should I be worried about DD's growth...?

[narmada]

Evening all,

Don't know whether I should actually go to HV/ GP or not about DD. During infancy and through early toddlerhood she was on around 50th to 75th percentile for height and weight. She is now, at nearly 4, noticeably smaller than almost everyone in her preschool class and I don't think she has grown much in the last year. Feet same size as they were last summer. For the last year she has been hovering around about 10th percentile for height.

I wouldn't worry really but both me and DH are fairly tall, and also she has a fairly poor appetite (unless it's crisps and chocolate).

I am thinking she will probably have a mega growth spurt but how long is it safe to leave it before pursuing it?

Watching since I have always assumed there is nothing you can do about it. Ds1 is tiny compared to his friends. Surely that's just the way they are and there's nothing you can do to make them grow??

I had a thread on here ages ago about ds being tiny - lists the steps they took to check it out. will try to find it. under child development/ health i think.

You can ask for a paed referral and they'll check what height she's going to end up at (IIRC it's something to do with the bones in their hands) but honestly, maybe she's just small - what would you want them to do if they tell you she's just on the smaller end of the distribution curve?

Not at at all worried about her being small if that's how she's destined to be! It's more that she was around 50-75th percentile for a good two and a half years and in the last year and a half has taken a bit of a nosedive through the chart. I guess I would like them just to make sure that there's no hormone-related things going on, eg., thyroid or growth hormone issues but don't know whether am over-worrying.

My dd is also 4 and started at the same percentile as yours but now one of the smallest in her per-school class. She is having some problems with her adenoids/sleep so assuming it is down to that. I mentioned it to the specialist but he wasn't worried as she has only dropped to about 40 percentile and is otherwise fine. She seems to have had a growth spurt in the last few weeks tho so hoping she is catching up now!

Yes, ask for a referral sooner rather than later. My DD did stop growing but it took us ages to get anyone to listen to us. She dropped off her centile (she was on 50th dropped to below 1st) at around 4 and we didn't get her seen until she was 6 despite keeping asking for help.

Sorry I forgot to say the specialist said a small drop is normally ok but any lower could be a worry so I would take your dd to see your gp. Hope it goes ok.

Had the same with my ds at that age - on the 50th centile and slowly dropped off the bottom, smallest in his class etc. HV referred us to the paediatrician - he wasn't unduly concerned but said it was worth keeping an eye on. They did urine & blood tests and also x-rayed his wrist (at about 8yo and 10yo). Xray showed that bone age was younger than his actual age which indicated that he would be likely to hit puberty later than his peers. As he stayed on the same centile and didn't continue to keep dropping the paed said that it wasn't hormonal, though at 14 he had a 6 month course of monthly hormone injections to kick start his bodies own hormone production. He's 18 now and 5ft 7/8 and still growing.

Just realised I'm waffling on with my story - but basically paed told me that any hormone deficiency needs to be picked up pre puberty so treatment can be started at around the time puberty begins. Once they have gone through puberty there is little you can do to make them grow taller. So for your dd's age it's worth keeping an eye on the charts but no need to rush her off to the doctor as she may well have a growth spurt and catch up with her friends in the next year or two.

My DD was referred to the hospital growth clinic via the school nurse (they do height and weight checks at the end of reception). DD had the same tests as nbee84 Ds. She has the same thing (called conventional growth delay) and will remain small and go through puberty later and continue to grow when others have stopped and therefor catch up. My sister had the same condition.

If she seems healthy I wouldn't worry as she will be checked out at school next year.

Thanks so much for your replies, everyone. Really helpful