Child on 9th centile

[Namechangestimes100]

If you had a child on the 9th for height, how tall did the end up as a teen/ older child/ adult?

Dd is 9th for height and her paed said it people don’t have growth spurts so she’ll always stay there. I have no issue with this but I did think that growth spurts were relatively common or is that sort of built into the centile lines? I’ve also read on a Fb group that smaller children (she was sga) tend to go through puberty earlier, so actually have less time to grow, so they might be on the 9th say for a 12 year old but Puberty triggers the slowing down of growth so they end up falling off the charts etc.

I’m just wondering. I was 75th as a child and then stopped growing at 13 and dropped to 25th by all accounts

I have a 5ft 16 year old and a 5ft 1 13 year old, both lurked between 9th and 25th centile. No growth spurts here.

My friends daughter was always around the 9th centile but grew a lot once her (then) undiagnosed allergies were managed

@Thunderface

I have a 5ft 16 year old and a 5ft 1 13 year old, both lurked between 9th and 25th centile. No growth spurts here.

To have a quick scan of the adult height calculator thingy in DDs red book it would look a bit if they fell down from 9/25 as that seems to be an adult height or 5 2/3?

Did they go through puberty early?

(Not sure if reading that it comes across as me being twatty about your kids, if so sorry I don’t mean it to be, just so I know in terms of monitoring dd and if we need to push for ght)

You're right about when they hit puberty making more of a difference. Mine both hit it early so stopped growing early, DS slipping down from about 75th percentile up 50th and DD from 50th to 25th. My niece was always tiny as a young child, probably around the 9th percentile, though looked even smaller compared to her peers as she's a summer birthday. She hit puberty later than my kids though and is now 5'4 so not too far off average.

DS always hovered between 7th and 9th. He had a growth spurt in the 1st lockdown and is now about 5ft 6 at 15.
Drs told me when he was little that his predicted adult height was 5ft3.
Mind you I have no idea which centile that places him on. He definitely had a growth spurt though.

@choosername1234

My friends daughter was always around the 9th centile but grew a lot once her (then) undiagnosed allergies were managed

Oh that’s interesting, what were her allergies? Aside from being petite did she have other symptoms. Dd has quite dark circles and we’ve asked about allergies and always been told no

@Firefliess

You're right about when they hit puberty making more of a difference. Mine both hit it early so stopped growing early, DS slipping down from about 75th percentile up 50th and DD from 50th to 25th. My niece was always tiny as a young child, probably around the 9th percentile, though looked even smaller compared to her peers as she's a summer birthday. She hit puberty later than my kids though and is now 5'4 so not too far off average.

That’s what I’m sort of hoping for dd, a later puberty.

Although I guess i went through it early ish.

I think 5’4 is pretty much the 50th for girls so that would be lovely for DD

I was 9th centile and I'm 5ft3 and did start puberty at 11! So maybe be some theory behind it? my daughter is only 2 but has been on the 3rd centile so far so will be interesting to see

@Daisy95

I was 9th centile and I'm 5ft3 and did start puberty at 11! So maybe be some theory behind it? my daughter is only 2 but has been on the 3rd centile so far so will be interesting to see

I’m the same as you and I always felt like a massive giant until about 12/13.

My mum gave me my old kids book and at 6 mnths I was 8.5kg so well above the 98th. Although we’re talking early 90s here so how accurate that was, who knows ?

I would say mine were average age for puberty. First period around 12.5 yrs.
I think my 13 year old will probably grow a little more. I am 5'2 so she'll likely be my height.
My older dd was under a paed for other issues and he was never concerned about her height. I think we assumed she would be my height but it didn't happen.
She sometimes wishes she was taller but growth hormones were never suggested by the paed.

My DS has always been 9th centile or below. He trains at high level for a sport and as such as undergone some testing which has identified his peak height velocity (the time at which he will grow the most) as 14.2 years old. His brother was already 6 foot 1 at that age so his peak height velocity must have been much earlier.

9th percentile is a normal percentile? Not sure of the issue.

I was and am on a low percentile and hit puberty at 13. My friend slightly taller than me started her period at 9!

DD is 9th centile (7 years old currently), she has been since she was born. Other than a few concerned mutterings as a baby from HV about her weight gain, it has never been raised as an issue. I'm 5ft3in so expect she will end up my height or similar. I wouldn't have thoguht that was an issue.

Oh and for me, I started my periods at 13.

My DD is always between the 2nd and 9th centiles and at 13 she is only 145cm. We're hoping for a growth spurt though as she had a growth plate scan recently and it came up as 2 years behind normal, which means lots of potential for growth left. She's also got lots of allergies, but definitely didn't grow after they were diagnosed.

DD was on the 9th centile, hit puberty at 12 and is 5ft4 which is pretty good going as I'm only 5ft. DS was always on 25th-50th centile and hoping to be taller than DH who's 5ft 11, currently about 5ft 6 and nearly 15.

There isn’t an issue as such, i mean we had a lot of flack from the HV when she was a baby, now with her brother they’ve come back around again and want her weighed which we’ve declined because she’s under a paed and too many cooks etc..:
But because she was sga that’s the differentiating factor I suppose. Sga children who don’t attain catch up can be entitled to hgh, catch up of course is a bit confusing. I was a bit confused as to how her paed said growth spurts don’t really happen as everyone I know has had one lol. But what do I know? Slightly concerned she might go through puberty early and drop off the charts as a result. I don’t mind, of course, what height she is.

@LaughingLemur

My DD is always between the 2nd and 9th centiles and at 13 she is only 145cm. We're hoping for a growth spurt though as she had a growth plate scan recently and it came up as 2 years behind normal, which means lots of potential for growth left. She's also got lots of allergies, but definitely didn't grow after they were diagnosed.

Was she sga @LaughingLemur? I’ve ready with sga their bone plates start off behind their chronological age and then rapidly over take.

But then there’s constitutional growth delay which is basically longer to grow.

Gah it’s so confusing

My dd was about 9th percentile for height, unsurprising as I'm 5'1". Her puberty was on the late side and I think she grew a bit more after that - I think shes ended up at 5'2. Which is a perfectly fine height for a young woman.

I was on the tiny percentiles when I was a child, not sure exactly what but born at 4lb, having to start school in uniform that looked ridiculous because the smallest size they could get was 2-3 and that was too big for me at 4, having tiny feet for years and struggling to find shoes, all familiar stories.

Average puberty at 12-14 approx and fully grown I have ended up shorter than all my grandparents, shorter than both my parents and the shortest of my siblings, so am known as the short one and they still take the piss.

I am 5 ‘ 8

My DD had constitutional growth delay. She was born on due date and on the 50th centile but dropped to the 2nd by the age of 2. Her growth has been monitored since then. It's difficult isn't it? We just hope she'll reach about 155cm or even more if she has a late growth spurt.

Why would you need hgt!! I'm only 5ft 1 (so less than 9th I assume) - it's a perfectly normal height all be it on the dinky side

One of my kids is 9th for height and 2nd for weight - no one gives a rat's ass. the dietitian (he used to have multiple allergies) even told me someone needs to be there - he actually gets less illnesses than his 75th brother

@Bobojangles

Why would you need hgt!! I'm only 5ft 1 (so less than 9th I assume) - it's a perfectly normal height all be it on the dinky side

One of my kids is 9th for height and 2nd for weight - no one gives a rat's ass. the dietitian (he used to have multiple allergies) even told me someone needs to be there - he actually gets less illnesses than his 75th brother

Well I don’t know if we will, that’s the point.

HGH is available for all sga children who if by the age of 4 haven’t shown adequate catch up, those are the nice guidelines. They are there for a reason. We’ll let the experts decide. Obviously if you’ve got a sga child who stayed below you mph range and you didn’t want to go down the hgh path that’s ok too.

But HGH isn’t just about height, it’s about muscle mass, bone mass, appetite, energy and general robustness.

@LaughingLemur

My DD had constitutional growth delay. She was born on due date and on the 50th centile but dropped to the 2nd by the age of 2. Her growth has been monitored since then. It's difficult isn't it? We just hope she'll reach about 155cm or even more if she has a late growth spurt.

If she’s got constitutionally growth delay then she should just grow for longer right and have a spurt later on than everyone else? X

Has your dc had a bone age scan these can show if they are likely to have a delayed puberty?
My dd paediatrician did this for my dd (now a mature adult a little over 5 foot) who was under the 5th percentile it showed her bone age as a few years below her actual age. She was less than a metre at 5 & if she had reached puberty at average age of less than 14 she would have been well under 5 foot
He was right

Check what age your family reached puberty, is your child on any medication (epilepsy & adhd medication can both delay puberty) & as pp said allergies especially those which affect diet may slow down growth & of course some physical illness & probably being a vegan. Ethnicity is also an important factor - for some groups puberty can be a lot earlier for some (Japanese girls average age for periods is 17 for instance)