Should my teenager DD be taller?

[Moonsey123]

Looking for advice as I think my teenager DD is too small for her age. Smallest of all her friends. She is 14 and only got her period 4 months before she turned 14, will be 15 in 6 months. She is not very developed so perhaps she is a late developer. She is 154cm.

I am not very tall (157cm) and both my parents are small; but my husband is much taller and so are his parents so I was hoping that she will grow a bit taller than me. I measured her and she is only 3 or 4 cm smaller than me but somehow seems smaller, maybe because she is not very developed yet.

She is not good with breakfast and stopped drinking milk when she was 3. She eats cheese, vegetables and is in general a good eater; however she doesn't drink milk, doesn't eat eggs, or bananas.

I got the GP to send her some blood tests and everything was fine apart from folid acid which she is taking now. She also takes a child supplement of vitamin D & Calcium. Perhaps I should give her one for teenagers.

Should I check for anything else? or just wait, perhaps she will grow in the next year or 2.

Thanks for any advice

She might grow more and she might not. I think studies say girls tend to stop growing within a year of their periods starting. It's just genetics I'm afraid. My mum is 5"4 and my dad is 6"4 but I'm just Oder 5 foot and the smallest in the family by a bit... some short grandparents in the mix. The GP has checked her and said she's fine so I wouldn't worry

5ft is small but she isn't underheight or Ill so I wouldn't worry too much

It sounds likely that she will grow a little more as she has only just started her periods. It's also likely that she is going to petite after your side of the family.

My tallest DD is 5ft 5 as an adult

Sounds like she genetically takes after you and is right on track to be same height or a bit taller than you. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.

Shd has time to grow
But she likely has your genes so wo nt be six foot

She's perfectly fine. Stop worrying!

If the GP is happy then just accept her height whatever it is. Don't let her pick up on your clear disappointment.

Thanks She will probably be small; but hopefully not smaller than me. I don't see the reason why if her father is much taller. My nieces are much taller.

Isn't this a myth that girls don't grow much after their menses?

@Moonsey123

Thanks She will probably be small; but hopefully not smaller than me. I don't see the reason why if her father is much taller. My nieces are much taller.

Why hopefully not smaller than you? Seriously you need to stop seeing height as a bad thing or she will pick up on it.

I'm 5ft2 and in my thirties, I can't say that being short has effected me negatively in any way.

There's always a tall bloke in Tesco willing to reach the top shelf for me 😂

She sounds perfectly healthy and fine.

The range in which they can grow is pretty wide. Sounds sensible that you've got it on your radar but doesn't seem like anything to be worried about.

I didn't grow in height or boobs or anything much until I was nearly 16. Then I grew so at once and am 167cm. My dd on the other hand is just 13 and almost as tall as me. My 15 year old ds though is clearly more like me, scrawny and small.

I think it’s a myth that people are always taller than their parents — it comes from a time when every generation was better fed than the last. But I am an 80s child born of 60s parents and I am slightly smaller than my mother was at her peak (although a tiny bit taller than her now)!

I'm 44 and am 153cm. I don't think I've grown since I was about 14. My feet haven't either. It's not a bad thing. It's not something that I really think about.
She sounds perfectly fine and healthy to me

I am proud of her and the main thing is that she is healthy; but it is not me who worry but she, as all her friends are much taller and she looks like 12 instead of 14.

I just want to make sure she is not missing anything in her diet or the Dr. didn't miss any tests so just looking for advice.

As I said maybe she is just a slow developer as i don't think she has hit puberty completely.

My Dd was always on the 10th percentile on the growth charts, right from when she was born. She was always one of the smallest in her class for most of her time at school and we expected her adult height to be 5’2”.

However when most of her friends stopped growing at about 14, she carried on until she was 18 and she’s now reached 5’5”. Which she’s very happy with.

Some children just develop a little later than others.

I’m 5’1 fully grown. It’s not so bad down here I’m not sure you can really control height.

Would you be concerned if she was extra tall?

I’m shorter than her and I’m a fully grown adult, I’ve never really thought about it but I’m shorter than my mum. Please don’t make it into a big deal, you’ll give her a complex.

She is who she is, no point worrying about it as there is nothing you can do.

I'm 5'4". Age 13 I started my school year as one of the tallest. By the end of the year I was one of the shortest as I haven't grown since!

She'll be fine.

Did they test for coeliac? Any autoimmune illness in the family?

My DD is 5’2”. She’s smaller than me and her older sister- we are both 5’6”. DH is 5’10”. Your DD hasn’t finished growing yet.

I'm 5'8" and DD is 5 foot. She stopped growing when she was 11.
So your DD might grow some more or she might not. If she's almost the same height as you, I'm not really sure why you're concerned something is wrong. If anything it will be giving her the impression that you think there's a problem with her being the height she is.