiles are a guide. If you take 100children all born the same day, in reality only 1 of those will be bang on the 50centile. all the others will be above or below that line.....which is why there is many lines!

I really think that HV are sent on training courses learning how to scare the hell out of parents......

I think mmj is right - the whole point of stats like this is that by definition some kids are at the upper and lower ends of the scale. If he was off the scale then there might be cause to check it out, but by being on the scale he is by definition a normal child.

Plus if he is 98th on both weight and height then that suggests he is perfectly in proportion. I think I'd be a lot more worried if he was 98th for height and 2nd for weight or vice versa...

my ds was WAAAAY above the 100 centile on those bloody charts from about 6 months. The doc wanted to test him for some growth disorder. I refused. I knew he was fine, just a big baby.

He is 4 now, and although he is tall, not freakily so.

Please dont worry, as you say, you know his family history and genetics. He sounds totally normal to me.

My 3 yr old has always been at the very top of the growth charts. He is in size 5-6 clothes, wears a size 12 and a half shoe and is tall and skinny. I'm 5'11 and DH is 6'1. Are you worried about him? It can't hurt to get him checked out, but to be honest, I wouldn't get yourself worked up it. Sounds like he is just going to be a big chappie.

There is no harm in getting the gp's reassurance if the HV has worried you. Most children with tall stature are constitutionally tall and remain within their target height range; no additional investigation is needed. Further investigation is warranted where growth is above the 98th percentile range and/or disproportionate growth and/or the presence of dysmorphic features.

The key factor is the height of your dh & gfs. There a section at the back of the red health visitor book about how to calculated your ds' future height based on family height! It would be unusual for him not to be a tall toddler.

A colleague at work was referred to her gp for the same thing, except her dd is tiny but then she is 4ft11 and hb 5ft4! Her gp was most exasperated - with the HV.

Slightly OT - was laminating all the new Early Years stuff for our local preschool and it said 'newborns can vary in size, but after birth babies grow at similar rates' What absolute cr*p - of course they don't! But if this is the stuff the government is using to inform people how can we expect HVs to know any different?!

Thanks for all the rapid and reassuring responses. Personally, I think its ridiculous, but am being a good girl and following orders. It's probably becuase the two HVs were minute and weren't used to seeing such a bruiser - he could be playing in the front row for England by now (and probably doing a better job).

According to the calculation thingie in the red book, he is due to be betw 6ft 3 and 6ft 5, so he was never likely to be small.

Thanks all.

Dysmorphic features are features out of proportion or irregular - btw that certainly wasn't what I was suggesting here!

Heated: Even if my ds had dysmorphic features, which he doesn't, I would still think he was the most marvellous creature imaginable. But no offense taken!

DS v large at birth, off the chart height and weight. Was frequently "advised" to take him to GP. Did my head in. He's still on top line of the charts now at 20 months and looks nearly 3 (apart from his hair!) but you only have to look at 6ft me and 6ft 3 DH to realise he's going to be tall. I ditched health visitors after one told me off for how much I was feeding DS - he's in proportion being fed healthy food and being fed to meet his appetite, if anything he's on the skinny side. I really wouldn't worry about it. And that calculation in the red book puts him between 6ft 4in and 6ft 7in so I'm getting worried about being towered over!!

You mean they do that to the big babies too.

DS spent first six months on the 0.4 (once under it), then shot to the 50th and now at 2.3 on the 75th. I was worried by the sudden rise, HV's weren't. Probably because they look for the magic 50th centile.

He's fine though and I'm no longer worried, but it just goes to show they can have a sudden surge too and it be okay. Go and see the nice paediatrician if you fancy it. If not, don't, won't make no difference to your DS....

I don't understand - what problem are they looking for? DS is above the chart for height and 98th percentile for weight. I'm only 5'1 but dh is 6'4 and I just presumed that he was taking after his father's family. I've only ever been congratulated by nurses and gps for having a big child (even though it's obviously not due to me at all...)

they are looking for possible growth disorders tryingtoleave, an extreme case maybe giantism etc

My son turned 4 in January and is 114cm and on 98th centile on the growth charts and wears a size 12 shoes. Compared to his friends in school he is really tall and I do worry but his dad is 6'4 so I can't except much else. The 2nd tallest child in his class of 30 is 105cm so there is a big difference!!

Hello, this is my first time posting. My gorgeous son is over 100th centile for height, 98th for weight. (dh and I both 91st). We've had a nightmare since he was born when the paeds first discovered his 'dysmorphic features' and 'large head'. Dysmorphic features can be so mild that you may not see them. my ds has a flat nasal bridge, widely spaced eyes, slightly drooping eyelids and ear pits, but you would never notice. Please don't panic about your ds being tall, mine has other birth defects which point to a syndrome. There are many overgrowth syndromes like Beckwith-Wiedemann, Weaver, Sotos and Simpson-Golabi-Behmel, or isolated gigantism. Unless your ds has any other noticeable birth defects I'm sure he is perfectly healthy. BTW do any other mums have problems with an overgrowth syndrome, I feel like I'm the only one in England!

Hello, I hope you don’t mind me messaging you 17 years on!! My son has just been diagnosed with overgrowth, please could you let me know how your son is now getting on? Any information or reassurance would be greatly appreciated :)