Toddler too skinny?

Betty-ann - posted on 04/10/2009

i have been dealing with the same issues with my 3 yr old he has always been below on the charts for height and weight he only weighs 23 lbs now and we have gone to a gastrointestinal dr had blood draws and just recently seen a endocrynologist who said if he doesnt grow within 6 months that she wants to start growth hormones on him that wont help his weight but it will his height he is only 33.5 inches tall which is the same size as his 2 yr old brother which he weighs 29 lbs! but i kept putting these dr;s off cause i myself am only 4 ft 11 inches so i didnt see anything wrong and i too was a skinny minny as a kid i only weighed 85 lbs when i graduated high school so i think they just want to treat my kid as a guinea pig but if the growth hormones make my son average height i will do it cause it is no fun being picked on kids are terrible!!

Jocelyn - posted on 04/10/2009

lol just thought I'd share that my son has been 29 pounds for  atleast 6 months now...and now he's 28 pounds!, but he's a healthy 2 year old, so i'm not worrying.  And neither should you :)  skinny babies are just as cute as fat babies! haha

Sabiha - posted on 04/09/2009

I had the same thing with my firstborn. She just wouldnt gain weight. I was always worried but my Doctor calmed me on that. As long as the child is active and energetic, no cause for worry. Children dont do diets, they dont starve themselves on purpose. So she will eventually eat whatever she needs to stay fit. Watch out of tell-tale signs that she's not healthy> brittle nails, fizzy hair, dull complexion, mouth odor, lethargy. As long as the child plays well and takes an active interest in everything, I wouldnt worry. I know what I'm what I'm talking about - that firstborn is now a 16 year old and eats the food off our table and still slim and trim.. So, relax and enjoy your childs antics :)

Rachel - posted on 04/09/2009

They've even mentioned tube feeding her at night.

She was breastfed for 5 months and I know that makes babies smaller than average because the charts are made with bottle fed babies in mind

Rachel - posted on 04/09/2009

I'm going through this with my daughter and it is SO stressful. I don't know what to do. My daughter is now following the 0.4th centile which YES I know is almost off the chart so I understand their concern, but I am only 4 ft 11!! Her father has a high matabolism but is of average height. I wouldn't be surprised if she had my genes and his motabolism.

I was given the same advice about putting fat in everything and they've changed her milk to a high cal milk which she is ok with but she's hardly eating any food because she's just not hungry. When she was first put on the milk I was told to give her (at 10 and a half months old) 4 or 5 bottles a day as well as food! I spoke to the doctor and he agreed that was excessive and knocked it down to 3 but after 2 months her appatite has got worse and most of the food I give her gets thrown on the floor or spat out.

I have now decided to cut another bottle out so at one year old she is now on two bottles a day and so far her appatite has improved, My healthvisitor is not concerned by her development or her weight, it's at the hospital. Initially she was referred becauuse she was admitted on two occasions on completely seperate issues and someone compared two weight measurements taken out of context and concluded something else. Last year I was worried about her being so small and I asked a number of healthvistors who saw her regularyl about it and everything I was told not to worry, she's small because I am. Why the concern now.

Last time I went I was told that the concern if she's too small is that her brain won't have the space in her head to develop properly and her development will slow down. (It didn't for me, I was always in the top of my class) I'm so glad to not be the only one but I'm really stuck as to what to do.

My son is the same but he's always been on the 9th centile where they aren't concerned. But he's a boy and was higher on the chart at birth than my daughter. My dietician even told me that she could eat chips every night and it would do her good but I also don't want her to develop unhealthy eating habits that are hard to break. I don't think she'd eat something like that anyway.

Any advice?

Holly - posted on 04/09/2009

My daughter is the same way as well as with my 2 nephews. I think those chart things a crap. They never did that when we were kids. I say as long as she is eating well which it sounds like you are doing fine do not worry about it. Follow your instincts hun. You know her better than anyone =)

Amie - posted on 04/05/2009

Height might be a factor in why your doctor is recommending it. My own kids though are on the other end of the chart. Their height and weight for my three oldest are in the 95th-98th percentile. But it may be different here (I'm in Canada), we have charts for both not just one.
But I agree with the others moms. If your little one is eating healthy and a lot don't worry about it. Doctors are great and have helpful advice when it comes to these types of situations but that's all it is... advice. They're not at home with us watching our kids all the time and if it was a really big concern he'd have done testing and likely admitted her to a hospital. I only say that too because one of my friends had her son admitted when he was underweight. He's fine now though. It was a number of years ago so can't remember what was wrong with him.

Kellee - posted on 04/04/2009

I have been through the same thing with my son at 19 months he only weighs 20 pounds, he also is a very active kid I swear never sits still for a minute, he has been pu through many tests but all negative I think some kids ar just small and thats not gonna change, hes also been at the 5th percentile but been that way since he was born so I would not worry bout it

Catherine - posted on 04/04/2009

Quoting Kristie:

Yea, and when she puts on a bunch of weight, they will be telling you to put her on a  diet!

I couldn't agree more!  If your child is healthy and happy I don't see the problem.

Kristie - posted on 04/03/2009

Yea, and when she puts on a bunch of weight, they will be telling you to put her on a  diet!

Regina - posted on 03/29/2009

My doctor told me the same thing, but I feel like my daughter is a very good eater and she also very active. Also she is much taller than she should be for her age(20 months) so i think that has something to do with it too. I was advised to do the same thing add more fat. She also said to try Pediasure but I don't want the weight getting too out of control though so I haven't paid much attention to the advice so far, she seems normal to me.

Jocelyn - posted on 03/27/2009

she sounds perfectly health to me :) my son is really skinny too, you can see his ribs most of the time, but he eats really healthy and will match me for portion size now lol  he's also extreamly active, never sits still, and the only time he will "pudge up" is right before he grows 2 inches in height

as long as she's still growing and being active and doing all the good things toddlers do, i wouldn't worry about it

Amanda - posted on 03/26/2009

my youngest had the same problem at 18 mo. He's now 2 and 1/2 and is still small. My son's doctor told me that as long as my son was on HIS curve it was ok. He did dip down at one point and that was when we got concerned. We had to bring him back every week for a couple of weeks to make sure he was gaining weight.



I know that you are frustrated but the doctor is just looking out for your child's best interest. Be patient and just keep making sure that your child is eating!

Good luck!

Candice - posted on 03/26/2009

the charts are based on averages, yes. if your child is in the 5th percentile it means that only 5% of all children are the same size as your child. iwouldn't worry too much if she is developing normally, but if she is low weight, i also wouldn't worry about giving her high fat foods. she probably has a high metabolism. if you add fat to healthy foods (like you seem to be doing) instead of introducing just plain unhealthy choices (junk foods) you can always remove the fat as she grows if need be without worrying about developing bad habits. young children NEED fat in their diets, but they don't need junk food. i think you're doing your best and as long as she keeps growing and progressing i wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.