My teen has shrunk!

[alexvalentine]

My dd14 has only grown 2 inches in the past 3 years, and when we last measured her she was 5"4 and had grown 4 inches in 3 years, but now she is 5"2, is is possible for teenagers to shrink?

It's more likely she was measured incorrectly. Who measured her last time when she was 5.4?

@FortunesFave

It's more likely she was measured incorrectly. Who measured her last time when she was 5.4?

It was me and my dh who measured her last time, but we did it a couple times over a few months and she went from 5'3 up to 5'4, and now down again. It is possible we measured her wrong, but it would be strange because we did it a few times

Interesting! This has happened with one of my teens since last year. I figured must have been a mistake. Maybe it was too much lounging around all day all year!

Put the tape measure above the skirting board then measure the skirting board with a ruler and add both up. GP always has me at 5 4 and ignores the extra 3 inches of skirting below the measuring tape.

If you’re sure the first measurement was genuine there could be several reasons. Firstly, you shrink slightly over the course of the day as the discs between the vertebrae compress so if you measured morning then evening you would notice a difference. Secondly, posture makes a huge difference and the use of technology has likely worsened our posture, especially if spending more time on it over the last year. Thirdly, there can be growth/ bone problems that can impact on height so it’s worth talking it over with a gp if neither of the above apply

Shoes?

Massive over reaction here I'm sure but have you looked at her spine? I'd be worrying about curvature but only because my sister had it as a teen so I'm hyper aware

My DD has scoliosis and she shrunk about an inch and then didn’t gain any extra hight for over a year.
You can do the Adams forward bending test to check, it’s quite visible even to the untrained eye.
DD had spinal fusion surgery in January and gained 5cm afterwards.

Lool, I believe so. I was 5'4 at age 15 (doctor measured before putting on pill) and when I went to the doctor last year I was 5'3. I was well pissed off - I'm only 25.