Growth charts for kids

[ewatkins]

I want to find a chart showing height and weight for school age kids, say 7-12. My 8 yr. old is tall for her age and worried about it. I want to show her the range of what's "normal". I have the charts in my baby book, but need ones for older kids. Any web sites that might help? We aren't due at the pediatrician for a while.

[BosunsWife]

I'd also like to know. My problem is WITH the pediatricians. My daughter is and has been in the 95 - 100% since birth. Right now she is 20 months and is 37" and weighs 32lbs. So far all of her new doctors (since we just moved) are totally paranoid about her size (I have to take her in every three months to be weighed and measured). Both my husband and I are starting to get really stressed with the doctors. Genetically she is predisposed to being big. My husband is 6'5" and is 225lbs. I'm 5'10" and we won't be discussing my weight tonight LOL. Height runs tall on both sides of the family.

I am beginning to lose my patience with doctors and nurse practitioners. My g#d, the child was 9lbs 13 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long at birth.

Now that my tangent is over, any growth charts would be more than welcome for me also.

[Karen M]

Here's a website I found. Hope it helps.
http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/05/30/growth.charts.01/index.html

[Ralph]

Hi ladies!
Karen's link was good, but, I knew I could find the EXACT growth charts we use in the medical field. (Actually, all I had to do was dig thru Karen's reference a little deeper.)
Nonetheless, the link below takes you directly to the growth charts used by all doctors at the CDC's (Center for Disease Control) web site. You will need the Adobe Acrobat reader to download them (a link is provided there, too). Let me know if you have any further questions.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhanes/growthcharts/charts.htm

[ewatkins]

Thank you so much, Karen M. -- I found exactly what I needed. The site actaually dealt with Body Mass Index, which is a new way of looking at obesity. But from that site, I found the height and growth charts that I wamted.
Bosunswife -- don't let the pediatrician bother you. My daughter was 10lbs 10 oz. at birth -- that is huge for a Denver baby. (higher altitude means smaller babies) I forget her height at birth but she has always been at or above the 95%. Our doc just said as long as the height and weight stay in relation, we didn't need to worry. Sure enough, her little chart just marched right along on a nice curve, albeit well above the "normal" curve. At 2 she was 37 inches and 35 1/1lbs, and no one said a thing. Now she is almost 9 and weighs 90 lbs -- exactly at 95% according to the chart I just found.(Not sure of her height but she is pretty tall.) She is the biggest girl in her class , which leads to some self esteem issues, but at least the docs aren't worried. They told me she'll have to wait until high school for the boys to catch up. So -- I think your daughter is fine!

[Kristilyn1]

Doctors can be so funny. I would have to second the thought that the doctors should be/usually are more concerned with sudden changes in the growth curve--not a continued growth pattern....but they all have different practices, so maybe they don't usually see many big girls. Either way, I would let it roll off my back too, unless she gets old enough for it to bother her and the doctor would make comments.

My boys are big too--90th percentile, with the exception of their heads--they both have heads off the charts. We laugh about our melon headed boys, but before you picture a couple of weird looking kids running around--they are normal looking, just have the circumference of some adults. Fortunately, the doctors have never expressed any concern about the size--I think they think it's pretty funny too.

Kristi

[mlou]

ewatkins,

I can't help feeling that is a greater issue here. Make sure you talk to your daughter as she is not going to feel normal as long as she is taller than all her classmates. It's important to let her know it is ok to be different for a while but mostly I would watch her for slouching. I have known many people who felt so odd about this that they slouched to compensate. The effects of this can be permanent and/or very hard to retrain in adult life. Good Luck http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Beth]

Bosunswife, sounds like you need to have a talk with the pediatricians and find out whether they have any specific concerns, whether they be related to weight or general size (understand that there is a general concern about the increasing obesity in children. A child who has not reached 2 yrs yet may be still slimming down from that toddler chunk, so I'd be alert to the potential, but not make yourself crazy at this point. My 7 yr old was a real toddler chunk, but is skinny as a rail now.)

Your daughter has to pick up on their concerns even at her young age. If they unintentionally weaken her self esteem with concerns that something is wrong with her or her size, it could worsen any issues she has with height or weight down the road.

Try to talk to your pediatrician about treating your daughter as a whole person who is surely going to be tall. Work with them to address specific health concerns, keep her psyche in mind, and help her be healthy and tall. If your pediatricians can't point to any particular concerns and can't get over it, try to switch. BTW, I'm 2 inches taller than you are, and my DH swears there are more tall women everywhere, but especially in TX.

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by Kristilyn1:
My boys are big too--90th percentile, with the exception of their heads--they both have heads off the charts. Kristi

Ouch http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif . Sorry, but all I can think of is having to give birth to large babies. My brother and I both have quite large heads (nothing like having a bigger head than your husband!) and believe me - my mother never let us forget it!

As for my boys, they are both pretty small. My 3 1/2 year old is 32 pounds and 38 inches tall - the same as bonuswife's 20-month-old! Isn't it amazing how kids can be so totally different and yet so totally normal (not to mention wonderful!)??

And my poor little guy LOVES basketball - I just don't think it's in the cards (my husband and I are both quite short) http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif . Still, maybe he got a tall gene from someone in the family and it just hasn't manifested itself yet!



[This message has been edited by lindrusso (edited 03-04-2001).]

[Kristilyn1]

Lindrusso-

the head thing was definitely an issue for childbirth. My first was born almost two weeks early and with the second--I was actually induced a week early because I was terrified that he was gigantic. Lord knows I was gigantic. He ended up being just under 8 lbs. but since he has the biggest head of the two, it was probably still a good thing......

Though it's not so much the head, it's the SHOULDERS that can be pretty scary. My sister's boys were both normal size, but the shoulders! It hurt to watch!

Kristi