Clumsy and tall syndrome?

[frannyf]

I have some vague memory of hearing about a condition that caused children to be quite clumsy i.e. falling over a lot, bumping into things, and also unusually tall. Does anyone know what I am on about or have I made it up?

Could it be Dyspraxia? That affects their sense of balance, distance judgement and just generally clumsy. Not sure about the height thing though. HTH

have you got my dd2 there? she is the height of 4/5year old, and very clumsey. she is 3 in a few weeks time.

Sounds like my toad misdee. cat went for him again this morning. has now holes in his face on the temples. It just missed his eyes.

Hiya, it's not my child I'm thinking of, but I don't want to go into details in case the child's parents might use this site too. I just read a link about dyspraxia and it doesn't mention height. Other symptoms described on there did fit though so you could be right. Thanks for your thoughts!

teh child could just be tall for their age. My ds is 3.5 and is the same height of my best friends 5 year old!!!

My 7 yr old DD is very tall for her age and is constantly falling over - we now have plasters on which I write "Ops I did it again!" to amke light of the situation.

I wonder if the extra height just causes a few problems for the children until their development catches up with their size, if you see what I mean?

Still have this nagging memory of a condition where children remained extra tall and clumsy as they grew up, though...

my dd is seeing paed next month about posseible dyspraxia. she is very clumsey. in fact people think i must be a bad mum as when she falls i dont help her up, just say oopd up you get. i only help her if she is crying which is very rare as she has learnt how to fall safely if that makes sense.

Misdee, I hope all goes well when you see the paediatrician. I can understand you not rushing to help her if she is always tumbling down. Did she learn to fall well by herself or did you help her with this?

I think the syndrome might be Marfan Syndrome?

Ah, I thought this was about me! All my family (dh and both our two children) are clumsy and tall. Also I bruise incredibly easily, and dd has inherited this too. She is coming up five and in 7-8 year old clothes now. She gets quite stressed about hurting herself, and we do sometimes get funny looks when this happens in the playground or with other little girls, as people assume she is much older than she really is. I'm pretty mean too - we've found that (mostly) if we make light of her bumps she get's over them much faster.

cancel what I said complete bollox

My first post, so excuse any errors. My dd is 6, and already in 11-12 yrs, to have room for her to grow I have to look to buying clothing for 12-13. My questions 1) Are their other mums out their with 'exceptionally' tall children. 2) I am now really struggling not to put in her 'teen clothing' any tips on places to shop. She's nearly an adult 3 shoe size.

I am trying not to worry about her growth but always end up stating her age so that she is treated a little more appropriately. Final point she has starting growing under arm hairs -not sure if I should be concerned. Have no idea when to be anxious-saw the T.V. programme about the girl who was over 6ft at 12 and found it very sad. My dd is currently 150cm and just about to start year 2.

Hi brumaday - the general rule on MN is that if you want to ask something yourself, it's better to start your own thread, rather than add to a very old thread (this one is 7 years old!) - people would be more likely to answer. If you look at the bottom of this post you'll see a link saying 'start new thread in this topic'. You'll also get more replies if you post during busier times of day rather than the middle of the night, as your question will pop up in 'active conversations'.

But since I'm here, for what it's worth, I think in your position I would take my DD to the doctor for a check on her development.

She is obviously extremely tall for her age - my DD is 9 (10 in October) and is about the same height as your DD, but she is still the tallest in her year (just about to go into yr5). DD is heading into puberty (getting breast buds and her first pubic hairs, though no underarm hair) which at her age is at the early end of the normal range.

If your DD is three years younger and already the same height and hitting puberty, that does sound unusual from what I've read, so worth talking to a doctor about it.

Sotos syndrome is another genetic where children are very tall and usually dyspraxic. There is a characteristic 'look' with slightly downslanted eyes, high hair lines and a few other bits and bobs. Usually some developmental delay too.

Has this child grown quite quickly or suddenly? Growing will affect the centre of gravity and some children may be affected more by this than others. My dd has low muscle tone and is very clumsy when she's growing, falls over a lot etc. Dyspraxia, as others have said sounds like it might be worth investigating..

Yes. I think she does tend to fall a lot when on a growth spirt, or used too. When she was three/four we thought it was 'new shoe syndrome', her knees where a right mess. However, given she fell over regardless of the newness of the shoes we reconsidered this thought. She has improved coordination and balance but then she has been enrolled in dance, gym, ice-skating, tennis, and swimming for the past 18 months or so.

In respect of sudden growth she has grown approximately 21cm in about 14 months. I have no idea what normal is, her shoe size also seems to have grown by just over 2 sizes she is now an adult 2 and a half. Again I am not sure what normal is, but having been on MN over the last two days - I have yet to come across a parent with an equal/similar growth issue.

The general advice on here is to take her to the GP if for nothing more than peace of mind, mine more than dds. DD is healthy, happy and confident in her height and that is the way I want to ensure it stays. She does seem to have very small breast buds but again I don't know what is normal/the expected/the average. She is 6 years old and 5ft tall ( approximately) which is not average so I have no markers to go by.

Ds is 5y7m and is the tallest in his year at school of 100 children, he is 126cm tall so quite a bit off 5ft like your daughter.

If my daughter was showing signs of puberty at 6 years old I would ABSOLUTELY be getting her seen by a doctor asap.

Okay...Given that I am going on Monday anyway, would a few hairs under the armpits, and maybe 'breast buds, count as signs of puberty? Hairy arms and legs are normal right?

I have taken it as read that 152cm at 6years old for a girl is very very far from normal!

Of course they are signs of puberty?!

You should read this whilst I hope its not a sign of any of the more serious conditions it may persuade you that you do need to get her checked out.

Hi, well according to the GP hairs under the armpits, are not siginificant. The breast buds are excess fatty tissue because she is so active. However the blood test is being done as a re-assurance to me. So will know more in a week or so. Thanks for all your advice and comments, much appreciated.