Growth Charts are my Nemesis

[Sugarfoot]

Our sweet little guy turned 2 on Sunday. He's energetic, kind, funny, and verbal! Yesterday was his ped. check-up, and as always, the scales made me nervous. He weighs 22 lbs., 8 oz., which puts him in the 2 percentile. He's a lightweight, like his siblings, and his weight, like theirs, has slid downward from about the 12th to the 2nd percentile on those gosh-awful charts. My first thought was, "At least he's on the chart!"

 

Thankfully, he's our 4th child, and they've all followed the same pattern, so at least there's a precedent. Our poor first-born was subject to all kinds of tests and weird eating patterns pushed upon him by well-meaning nutritionists. We were supposed to feed him things like candy bars, ice cream, and regular soda everyday to get his weight up. The whole experience was just awful.

 

So, that little plastic baby scale, so innocent-looking in the hallway of the pediatrician's office, causes fear in my heart.

[elise1mds]

I have a lot of friends in the same boat as you. They held a mini-celebration last week when one of the kids actually made it on the chart (not that the kids knew it was a celebration; mostly it was just an excuse to get together. The moms don't ever emphasize size to the kids).

 

I'm on the other end of the spectrum, and it's also difficult. I don't like growth charts, either. You'd think having a kid that's off the other end of the chart would be great, but Marfan's runs in my husband's family, and try explaining to the guy at the fair that your kid who looks 9 is actually 6 and does, in fact, qualify for the cheaper ticket and does need to stand a lot closer to shoot the basketball into the hoop because his muscle tone and coordination are still that of a 6-yo. One of my friends with "normal-sized" twin boys took hers and mine to the Scottish Games last weekend and was amazed.

 

I really don't like it when people assume an age for kids. It can be so hard to tell!

 

Happy 2nd birthday to your son!

[LauraGB]

Our poor first-born was subject to all kinds of tests and weird eating patterns pushed upon him by well-meaning nutritionists. We were supposed to feed him things like candy bars, ice cream, and regular soda everyday to get his weight up. The whole experience was just awful.

 

.

 

You're kidding, right?

 

My kids have the same, but opposite problem; they have always been well over the 100th percentile for everything - but they do not appear disproportioned at all. At all.

 

My advice? Do what you do and keep doing it. Your child will be who he is and that is all there is to it. If there is a serious health issue, then, of course, you need to address it. But, the "scale issues" start early, and it seems as though they start through the parents (many times via the health professionals). :glare: You are not alone with the crazy ill-advised dietary schemes.

Edited September 24, 2009 by LauraGB

[Mrs Mungo]

I totally understand. My kids are all small and have all been in the 2nd percentile. My eldest finally hit a growth spurt between 11 and 13 and is now taller than I am, how can they complain about that? I really, truly understand. We've been to the pediatric gastroenteritis, the geneticist and the nutritionist at least once with each of my kids. It's super-frustrating.

[gingersmom]

I actually know of 2 families that put their children on growth hormones. One mother is 4'10 and her family tops out at about 5'1. I know nothing about growth hormones so I won't comment.

 

When my son was younger I had the completely opposite problem. He was huge! When he was about 3 months old he wore a 12 month old size and he just kept growing like a weed. We outgrew clothes before he could wear them more than 2-3 times.

 

When he was a year old people thought he was 3. When he was 2 someone asked why he was in a stroller. They thought he was too old to be in a stroller.

I always wanted to put a sign on him that said I am 1, I am 2, I am 3.......

 

He was so big that he actually could not go in the baby swing at the park. He would get stuck!

 

His sister on the other hand has been normal height but very skinny. At times a little too skinny. Which of course prompts people to make inappropriate comments.

 

My pediatrician actually was less concerned with growth charts then was it the pattern for my kids and as long as they were following a steady pattern he was not overly concerned. I would think looking at the siblings that they would be able to see this is the way your children grow.

[Cammie]

I am right there with you! My four year old has been below the charts for a while now! He hasn't outgrown clothes in about 2 years! He is VERY energetic, eats very little but is otherwise healthy. We have been to pediatricians, gastroenterologists and others. We have ruled out celliac and other malabsorption issues. Looks like he is just small. Every now and then I freak out and do another round of internet searching but so far - no ideas. You are not alone!

[TraceyS/FL]

My DD has her own special growth chart - the only problem with that is... only the Endocrinologist uses it.

 

joy. (and everyone else understands she's small.... sorta..... but if they could SEE IT that would help)

 

I'm the opposite though, it took 6 years of begging to get a referral for a workup on her being small (she flat-lined on the growth chart from 6-12 months). Finally at her 6.5 year check up her bone age was 4y2m (because i JUST looked at the report :lol:), and met the 2 deviations off for a referral.

 

And away we went..... (She has Turner's Syndrome, which is genetic)

 

ETA: Here are some "different" growth charts to look at! http://www.magicfoundation.org/www/docs/7/growth-charts

Edited September 24, 2009 by TraceyS/FL

[abbeyej]

I'm so grateful for our current ped. He never gave me a hard time, but when dd finally fell completely off the charts and I *asked* about it, he sent us straight to have her bone age checked -- no fanfare, no worrying, just, "This will give us a little more information"... And when we had the results, he offered a referral to an endocrinologist (now or at any time in the future), but also gave me his reasons for thinking that we didn't *need* to do that... He also charts her growth both by chronological age and by her bone age (about two years behind)...

 

I'd be livid if someone tried to tell me the best way to make my toddler "healthier" was to feed him or her candy bars and soda! Yikes!

[Mrs Mungo]

I'd be livid if someone tried to tell me the best way to make my toddler "healthier" was to feed him or her candy bars and soda! Yikes!

 

I can tell you that her experience is similar to my own. I have papers to prove the nutritionist basically suggested I put heavy cream, mayonnaise and/or candy in everything I feed them. For example, in the food log I took with me I had written that I had given them fruit smoothies for breakfast. I told her I made them with yogurt, frozen fruit and orange juice. She suggested making them with ice cream instead. I don't forbid my kids from having ice cream (we eat it fairly often) but I'm not feeding it to them for breakfast!

[abbeyej]

...

I always wanted to put a sign on him that said I am 1, I am 2, I am 3.......

 

There are some cute t-shirts with ages on them! But, lol, they generally only come in the "average" size for that age. So a t-shirt that says 7 on it comes in a size 7-8. Roflol. I need it in a 4-5! (I actually made dd one when she was 6, 'cause she'd been begging and a size 6x would have been a dress on her...) I'm betting it's not the "average" sized kids who *need* an age shirt as much! ;)

[TraceyS/FL]

If she is 2 years behind in bone age, i'd want to see the Ped Endo, just at least for a consult. In fact, ours was upset that we hadn't been able to get a referral back when DD was 10 months old and only 1 deviation off (1 month), because she was "big" at birth, her going flat at 6mo was a HUGE red flag.

 

In our case, the Ped, an Allergist (who was actively looking for her to have something to explain her issues), an ENT, another Ped after we moved, and even the ENDO himself "missed" her genetic condition because she doesn't carry many external symptoms unless you know about it.

 

I don't beat myself up for the years of letting them assure me that she is just small, slow to grow... but i wish i had pushed for the Endo earlier. They just had no clue this was a possibility for her (the Endo apologized for not even thinking DD could have TS - it's just not that obvious).

 

ANYWAY..... i just wanted to share that... hope you don't mind.

 

And i agree, i have lightweight kids - if anyone told me to start forcing junk food on them to get them to grow i'd be ticked. Beyond ticked.

[abbeyej]

... suggested I put heavy cream, mayonnaise and/or candy in everything I feed them. ... She suggested making them with ice cream instead. ...

 

Lol.... At least I'd feel better about giving a child heavy cream or (real) mayonnaise or (real, whole food) ice cream than *soda*! I mean, I definitely allow my kids treats, but soda just to fatten a toddler up!?? Eeeee-yikes!

[TraceyS/FL]

I can tell you that her experience is similar to my own. I have papers to prove the nutritionist basically suggested I put heavy cream, mayonnaise and/or candy in everything I feed them. For example, in the food log I took with me I had written that I had given them fruit smoothies for breakfast. I told her I made them with yogurt, frozen fruit and orange juice. She suggested making them with ice cream instead. I don't forbid my kids from having ice cream (we eat it fairly often) but I'm not feeding it to them for breakfast!

 

Oh come one Mrs. Mungo... doesn't BOUNCE BOUNCE BOUNCE sound like FUN for early morning school time???? :D

[Mrs Mungo]

Oh come one Mrs. Mungo... doesn't BOUNCE BOUNCE BOUNCE sound like FUN for early morning school time???? :D

 

I'd have to duct tape them to their chairs! My children are highly active to begin with! :lol:

[abbeyej]

No, no, I don't mind at all!

 

And yes, my big fear as I watched dd fall off the bottom of the charts was that there was some root cause there that we were missing... That said, her growth did pick up again around age 6 (fairly typical for CGD -- the main fall-off was between 3 and 5), and while she remains below the charts by chronological age, she's keeping up with her bone age... Still, if anything else does come up, I do have a standing offer to be referred to the endo. (On the other hand, dh and I are both on the small side of average, so it's not entirely unexpected either...)

[i.love.lucy]

I can tell you that her experience is similar to my own. I have papers to prove the nutritionist basically suggested I put heavy cream, mayonnaise and/or candy in everything I feed them. For example, in the food log I took with me I had written that I had given them fruit smoothies for breakfast. I told her I made them with yogurt, frozen fruit and orange juice. She suggested making them with ice cream instead. I don't forbid my kids from having ice cream (we eat it fairly often) but I'm not feeding it to them for breakfast!

Yep. Mine was a preemie, so he's been tracked for growth from the beginning. Seen by endo, nephrology (kidneys), cardiology, etc. He's fine, just small. About a year ago we saw the nutritionist who works with the ped endo and she suggested all kinds of calorie additives in the form of high fat - butter, mayo, cream, etc. I found alternatives like flax oil, and sometimes an extra yolk with his egg. And he's still on whole milk. But the problem is the rest of my family should not consume those foods. (my dd has always been at least 75% and dh and I are overweight) My ped was appalled actually and put a stop to that. He warned about developing poor eating habits, which of course I was concerned with too, but as a worried mom for my tiny guy - well I thought I should try it.

 

We finally had bloodwork done this past month because they are growing concerned that his dad and I are so tall (6'1" and 5'11" respectively - and dd is 90% for height) that his "genetic potential" is so far below the charts. We now have him on Vit D and a med that stimulates appetite. Unfortunately his bone age is slightly advanced which means that he might never have that "catch up" that you see with bone age delay.

 

We might have to go the route of growth hormones someday.:confused:

 

I feel for ya. I always *hope* he's s much bigger than I know he really is. It seems especially hard for me that he's a boy - it's hard to be petite when you are a boy. Particularly in a family of giants. :001_huh:

[FO4UR]

My oldest has always been on the bottom of the charts. I remember when he was 2yo and at his yearly check-up...the Dr. noted that he was jumping and climbing and asking "what's that?" about EVERYTHING in the office...he said as long as he continues growing and is active and healthy not to worry where he is on the charts.

[Barb_]

I'd have to duct tape them to their chairs! My children are highly active to begin with! :lol:

 

Which is why they are so lean to begin with. I have 3 of them myself.

 

Barb

[nukeswife]

My little guy seems to hover in the 3rd-5th percentile (he turned 4 July 25th and finally weighs 30lbs of course that was fully clothed with shoes on) which is always an issue when at the Ped because my other two kids (ds now 10 and dd almost 8) were always 95th-98th until this past year. They just took more after their Dad who's 6'1" will siblings all taller than him. My youngest is just more like me who's topped out at 5' 2" and has a mom and Grandma that are 5' and my dad is only 5'6".

 

I have to constantly remind them that he eats more than the other two, but seems to have enough energy to burn it off. My brother is this way too, he's 5'8", wears a size 29" waist jeans, and has to wear a belt to keep them from falling off. He's very muscular and just has been blessed with a high metablolism, just the act of chewing seems to burn off what he eats :lol: I wish I was that lucky.

[Whereneverever]

I know exactly what you mean. Both of my kids have been lean. My DD1 has caught up, but I don't know when DD2 will. It doesn't help that she's on a medicine that suppresses her appetite.

[Jennifer in MI]

I'm right there with you!!! My dd was born at 8 pounds, 10 ounces. She had a VERY hard time regaining birth weight. Finally did around 2 months old. At one year she weighed 17 pounds, 10 ounces. Right now she's 3.5 and weighs 22 or 23 pounds, depending on what she ate!! LOL

 

Luckily our doctor has been wonderful. He sees that she walked on time, talked early (full sentences by 14months), etc, etc and doesn't send her for extra tests. He did, at one point, ask me to work on increasing my milk supply (and he had great suggestions!) and to put olive oil on pasta. He wanted to make sure she COULD gain weight if we tried hard. She passed with flyingcolors (I think she gained a couple ounces).

 

I now go through phases where I worry about her weight and days where I don't. She's just SO tiny! She can still fit into her 18 month clothes! People think she's a LOT younger than she is (until she talks!). But, she's healthy! She's growing, slowly!

 

((((hugs))))) I really do understand the worry and concern. But look at the child! Is he healthy? Is he growing? Is he happy?

 

:grouphug::grouphug:

[DarlaS]

You're kidding, right?

 

 

Unfortunately, she's not.

 

It seems most nutritionists will do this to get weight on an otherwise healthy kid at just about any cost.

 

My kids all barely made the charts (which have been modified to reflect the new "average").

[IsabelC]

Thankfully, he's our 4th child, and they've all followed the same pattern, so at least there's a precedent. Our poor first-born was subject to all kinds of tests and weird eating patterns pushed upon him by well-meaning nutritionists. We were supposed to feed him things like candy bars, ice cream, and regular soda everyday to get his weight up. The whole experience was just awful.

I would change health advisers if you are told to feed your children extra junk to encourage weight gain. Being in the lowest percentile doesn't mean something is wrong. It it just a flag to check whether the child is developing OK. If the child is healthy and developing reasonably normally, low weight is not an issue. After all, someone has to be in the bottom group: remember, 2 percentile means that 2% of people are expected to fall into that category.

[camibami]

Its our enemy, too!

 

I finally had to just say "enough" to it all with youngest DD. She was 6 pounds at birth, she is just not going to be a gigantic kid! Heck, I am on the tallish size but have to struggle to stay above 110 pounds. DH is 5'8", same height as me, and the tallest in his family. I tower over his parents.It isn't like we were going to have big kids with that genetic history!

 

We made rounds of gastro, peds, endos. when DD was a year and 14 pounds. They said she was Failure to Thrive, which of course makes you feel like the crappiest mother EVER. She had severe food allergies as a baby, that didn't help. But she grew out of them, finally ate solid food at around 18 months, and has been a dynamo of energy and health ever since. I just had to say enough, and stop listening to the Dr when they would start in. No more tests, no more worry. We keep her in a car seat (at 8, LOL) with a harness, but otherwise, I am not doing anything differently.

 

She is slowly starting to catch up now, at least in height. She isn't huge, but not so remarkably smaller anymore. And she's the fittest kid I know, so I think we're good.

[Impish]

We had a different problem with Tazzie :glare:

 

He was 85% for height, 92% for weight. The health nurse lectured Wolf about him being OVER WEIGHT. Seriously. Uh, less than 10% difference btwn the 2, the kid is NOT overweight, plus he was tall and slender...very, very active.

 

I called back, talked to a supervisor, explained what had happened, and suggested that the nurse be apprised of the fact that muscle weighs more than fat. She was appalled that her nurse had done such a thing.

 

I'm still stunned when I think about it...that Wolf quietly sat there and took the lecture without saying anything :lol:

[fivetails]

Growth charts? :lol:

 

See the little guy in the hat? and pushing the cart? ... he'll be 11 in a month. ;)

 

(For perspective - the blanket&tent pic, the kid in the yellow crocs is five.)

 

Yes, he's a special needs kiddo (blind, autism, tourettes, among others) ~ but they were never able to figure out any one specific disorder that tied everything together, size included, despite genetic testing and all sorts of stuff over the years. He's a mystery to the docs - and he does *not* have dwarfism, they say, because he's proportionate. He's just tiny all over (you can see it in the size of his bones/head/etc) and will always be that way.

 

...and he's the healthiest, most energetic member of the family! :D

 

(seriously - this is the kid that rarely ever gets sick, and when he does...it's maybe for a day.. while the rest of us go down for a week or more with the germs!)

Edited September 24, 2009 by fivetails
spelling

[Sugarfoot]

Oh, my gosh, you guys, thank you so much! I feel tons better just knowing I'm not alone!

 

I can't even imagine having a child on the top end of the chart, but it sounds like it's just as stressful as having them on the other end. I guess if every child was in the 50th percentile, than there wouldn't even be a chart, huh?:D

 

Yes, the tests and the "nutrition advice" my first son endured were just crazy. Mrs. Mungo made me remember all of the stuff that you were encouraged to "add to" regular food. Heavy cream in your mashed potatoes, anyone?

 

I had to keep a food log of every single thing that went into his mouth. One day, he took a sip of my Diet Coke, so I logged it. The nutritionist had a fit that I didn't go get him a regular Coke right then instead of letting him have what amounted to a teaspoon of mine. Ugh. Fun times.

 

DS 2 has it easy! Being number 4 has it's perks!

[Cera]

I can't stand the growth chart lectures. Both my girls are slim. They will be 3 and 5 next month and are 26 and 36 pounds. They are healthy, active, energetic kids who simply work off what they eat. I am sure I could fatten them up if I really tried but why? They love fresh fruit, veggies and running outside. I refuse to reduce their exercise and feed them butter and cream just so that they weigh what is now considered normal.

 

And something I think about often, if growth charts are the averages and 30% of children are overweight then doesn't that mean that the average for a healthy child would be less than 50% on the weight charts?

[Slartibartfast]

They need pedometers or something to attach to these kids.

 

"Oh my!! Your child burned 566779 calories today!"

 

:lol:

[Mrs Mungo]

They need pedometers or something to attach to these kids.

 

"Oh my!! Your child burned 566779 calories today!"

 

:lol:

 

No kidding! My son's legs are actually vascular they are so muscular. That is strictly from jumping all day long.

[LittleIzumi]

Dd was 22.1 at her 2nd checkup yesterday. And she is probably stronger than her 4-year-old sister. She has sensory seeking SPD and runs/climbs/jumps/stomps alllllll day long. Tiny but all wiry muscle! Luckily we're all scrawny and the doc's gotten used to it I think :lol:

[Laura Corin]

Oh, my gosh, you guys, thank you so much! I feel tons better just knowing I'm not alone!

 

I can't even imagine having a child on the top end of the chart, but it sounds like it's just as stressful as having them on the other end.

 

Calvin is somewhere around 80th percentile for height and around 25th percentile for weight. He's off the bottom of the BMI charts. His doctor in Hong Kong ran some tests and decided: he's just thin. Calvin did formerly lack energy (this was the reason we went to the doctor) but has developed a lot of stamina with the onset of puberty. He was only 7 3/4 pounds at birth but very long: the midwife said, 'There was more and more and more of him.' There's a precedent: my brother is six feet one with not an ounce of spare flesh at age 51.

 

The joke is that I'm 5'4" and husband is 5'5". Calvin is set to overtake me at around his 13th birthday and should overtake his father before he's 14. Hobbes, on the other hand, is built like his father: short, square and energetic. He's around the fortieth percentile for height and weight, but looks really skinny compared to most of the other children in swimming class. This is more a reflection on them than on him, I believe.

 

Do remember that the charts reflect averages; given how fat a lot of children are these days, it may be good to be on the low side for weight.

 

Laura

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

I totally understand. Had to collect a stool sample for ds#2 when he was about 2. The pediatrician just didn't understand why he was so small (duh- I'm 5'2" and dh is 5'4"). She was testing him for Celiac disease, which of course he didn't have.

 

Fortunately, that pediatrician is gone, and the one that remained can see the individual growth patter for each of the children; they have their own curve.

 

It probably helps that each boy's chart has their father's and my height written on them. Each year, the dr. looks at their current height/weight, looks at the first page in their chart which have our heights, and says, "yep, they're still growing."

 

My 10 yo is on track to be 5'6".

[jplain]

Oh me too. My husband and I are tall, and our older daughter never had any growth chart issues. But my younger daughter went from 80th percentile for weight at birth down to below 12th percentile, though her height stayed at the 85th percentile. At age 2 her BMI was officially underweight (below 2nd percentile). At some point in there she was certainly losing weight rather than just gaining slowly. Then her growth in height started to slip in percentiles too. *gulp* But on the bright side, that improved her BMI. LOL. Thankfully, now at age 3.5 her height gains seem to be steady (*crossing fingers it stays that way*).

 

We're pretty sure the reason for her is food intolerances. Along with slow weight gain, the symptoms around here included loose stools, eczema (some patches atypical and difficult to recognize as eczema), itchiness, and difficulty sleeping.

 

We saw an allergist who tested her for the top 8 allergens (scratch test at 8 months of age, blood testing at 3 years). All were negative, but we already knew she was sensitive to dairy. The allergist believes that she has cow's milk and soy protein intolerance, and we now believe she's also sensitive to wheat and/or gluten (but she doesn't have the genetic alleles for celiac, so most likely doesn't have that).

 

As long as those foods stay out of her diet, she doesn't have troubles sleeping like she used to, though we still haven't managed to get rid of a few stubborn eczema patches. We're hoping she outgrows it, but most kids have already outgrown it by age 2-3, so we look at this as a potentially lifelong issue. Sure, it sucks for her to not be able to eat things others can eat, but feeling healthy is worth it.

Edited September 24, 2009 by jplain

[TraceyS/FL]

I'm actually surprised at some of the things your doctors have done/suggested. Yikes! LOL!!

 

One thing that struck me when we had our first visit with our Ped Endocrinologist was that, 1) he was happy that the whole family had come. Numbers are one thing - but being able to see that the 2yo was quickly approaching the middle one, and the oldest was tall and lean was helpful to him. 2) he then put all the numbers in his nifty computer and it charted her genetic potential based on STXH's height and ours, he then asked if there was anyone in the family that wasn't "normal" for height in our ranges. But that assessment was a HUGE part of the basis for the rest of the appointment.

 

His handy dandy computer then plotted a trend based on the historical (flat) numbers we had with us (heck, she was 85% at birth - 21"!), and showed that at her current and recent rate of growth, her projected height was _____. (4' to 4.5') Which was obviously well under her genetic potential of 5'6" - 5'8". Not interestingly on that, my oldest has not had a major growth spurt in awhile, and is hovering at 5'1", and her growth plates are about closed. That caught the interest of our new Ped because we had the numbers for what she should also be..... haven't gone there yet.

 

So lastly came what we were going to DO about getting her to 5' to make it in the world. Testing.... which then turned up her Turners.

 

But gee, nothing about feeding her more or tracking her food - or all that. Just really, number crunching and leaving it to US to decide how much to pursue it.

 

ANYWAY.... i hope our Endo experience wasn't out of the ordinary. We have seen 2 in 2 different practices and I know that either of them would have gone about this in the same way.

 

So i guess i'm saying, don't be afraid of the Endo should it ever be suggested. He was a wealth of information - and looked at the whole family picture that some of you seem to not be getting. Gee, even I know you rarely get a 6' kid when both parents are 5'7" and under. :rolleyes:

 

But most of all, :grouphug: to all of us that get to carry this obsession with us.

 

 

And you know, there IS an app for that..... it's one of the best height/weight charting things i have encountered. No frills, no babyness, just numbers, and the developer is looking into adding other growth charts (you can already choose between WHO and CDC). Highly recommended!

[Laura Corin]

IGee, even I know you rarely get a 6' kid when both parents are 5'7" and under. :rolleyes:

 

We are heading that way. Presumably, at a full work up there would be questions asked that would come up with my 6'1 elder brother, otherwise Calvin's 80th percentile for height set against my 5'4" and husband's 5'5" might be a worry.

 

Laura

[DarlaS]

Calvin is somewhere around 80th percentile for height and around 25th percentile for weight. He's off the bottom of the BMI charts. His doctor in Hong Kong ran some tests and decided: he's just thin. Calvin did formerly lack energy (this was the reason we went to the doctor) but has developed a lot of stamina with the onset of puberty. He was only 7 3/4 pounds at birth but very long: the midwife said, 'There was more and more and more of him.' There's a precedent: my brother is six feet one with not an ounce of spare flesh at age 51.

 

The joke is that I'm 5'4" and husband is 5'5". Calvin is set to overtake me at around his 13th birthday and should overtake his father before he's 14. Hobbes, on the other hand, is built like his father: short, square and energetic. He's around the fortieth percentile for height and weight, but looks really skinny compared to most of the other children in swimming class. This is more a reflection on them than on him, I believe.

 

Do remember that the charts reflect averages; given how fat a lot of children are these days, it may be good to be on the low side for weight.

 

Laura

 

I did have one pediatrician say pretty much that. It seems the number of overweight kids would actually have to be greater than 30% because they keep changing the charts.

 

My boys are all above average for height (75% or more) & below (25% or less) for weight.

 

DD is just little. She's nine and just made 50 lbs this summer. She's about 4' 3" and stands nose to nose with a lot of seven year olds.

 

My 15 yo has been taller than both his dad and I for some time. He's 5'10" and might be close to 110 now.

 

I don't starve my kids, but we chew our calories here, and it needs to be what I consider to be real food.

[TraceyS/FL]

It would come up - and my brother and Dad both had late post-high school growth. My oldest is built like them - however, she has scoliosis and has xrays often, and both her hand and hips are showing 80-90% growth plate closure. Her curve isn't enough to have her down 5 inches though....

 

But back to Calvin, that was why we were asked if there was anyone that was different in the family. Not that it can't just happen - it can, but it's rare and genetics plays a lot. He sounds like my best friends brother - he's significantly taller than everyone in their whole family. There isn't a tall relative though, and his wife is "tall" and their kids are all tall.... it's interesting to see.

 

And i guess it might not be overly rare, i just haven't encountered many, nor seen many families that break the genetic pre-disposition (i people watch at theme parks! LOL!!). I think i'm going to try to remember ask the endo about it next time, i'm wayyy curious :D

[TraceyS/FL]

That is how my 2 of mine are - and my brother and i were like that (Hmph. i want these numbers back). "Long and lean". I seriously do not think my youngest is underweight, but it's about impossible to keep clothes ON her. But she certainly doesn't look underweight and i can't imagine if she matched her height percentile either.

 

But honestly, i've never had a doc concerned with a child of mine being 75% on height and 25% and under on weight.... i'd get seriously irked if they tried to fatten them up for that :glare: Which then, what makes it ok to have THAT difference, then not to have the same gap for a child that might not be as tall? Granted there isn't as much to have less weight on, but i'm thinking it's more of "well, they are on THE chart" so we won't care?

 

Hmmmmm....... maybe i should have been an endocrinologist!

[Mom-ninja.]

If your children are happy, healthy, and meeting milestones, ignore the charts. I ignore them.

 

From 9 months on my middle ds has been at or under the 2% line. My first was always under 5%. I just just nod and smile, and blow it off. It is not important to me.

 

My kids are small. I'm small. I've been told all my life that I'm under weight. Oh well. I'm healthy and happy. I'm not going to try and force myself to gain weight, and I won't do the same to my kids.

 

Don't let the scale have power over you.

[jonesloonybin]

My oldest is 14 and she is 5'5" tall and weighs 82lbs. And that is UP from what she did way just 6 months ago. The doctor wants her weight up because she will need surgury to remove her colon. He wants a little more weight since she will lose so much with the surgury.

 

And don't get me started on buying clothes for her!! It is impossible! She wears a size 8 (kids) in shorts/skirts but she is so tall that everything is REALLY short on her.

 

I got alot of the same advice from the nutritionist...just crazy.