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Toddler weight - have I lost perspective?

10 replies

mizzles · 02/06/2019 18:13

Since DD's 2 year check I've been worrying a little about her weight and am hoping someone can either reassure me or steer me in the right direction.

She is 83cm tall and according to the weigh-in weighs 11.2 kg (she wouldn't stay still so this is a bit of an estimate, I think, and she was fully clothed). Although she eats a decent diet (eats v well at nursery, more shenanigans at home but basically ok) I've never worried too much about fat content in her food (partly because I don't worry about it for myself). I've always thought of her as rather dinky, but I checked her BMI on the NHS child calculator and it suggests she is over the 80th centile for BMI. I realise that the unhealthy range kicks in at the 95th centile, but I was a bit shocked that she is seemingly not far off that and want to avoid her having any weight issues. She is very unlikely to be tall: I'm 5'3 and DH is 5'5 so a massive height spurt doesn't seem very likely. Although I work very hard to keep her active at the weekend (we spend 2-3 hours walking round the park in the mornings and then do as much active play as I can get her to do at the weekends), she is not very active naturally. She has only been able to run for the past couple of months and won't run very far even when I make it a game. She has started to get the hang of her scooter but needs quite a lot of gentle cajoling to do it, and she hated swimming when I took her a few weeks ago. She is otherwise ok (although definitely not advanced) in terms of physical development: she has started doing little jumps and is good at climbing. I was not very active as a child and was probably heavier than I should have been as a result, although both DH and I have always been slim as teenagers/adults.

Dietwise she eats well at nursery (menu looks very healthy to me) and I am strict about not giving her cake, ice-cream, juice, chocolate etc. She does sometimes eat more carbs (e.g.avo on toast) than I would like at home but only when she's really kicked off about my home-cooked food and I don't want her to go to bed hungry. Generally refuses pasta but will eat e.g. chicken and tomato stew with couscous, gazpacho with lentil cakes.

I really want to help her and do everything I can to help her grow into one of the active, slim kids I see running around. Can anyone provide any advice? Happy to admit I am an anxious parent.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
hormonesorDHbeingadick · 02/06/2019 18:15

Her weight is well within a healthy percentile? What are you worried about?

Queenoftheashes · 02/06/2019 18:17

Yeah sounds like her weight is fine and she needs carbs to live anyway so I wouldn’t be worrying about avocado on toast

SinkGirl · 02/06/2019 18:25

Definitely do not worry.

My boys are generally in the 25th centile for height and approaching 50th for weight. Last check they were 87cm ish and 12.3 and 12.5kg or thereabouts

They still wear 12-18 month clothes mostly at 32 months. They’re tiny. The one who wears more is smaller but has always been more “solid” if that makes sense (well he was growth restricted and 3.5lb at birth but now they’re very close in height and weight.

They see doctors frequently and no one has ever shown the slightest concern about their weight / height ratio

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ooooohbetty · 02/06/2019 18:27

She's absolutely fine. Why is it so important to you that she's one of the 'slim' kids?

emilyhamptoncakeslice · 02/06/2019 18:27

Might help you understand it more if you plot it on the growth chart in the red book

Thewindblows · 02/06/2019 18:29

Relax, she sounds totally fine. I think it's fairly normal for toddlers to be a bit on the chubby side still by 2! especially if as you say she's only recently been able to run.
If there was a problem I'm sure whoever did the 2 year check would have mentioned? So try to let go of your anxiety. She seems to have a super healthy diet - she will be fine.

sotired2 · 02/06/2019 18:35

Relax often kids put weight on just before a growth spurt so if weighed/measured in a month could be a completely different %. Keep doing what you are doing and just make exercise fun and she'll be fine

MrsxRocky · 02/06/2019 19:45

She is 2 and I think it's more a reflection on you that you're worrying about her weight when it's not looking like a concern to start with.
Have you got any eating disorders?
I don't mean this in a bitchy way by the way. But do you really want to bring your daughter up thinking about diets and exercise from so young?

BelleSausage · 02/06/2019 19:53

She’ll stretch out when she gets to 3. They all do. She’s still got baby fat and needs to eat in demand. Don’t worry about it for now. The health visitor would tell you if she needed to change her diet for weight issues.

starryeyedsnowgirl · 02/06/2019 20:08

My health visitor reminded me that children tend to put on weight then grow up meaning that whilst their weight plots on a nice curve over time looking at one measurement in isolation can give a false impression. In six months check again and see where she is.

In any event 80th centile is fine. Not overweight. No worries.

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