Daughters Late Bloomers or Just Going to Be Shorter?

welcome to mamapedia, P..

Why not let them be kids? Stop worrying about their growth, unless there is a BIG problem that the doctors even notice.

Let them be kids. According to the old wives tale, my oldest was supposed to double in height at the age of 2 to 18. That means he should be 6' tall. He's not. He's 19 and 5'10. He's not short but he's not as tall as the "growth chart" says he should have been. I'm not worried about it. Neither is he.

Stop. Unless they stop growing? Then worry. Until then? Let them be kids.

Honestly its not something I watched or worried about when my kids were growing up. They tended to grow in spurts (usually after I just bought clothes or shoes).

Watching how children grow is one of the delights of parenthood. Enjoy the present and time will reveal how tall they turn out to be. There is no set pattern, we are all individuals.

Umm... I think you need to be like Elsa and Let it Go!

Does it really matter? Stop worrying about something you have no control over.

Well - my sister and I didn't follow our moms pattern.
My mom grew up during the depression and had a lot of genuine starvation which affected her growth.
My sister and I never starved.

Also - kids get genes from both parents - height being one of many.
A tall dad sometimes makes for some tall daughters.
On top of that some things skip generations or takes a sideways step - something seen in an aunt or uncle will turn up in a niece/nephew.
And once in a great while there's an outright mutation - something new never seen before in the family will pop up.
Genetics is fascinating.
For the most part unless your pediatrician has any concerns don't worry about it and listen to some Doris Day.

Que será, será
Whatever will be, will be

Our kids were much taller than we were at that age.

They were also much larger/taller babies at birth than we were. So it followed that they would be - they just followed along their percentiles on the growth/heigh charts.

It wasn't until puberty and then teen years that we started to see what their final height would be.

why are you worried about this? You can't change how tall they are going to be so just let them be.

If your doctor feels there is a problem? He/she will let you know. Otherwise? They will be as tall as they will be.

Honestly, I never gave my kids height a thought. I don't get why some parents are so concerned with how tall their kids will be. They will be whatever they are meant to be and in my opinion there is no need to think about it. It's ok to be short and it's ok to be tall! I have a friend that is so concerned about her son being short she takes him to doctors about it and all she is doing is making him feel there is something wrong with him. He's fine. He's not abnormal...yes he might be a slightly shorter guy as an adult but he might not. Hard to say.

Why are so many parents hung up on height? I just don't get it. I see lots of these posts about parents worried about children, especially children who aren't even teens yet, and their height. If it worries you so much, why don't you request a bone density scan? My child's grandmother did that, since she is concerned about her being 13 and 4'6" and now my daughter is wondering about the results. The grandma whispered to me about how depressed she is that they said she will not grow anymore and to please keep it a secret from my daughter. I really didn't, and still don't, care about the test results. Tall, short, skinny, fat, gay, straight...does not change who she is and I still love her. I'd be more worried about whether they are decent human beings and happy kids than whether they are going to be gigantic -- you already said they are above average, why isn't that considered good enough? It says online that girls can grow up to the age of 15, they literally have almost half their life still to become extremely tall.

Where did you hear that kids follow the same growth pattern as the same gender parent? I'd question your underlying assumption. There are folk tales that get handed down and people accept them as fact. I am nothing like my mother. Most women I know aren't like their mothers.

And what does it matter? If you're desperately concerned, I think bone age is the better indicator. It was with my stepdaughter who dealt with scoliosis and they ran a test to decide whether to keep extending her rod or to proceed with the fusion of a permanent rod. No one ever asked a single thing about the mother or grandmother. This was years back so I'm sure there are other indicators and better tests. Still, you could ask the doctor (absolutely not in front of your daughters!) or just relax and enjoy them as they blossom however they are meant to. I can't imagine why this would matter to you at this age, or at all.

My 7 year old daughter is above average in height and is significantly taller than I was when I was her age. She is as tall as I was when I was 10 years old. The general rule beginning around age four is that kids grow about 2 inches in height every year until puberty.

i've never heard that kids' growth patterns are the same as their parents' of the same gender. sounds like a superstition to me.

and if true, why should your husband's late bloomership affect your daughters?

might as well ask a magic 8-ball.
khairete
S.

I have a 22 yr old son.... he was always super small growing up. like the 4% percentile. Dr even had bone density tests to make sure there wasn't an issue when he was in his preteens. His tests were just fine. He hit puberty a year later than most, but even then he kept growing until about age 20. He's about 5'10" now with a good solid build. Wears mediums and larges.I was an early bloomer but my father wasn't. So look at what pattern the grandparents followed. A lot depends on diet too. My 7 year old was given mostly organic and has a super clean system. She has lost and gotten most her teeth a year and half early. I was told it was because of her diet. Also, for what its worth.... a lot of baby formulas out there have palm oil which prevent total calcium absorption. So do a lot of baby reflux meds. So if your child was on those it could slow growth down a small bit. All my info comes directly from doctors.. not off the internet.

PS- you are correct about the growth patterns. But it also includes the grandparents growth patterns not just the parents. Things can skip a generation. :)