Daughters hair not growing...

[drowningincustard]

... and she's getting upset by it. She's had a couple of trims to tidy it up since birth (and because her sister had a haircut so she wanted a trim) but it just means her her is getting shorter because it doesn't seem to be growing. Currently only just past shoulders, with only very small trims and she's 6.
Very upset for 1st day of school but we have averted it to a certain extent because hair is up for school anyway.
She is growing physically, one of the tallest in her class and healthy looking - in proportion so neither thin nor fat - eats all her veg and a good appetite. No health concerns so don't think this warrants a gp visit.
We do eat healthily so we are not regular vitamin takers although sometimes I might buy the kids sweet vitamins. Should these be taken religiously or should I try some hair specific ones - are they safe for a 6 year old? Anyone else had this with their primary age kids? I keep saying it will grow but it isn't...

That is me ! My hair has always grown really slowly, I'm 44 now and it's just the same . My hair dresser advised to miss out some trims and it works. Bearing in mind I have coloured hair and use straighteners, regularly . I'm sure your little girl doesn't need to trim that regularly.
I would steer away from specific hair vitamins ( probably from aged 12 upwards anyway ) - May be try some abidec . At 6 you can tell her it's working!

How thick is her hair and what's the texture?

I would take her to the doctor. People who I know who have hair issues generally either have an under active thyroid or a hormone imbalance with an excess of female hormones but they’re all adults.

Do her finger and toe nails grow?

Just below her shoulders is not short though?
Do all her friends have longer hair? It’s very strange that she is even aware of it to that degree. I bet it is in nicer condition than if you had trimmed it at all since she was a baby.

Yes finger and toe nails grow rapidly - too long after about a fortnight. Her hair is very fine - only needs a small bobble to tie it up.
I think the awareness is from all the other girls in class - all bar one seem to have long hair. I have tried to show photos of girls with shorter styles (but very few actually when i google...) but she struggles to relate to them because they don't look like her or her thin wispy hair and she says they don't look nice when I point out people with pixie or bob style hair. Have already decided that for my next haircut I will chop my long hair off to see if that helps her feel happier that her hair can't grow longer...

Aah you're a good mum getting your own cut to make her feel better.
To make hers look thicker, could you put it into four plaits at bedtime to give it a bit more oomph?
I wouldn't worry about this - sure there is nothing medical going on - some people just have slow growing hair.

I had really fine wispy hair until I was about 9/10ish I think...then bam! I've now got very thick, wavy hair. Total transformation.

I think it takes some girls longer to grow out of that almost toddler girl hair and into more grown up hair. My hair was also very light until it grew in thicker and I now have very dark (almost black in some lights) hair.

If you're not concerned about her physical development otherwise I would just give her a bluntish cut and look for hairstyles on pintrest for very fine hair.

It's difficult when they are young and something bothers them if you can't fix it!

This was my DD. Her hair wouldn’t grow past her shoulders until she hit 9.5 but 6 months later it is bra strap length. We do use some Mark Hill growth stuff on it - not sure if that has helped. Could just be coincidence. I massage it on and DD loves it. Maybe try that to make your little girl feel better. When I was growing up, most kids had short hair but everyone seems to have long so it is tough on them.

It's worth googling "short anagen syndrome" (SAS) in case the symptoms fit. DD(4) has SAS and has very short, thin hair.

Thankyou everyone - I made a phone appointment with the gp before I saw the other experiences of similar short hair and now kind of feel I might be wasting her time but we will see.
Now I know it could just be temporary till a few years older I will go with just trying to boost her view of shorter styles till she hopefully catches up.
Looking at the pictures of SAS - its very much how she looked like as a toddler and her hair is fair and gingery blonde. Its such a beautiful colour and so soft that she always gets compliments from us at home but as she gets older we are already experiencing the influence of the outside world and I want to help her navigate the balance between being herself and wanting to fit in with her friends...
xx

Hi, my daughter’s hair just wasn’t growing much either... when she started school there were all these girls with plaits and ponytails, but her hair was only just collar length. She too was desperate for longer hair like her new friends and we just had to keep saying how her hair was beautiful too and much easier to brush/less tangles etc
By year two, her hair had grown a lot and was also in plaits and ponytails. She’s now 10 and her hair is almost to her waist.
Hopefully your daughter’s hair is just a slow starter like my daughter.

Fair hair can often be very fine and slow growing. I get mine trimmed 1-2x per year! It never grows beyond bra strap

It doesn’t really sound like a medical problem... my dd has a couple of friends with very fine, fair hair from being babies which took ages to grow. She herself has quite fine, wavy hair, and it definitely was not past her shoulders at age 6. She has moaned a bit over the years about other people with long, thick hair, but it’s not been a major issue - it’s just natural variation. She’s 10 now and has persisted in growing her hair (as all her friends have had bobs, to her disparagement!) and it has thickened up and probably to about bra strap level - but has taken years of persistence!