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Children's health

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Original poster

My 7 yr old is very short what to feed him to make him grow

52 replies

TheSerene · 22/03/2013 11:05

Compared to all the other in his class am worried I don't feed him enough looking to enrich his food what food do you tall children like to eat ? It is now affecting his confidence feel so sorry for him

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

clam · 22/03/2013 17:48

Is that based on scientific research?

Booyhoo · 22/03/2013 17:50

yes

nocake · 22/03/2013 17:55

Kids don't shoot up over the summer. If anything their growth is likely to be faster in spring.

OP, you're both below average height so your DS has a double dose of short genes. That means he is likely to end up pretty short. There's no harm in getting a doc to check him over but don't be surprised if the answer is that he's perfectly healthy.

spottyparrot · 22/03/2013 17:58

Op, my ds is the tallest in his entire year group. It's because me and dh are too. Ds eats very little, he is fussy!

colditz · 22/03/2013 18:01

You are both short, not average, so don't be surprised that your child is short. If he is genuinely the shortest seven year old by 30 centimetres, take him to the doctor, but I actually doubt it. What age trousers does he wear?

PointeShoes · 22/03/2013 18:08

Bannanas

clam · 22/03/2013 18:18

I'd love to see a link to that research.
I've only ever heard anecdotal 'evidence' re: the summer, mainly from teachers who haven't seen their classes for 6 weeks. It's similar to grandparents and elderly relatives who like to proclaim how much kids have grown.

Sadly, no one ever said that to my ds. Until recently.

ImTooHecsyForYourParty · 22/03/2013 18:18

diet won't help. To stunt a child's growth through diet would really be something! It's simply not likely in this country today.

you can't stimulate growth through diet either.

His genes will determine his height.

click here

and here

not sure how scientific they are, but they at least show that it is parents height that matters.

I did read something that you should double their height at 2 and that will be their adult height. Don't know if that's true or not. seems a bit odd to me.

Booyhoo · 22/03/2013 18:21

i would love to show you but it's classified

clam · 22/03/2013 18:24

Aha! It's as I thought. bollocks.

Booyhoo · 22/03/2013 18:25

i can neither confirm or deny that.

nagynolonger · 22/03/2013 18:53

I'm sure genes are responsible for height but something else must be involved.

DH is 5'10 and I'm 5'4. I thought that was about average.

DS 19 year old is 6'1
DS 17 year old is 6'4

DS 16 year old is 5'9.

They might still have more growing to do.

FWIW I have found that mine had their biggest growth spurt between school years 9 and 10.

nagynolonger · 22/03/2013 18:55

All 3 are very active. Does doing sport make DC taller?

MousyMouse · 22/03/2013 19:36

the 'measure at 2 & double' worked out pretty accurately with some of my male relatives.
but I guess it is just a good guide and not really acurate/scientifically proven.
there are a number of measurements that can be taken. like x-rays of wrists, blood tests.

clam · 22/03/2013 19:50

So, we have theories of feeding them up to make them taller, a dose of "summer" and now signing them up for tennis lessons.

What is this, the "make it up as you go along" school of science?

nagynolonger · 22/03/2013 20:04

So if it's all genes how did DH and me produce a 6'4'' son. He wasn't a big baby and was only average height until he shot up at 13.

nagynolonger · 22/03/2013 20:10

If the OP is worried she should talk to GP or the school nurse. I'm not sure what happens now but my DC all had their height and weight checked in primary school.

lljkk · 22/03/2013 20:15

Actually, I am pretty sure that overfeeding does make them taller, I've known too many cases of very fat kids who also became very tall for age. I'm convinced the over-nourishment became a factor in their height.

But it's a risky strategy, could be lumbered with being fat for life.

clam · 22/03/2013 20:18

A baby's genes will not just be from its two parents, but also from previous generations, surely?

chartreuse · 22/03/2013 20:27

That's what we were told clam, my short GF passed on his height gene to ds

nagynolonger · 22/03/2013 20:27

You would think so but if anything we have shorter to average grandparents and grt grandparents.

I'm sure sport/exercise does make a difference to a girls height. Girls who do lots of sport tend to start periods later.

Bunbaker · 22/03/2013 20:48

"5ft 2 and 5 ft 8 so average"

The average height for a man in the UK is 5'9" and a woman is 5'4", so your son is unlikely to attain average height.

How tall is he?

If he really is 12" shorter than his peers I think a visit to the GP to rule out coeliacs or any other issues is needed.

colditz · 22/03/2013 21:01

Being taller than their peers makes hidden better at sports tab. Their peers, and therefore more likely to continue playing and succeed

TicTacSir · 22/03/2013 21:13

Just be thankful for a healthy and happy DS!!!!!! Ignore all the anecdotal nonsense about 'taller=better/fitter/sportier/happier/more attractive' etc. It's bollocks. It takes all sorts to make a world. Who wants to be average, anyway?

narmada · 23/03/2013 22:23

OP have you kept a record of his height over the years? I don't think absolute height is an issue as long as he is somewhere on the chart and as long as he is not plunging through the centiles - e.g., was 50th as a baby, slowly gone down over time to 2nd percentile or something like that.

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