Ask Dr Hilary Jones your questions about children’s growth

[JustineBMumsnet]

This Q&A is now closed. You can find answers here.

Children’s growth can be an indicator of health and wellbeing, but it can be confusing to understand and difficult to keep on top of - particularly once your child is no longer a baby or toddler. With this in mind, More Than Height would like to help answer any questions you have about your child’s growth, and have Dr Hilary Jones on hand to help.

Here’s what Dr Hilary Jones has to say: “Regularly measuring your child’s height and weight should be a routine throughout their childhood. It’s a useful way to keep on top of their physical development and if you suspect anything is wrong, for example they’re wearing out their clothes before they’re outgrowing them, then it’s a signal to speak to your doctor to get everything checked out.

For more advice on childhood growth and tips on how to accurately measure your child visit www.morethanheight.com.”

More information on Dr Hilary Jones can be found below:
“Dr Hilary Jones, GP, is a familiar face on TV having served as ITV’s Health Editor on TV a.m., Daybreak and Good Morning Britain since 1989. During his career he has worked as a medical officer on the most isolated island in the world, Tristan da Cunha, and accompanied flying doctor services in the Australian outback and in Lesotho.

He has covered breaking medical news from around the world and been involved many public health campaigns. He loyally supports a host of health charities including London Air Ambulance, Stroke Association, British Heart Foundation, Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Diabetes UK.

He continues to work part time as a GP and remains a passionate advocate of medical education for all.“

So, whether you’d like to know how often you should measure your child’s growth or you have questions on what you should look out for to see if anything could be wrong, post your questions for Dr Hilary Jones below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £150 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

We’ll be selecting questions to be answered by by Dr Hilary Jones and posting responses ASAP.

We’ll also be hosting a live Q&A on Facebook ahead of Children’s Growth Awareness Day. Join the live Q&A session with Dr Hilary and The Inspirational Edit’s Angela Milnes, a mum of one and award-winning parenting blogger on 17 September.

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

Although my son is growing and is an average 7 year old in height - his feet have not grown in over a year and he is still in the same shoe size (I have his feet measured every 3 months) - should I be worried ?

My daughter is 14 and tall (5ft 8) and slender. Has she reached her full height by this age and should her diet be adjusted to accommodate this?

My DS is lactose intolerant, and I think he is small for his age, I try to get as much calcium alternatives into his diet - any suggestions, will he catch up to his peers, he is approximately 5 cm smaller than his friends, he is growing but he is getting self conscious about his height.

At what age should parents take their child (son) to see a doctor if they are worried that he isn’t growing appropriately in height compared to his peers? Is 11 too soon, and conversely is post adolescence too late?

How often should they be changing shoe size?

My 14 year old daughter has had periods for about 2 years. Is she likely to grow any taller now? She's quite petite and about 5ft.

My sons are all destined to be tall - there are tall genes on both sides - and this was recorded in their red books at birth. However, all of them have tended to be short for their age throughout primary school and not shot up until puberty. The elder two (late teens and early 20s) are both very tall and skinny now.

#3 was weighed and measured in Y6 at school last year (aged 11) and we received a letter to say that he was overweight and should be put on a calorie controlled diet. Knowing the family tendency, and the fact that he eats sensibly and is active, I ignored the letter - and the advice. Sure enough, a year on, the 'overweight' child is six inches taller and not overweight by any measure.

I think that predicating developmental advice on BMI, without reference to any other factors, is irresponsible. Even leaving aside the risk of encouraging eating disorders in teenage and preteen children, if I hadn't known better, restricting my child's calorific intake could actually have inhibited the growth spurt he was clearly due (and which has lowered his BMI, ironically).

Do you agree? What do you think would be a better approach? Or a better age to do these measurements?

At no point did anyone raise any questions about whether his height was too low rather than his weight being too high, even though this would have been a more obvious concern if the family history had been considered. Do you think we have all become so obsessed with obesity that by contrast parents and professionals are not clued up enough about growth problems?

My 5 year old suffers with (what we suspect is) growing pains. It disturbs his sleep when it comes on, and tends to last for a few days every few months. When will he grow out of this, and how can I alleviate his symptoms? I currently give calpol and leg massages

How much do you take into account parental height when deciding whether there’s something to worry about? My husband and I are both 5’11+ and we have one tall child. The other one is below the 50th centile. Obviously that’s not tiny in relation to average, but compared to the family genetics it seems strange.

Same as PP. When do girls stop growing? DD has always been the tallest in her class, but is shorter than me still, and I was wondering if she's got much growth left in her.

do children 'podge up' before a growth spurt? my babies always seemed to but i never notices it with older kids

Should I pay much attention to centile charting?

DS is nearly 14 - 5ft 4.5 & 6 stone 9lb (I'm 5ft, DH is 5ft 10). Is this an OK height & weight for his age?

At the moment DS is all legs. He still fits into t shirts from 2 years ago. Will his torso ever catch up? It's like living with a stork!

how much do recurrent infections affect growth?

is it true that dc grow faster during summer or is that a myth?

At what age do children stop growing? My son seems like he will never stop and he's nearly out of 'normal' sized adult clothes.

Is the projectile of a toddler an indicator of future height?

Is it true that girls stop growing about two years after their first period, and that therefore a girl who starts puberty later has more time to grow?

What's one thing you wish people knew about your field of work?

@BehindATractor for an anecdotal reply I’d say not for all girls! I stopped growing in my late twenties - first period was aged 13

DS is on a steroid inhaler during the winter months for asthma, one puff twice a day, the lowest dose. Summer months are fine but we can’t seem to get through the cold and damp months without needing it to prevent attacks.

He is 7. Height and weight are both on 50th centimetres so he is doing ok, but I worry that the steroid will impact on his growth as he gets older. Is this likely if he is only on it for a few months each year?

My question is my son broke his leg last summer, it's healed well and he is walking and running, he was laid up for 6 weeks, would this affect his growth, he seems smaller than his peers and much shorter than his brother was at this age (8).

My DD is 7 and very tall. Father is very tall so expecting her final height to likely be around 5 ft 10. Her Dad suffered major stretch marks all up his back as he grew so quickly. Still very visible in adulthood. I also have a female friend whereby the same happened and she is very self conscious.
Is it worth regularly using a cream to perhaps prevent the possibility of this with DD. And if so what kind?

My son (age 6) is one of the smaller ones in his class height wise yet his feet are the largest!?! Is this a cause for concern?

My son is 11 and rather small still. I am just about to buy a new school uniform. Is it likely that he will have a growth spurt (his father is tall) very soon, or does it happen more gradually.No signs of puberty yet.

At what age do girls stop growing? DD is 17 and is wondering if she'll get taller or if her feet will get any bigger (she has tiny feet).