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

Hi, my daughter was 2 in May and she weighs 21lb. She is gaining weight slowly but is dropping centiles. She was 7.10lbs born and has slowly grown but is so small I am getting comments from other mums about how small she is, to the point where I am conscious about taking her to a weigh in clinic. Do you have any advice or can recommend a home weighing scales which is accurate? Thanks

How does prematurity affect future adult height? My twins were 2 months early and have moved up centiles as they’ve got older but they’re still smaller than children with similar birthdate. I’m 5ft 7 and my husband is 6ft 2 so I wouldn’t necessarily have expected them to be small. Do you think that not having that extra two months in the womb will have affected their long term growth or are they likely to catch up with their potential over time?

STIMULANT DRUGS AND GROWTH. My son (8) is medicated for ADHD. His growth is slow and he hasn't put in any weight on at all in 6 months BUT his appetite is normal. He eats plenty! Is it the medication that does this directly (affect weight gain) or is it because most stimulants suppress the appetite (not appearing to be the case with my son) 👩‍👦

My 4 and a half year old Daughter has Celiac Disease. She has a strict gluten free diet, however she is still so dainty. Could this be related to the CD? She is currently in age 2 to 3 clothing and it seems like she never grows.

My 1 year old DS bobs along just under the 50th centile for weight and is 75th for height. His head however is on the 98th. Should I be worried about his head size?

My DS is 4 and is only 91 cm, which is below 0.4 centile. DP and I are both small so it’s perhaps not that unexpected, but I’m worried for him. I had extra growth scans and when he was born the consultant said he thought he might have achondroplasia. A later consultant said not but I still worry.

My little girl has asthma and is on the brown preventer inhaler twice a day. Will this affect her growth and will it be significant?

My nearly five year old daughter asks for snacks snacks snacks all day long. She’s so persistent that it’s hard to say no. She’s eating regular meals normally and average weight/height. Could it be a growth spurt or should I be alarmed at how constantly constantly constantly hungry she seems to be?

My daughter (who turns 5 early September) is 114cm tall and weights 26.3kg which has put her bmi in the 99th centile.

She eats plenty of fruit and veg, only 2 snacks a day (breadsticks? cheese sticks, carrot & cucumber sticks etc) and then normal meals such as weetabix with semi skimmed milk for breakfast, ham sandwich on wholemeal with carrots and cucumber for lunch then a home cooker meal such as Cajun chicken, potatoes and veg for tea.

We don't have a car and she can easily walk 6 miles plus a day.

She was 6lb 7oz at birth but soon gained weight and until around 2 1/2 - 3 years she hovered on the 75th centile which wasn't a concern as it was normal for her but when we had her height and weight done last year for an unrelated issue all the health visitor told us was that she's overweight and not to let her gain any more weight and didn't offer any more help.

What else can I do to assist her with her weight? I realise when she starts reception she will have her height and weight measurements as part of the child measurement programme but I want to try and help her before then.

Thank you

I was told during my degree that milk only strengthens bones before the age of 25 and therefore I actively encourage my children to drink plenty of milk. They have cereal with milk most weekdays but then just a small glass of milk. Is this enough? Would you recommend supplementing their calcium and vitamin D in addition to this?

Where so I find trusted information about normal heights and weights for children?

My 11yo DS hadn't grown in height for 18month or so but had grown in weight. Begun to look a bit tubby.i went to GP and it turns out he has an underactive thyroid. He has grown 2cm, lost 5kg and is so much brighter now he is on medication. Will he"catch up" his missed height/growth now we have got him under the consultant care?

DD (11) is not growing in height, shoe size etc but developing a bit of a tummy.
She runs around loads, does exercise at school and at after school clubs. Eats a relatively healthy diet. At what point should I start to worry about her weight (anxious about making it an 'issue') or do I just hang on in the expectation she's about to have a growth spurt?

My DS is 6'2" and he's only 15! Is he likely to grow much taller?

How much on average do babies grow each month? My two month old has grown substantially from 1-2 months going from 75th to 90th centile. Does this mean she will always be tall for her age or is it just a phase?

DS is 16 and 5’9”. Needs to be taller for intended career. Was on beclamethasone for asthma from ages 3-7. What effect on his growth will that have had? Is there anything that can be done to enhance his height now?

When toddler should have first tooth

My daughter was diagnosed with Ceoliac Disease in June 2019, since then shes lost nearly 2 stone and has not stopped eating or drinking since we changed to gluten free, is this normal? What can I do to help put weight back on her?
Thanks in advance

@chezybabes89 have you had her blood sugar tested? Those are both symptoms of type 1 diabetes. Don't want to alarm you, sorry, but the coeliac diagnosis could be a red herring here.

Another question about steroids.
My son (11) has been on and off high oral steroids for a year, took them approximately 9 months out 12 months. In that time he has grown 8 cms, he’s currently 151 cms. Is it likely that the steroids have impacted on his overall height?

@Whistle73 surprisingly enough I have joined ceoliac uk and done a lot of research regarding autoimmune diseases and illnesses that can occur after a diagnosis, this was one thing that popped up, when I took her to the doctors they advised that her blood sugars were fine and she had a urine infection and I had nothing to worry about. We see her specialist in November to have bloods done, so I will be mentioning it then. I've read up its very dangerous so in the mean time I am constantly watching her and I will take her to a&e if I get overly concerned as I am disappointed to say the doctor I seen wasn't very helpful she just spoke to me like I was over reacting.

Thanks for your message :-)

my daughter has a heart condition for which she in undergoing treatment, will this affect her growth/puberty in any way? she is currently growing as well as a healthy child

Should I still be paying any attention to the growth charts in the red book now my children are 3 and 7? If so, what should I be looking out for?

My DS aged 13 has recently joined a gym, to do weight training & body strength exercises. Can this have an adverse impact on general growth at all? He is supervised by a trainer while training. Thanks in advance.