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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

Should I be concerned over dd's height?

13 replies

pinkdolly · 30/12/2009 20:32

My dd3 is 3 1/2 she has always been on the small side. At birth she was on the 2nd centile for weight and 2nd for height also.

By a year old her weight was still on the 2nd centile but her height was recorded on the 25 centile. It was then recorded again at 2years 2 months between the 25 and 9 centile.

I went down today (not knowing there would be no HV's available so self weighed and height checked. (have had a few concerns as she just seems so small, 2 year olds I know are passing clothes to her). Anyway I recorded her height on the 0.4th centile.

She is 88 centimeters (2 ft 10 inches) tall. She weighs 27 pounds.

I know that Hv's get a bit concerned if children's weight fall downt the charts but what about their height. Should I be concerned that she has grown only 4cm in 18 months?

How tall are/were your 3 1/2 year olds?

She is otherwise perfectly healthy. I am 5ft 4 and dh is about 5ft 10. So neither of us is really that tall.

Thanx for your help.

Pink

OP posts:

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SleighGirl · 30/12/2009 20:35

Do either of you have particular short relatives somewhere along the line?

thisisyesterday · 30/12/2009 20:35

i have absolutely no idea how tall my children were at 2 years
and on that basis i wouldn't worry a jot!

as long as she is happy and healthy and meeting her developmental milestones then you have no problem i reckon

Tizzyjacko · 30/12/2009 20:38

My DS2 was the smallest in his class until he was 15. At 5 he was wearing age 3 clothes and had child size 7 feet (school clothes and shoes were very difficult). He is now 16 and is 5 11 and has size 9 feet. The centile charts are only a guide and she is within the normal range (ie 25% are her height or thereabouts).

humptynumpty · 30/12/2009 20:39

i would ask health visitor to look at her and measure her. as long as she is growing that's the main thing. my ds was seeing paediatrician and he was concerned about his height, but he said, the main thing is to regularly measure him and as long as he keeps growing then that's fine.
I wouldn't worry about it too much, but no harm in measuring every 6 months or so then if there is a problem later on, you have the records to show how she did grow.

SleighGirl · 30/12/2009 20:43

Actually 2nd centile dropping to 0.4 centile isn't really a huge drop is it? I think she is just going to be tiny (like me!) I think I'm on the 7th centile.

jasmeeen · 30/12/2009 20:44

I stopped measuring my DSs height and weight around the six month mark so had absolutely no idea what centile they were/are on (they are 7 and 3).

Think Humpty's suggestion of regularly measuring and keeping a record is a good one.

I loathe those centile charts. Gave me loads of unnecessary stress with DS1 when he was on the low centile for weight, which was all worry over nothing in the end.

VerityBrulee · 30/12/2009 20:48

When ds2 was about 3 he seemed to stop growing, he wore the same clothes for 2 years. In fact he grew 1cm in 2 years! we took him to a consultant who monitored his growth and did lots of tests. She concluded that he will always be on the small side of average, and felt it was because of my grandfather who was only 5'4". She was also able to tell us that he is unlikely to have a growth spurt in his teens.

He is 9 now and wears age 7 clothes. I really work on his self esteem so that hopefully being small won't be such an issue for him when he is older.

humptynumpty · 30/12/2009 20:50

if it makes you feel any better, my ds is now 3 years 8 months. He wears size 18-24month trousers, but is broad in chest, so age 3 in tops. The paediatrician is not at all worried about him, as long as he continues to grow.
The doctor says to be honest, they worry more about boys than girls, as it is normal for girls to be shorter than boys. I am 5 ft 1 and there are loads of girls the same height as me or shorter. So i wouldn't worry about it. Like tizzy said, kids grow at different rates. I have a friend who is now same height as me. She reached 5ft at age 12 and i reached it at about 17, so it all evens out in the end!
Try not to worry, and keep the records for your own peice of mind!

mejon · 30/12/2009 22:25

I think we must both have the same daughter . DD was measured and weighed by the HV during her recent pre-school booster jabs. She was just short of 3.4 and was 88.1cms making her between the 0.4th and 2nd centile. Her weight was a little higher at 30lbs which is just on the 25th centile. This was her first 'official' height measurement so I've nothing to compare with but her weight has been consistently between the 9th and 25th centile since birth. Both DH and I are short as are both sets of grandparents (and mine were too) so it's highly unlikely DD will ever be a giant.

I think she's recently had a bit of a height spurt as many of the trousers she's been wearing for at least a couple of years are now getting too short. We certainly get our money's worth out of her clothes.

Original poster

pinkdolly · 31/12/2009 07:47

Thanx all for your messages.

I wasn't sure whether there was anything to worry about (certainly haven't worried about her being tiny before) It's just those awful charts and she is just about to drop off the bottom of it.

She is a perfectly healthy and active little girl in every respect and eats very well.

It is just so funny to have younger cousins passing/friends passing up their clothes.

Thanx again.

Pink

OP posts:

Phoenix4725firestarter · 31/12/2009 08:02

would not worry i have ds whos 4.6 who is not much bigger hes only 92cm and and about 29lbs.and a dd whos 7 and stands at 112 and weighs 36lb so both very tiny.But then have ds 15 who is 6foot and around 10 stone and ds12 whos 5,10 weighs in around 6 stone seems i breed them to 2 rules

WrigglingAndJiggling · 31/12/2009 08:14

18 months between my children and they both share the same clothes.

I went through a worried stage at one point, but the medical folks they won't even start to consider height a problem until she is at least 5.
I now try and remember to measure her (at home) every 4 months or so, just to track how it is.

kbaby · 31/12/2009 22:03

Hi,

My son is 3.5yrs and has always been small. Hes between the 9th and 25th centiles. He is 88cm and weighs 13.5kg(not sure of pounds) hes just now going into age 3 clothes.

Im trying not to worry as my dad said he was the smallest in his class until age 16 nd then shot up.

If you are worried about it just ask the hv to refer her for montoring.

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