At my daughters 4 year check up yesterday we were told that she went from 25% to 10% in weight (only gained 2 lbs. Was 28.5 and now weighs 30.4) and 48% to 30% in height (only grew 2-inches. Was 3'1 and is now 3'3). The average is 2-4 inches and 3-5 lbs. So she is growing just not as much as the Dr. would like to see. She is not in line with her own growth curve but the Dr. said she isn't falling off the charts. The Dr. said she isn't overly concerned as it is not as though she has fallen of her own growth curve chart but is at a plateau vs. previous wellness checks.
My daughter sleeps well, she is above average as far as development, and went from having a good appetite at 2 to a slower appetite at 3.
The Dr. would like to see her in 6 months to get a weight and to see what the next steps may need to be.
We were told to feed her more healthy-fatty foods during her eating times and that she would like to see her gain at least 1.5-2lbs in the next 6 months.
We are trying to work with her but she is just not interested in eating - more interested in talking, playing, etc - like most little ones. She eats like a bird and though she eats at ever meal usually 1/2 or a little more is left on her plate. Her energy levels are good and other than seasonal allergies, she is rarely sick.
Has anybody dealt with this? I am a concerned mom in need of advise.
To follow up I guess what concerns me is that both the weight and height shifted on her curve vs. just the weight. From the reading it could be a normal shift to something more serious. Interested in knowing if there are any moms that had a shift in both weight and height on their child's growth curve and what the outcome was.
Thanks for all the posts. Great information thus far.
Weight gain seems to come easier once they start school and have to sit more.
I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Serve her some avocados / guacamole in salads a bit more often.
She is fine. I am starting to think these docs are nuts. She is healthy, developing and happy. Not a problem In my book. I used to babysit for a little girl who ate very little. Was always healthy n happy. Today she is a 15 yo beautiful young woman. Heck my 2 to granddaughter just hit 23 pounds. She is a peanut but happy, healthy and a real comedian. Just keep offering her high calorie foods. I do that with my granddaughter I would not worry about her. Enjoy her!
I don't understand why your doctor is worried. She just isn't growing at the moment which is why her height went down as well. Those are just percentile from the norm or average. My kids sans the youngest were around 90 for height and 100 for weight until they hit three and burned off all that baby fat. From then on they were between 90 and 95 for height depending if their growth spurt hit before or after the checkup and their weight fell about 15 points below that. My youngest, my midget, has always been 40 to 50 for height with weight lagging behind that by 10 to 15 points.
So back to you, you had an 18% drop in height so a 15% drop in weight is to be expected. All kids go through periods where they eat light. She sounds normal.
Please don't worry - I ate so little as a small child that my mother asked the doctor what to do. He said she should let me eat as much or as little as I seemed to want, because when I was hungry, I would eat. Mum tried to follow his advice at first, but couldn't bring herself to keep it up. She felt she had to make me stay at the table until I finished what she had put on the plate. I remember some dreary times after my parents had finished eating their own supper.
Eventually, my appetite increased, and ever since my teens, I have been a fairly big eater. But I have always been small in height and weight, burning a lot of energy.
My Son is 4 and weighs 28.4 pounds (for the last 6 months). He is so active and is very healthy...he has to burn every calorie he puts in his body. His doctor isn't concerned at all. My self and my husband are not big people at all. I wouldn't worry unless you think something is wrong! She won't let herself starve!
Ha. My daughter went from being 75%weight/ 87% height to being 50/52 at her 4 year. Huge drop that had me all worried, but at her checkup the doctor told me that she was one of the healthier kids he has seen in his office. He also told me NOT to worry about the "drop" in percentiles as long as she was still growing and healthy, because she is starting to get to the age where kids start to "level out" a bit. Some will drop percentiles like crazy (like my DD) while some will jump up in them. Others won't see a drastic change.
He said that you only need to worry if there is a drastic, sudden change or if the trend continues over a long period of time. (Like if she dropped another 15% at her next visit.) if she is otherwise healthy and developing, no worries.
Did the doctor say whole milk would be okay if she is drinking low fat milk?
Also, When she had her three year check up, was it on her b-day or a couple of months after. In other words could the doc be comparing a 3 year 3 month to a 4 year 0 months?
Yes, my girls did that. When they were that age, they grew in spurts rather then continually. She is the size my daughters were so I would not worry. You can't make her eat if she is not hungry but a couple of things I did.
1. at meal and snack time she had to sit at the table for 10 min even if not hungry. Note, did not have to eat, just be there in front of the plate. So if she is hungry she will eat.
2. Use full fat yogurt and other good fats such as avacado.
Be careful that eating does not become a battle of wills, that will only make it worse. I used to tell one daughter that it was my job to prepare food for her and it was hers to eat or not.
Try not to focus on her weight if she is healthy and developing normally, we all have different growth patterns and many of us do NOT grow according to a chart. I frankly wish they would throw the darn charts away and just look at the child.
I heard a long time ago that birds actually eat twice their own weight every day. So maybe that's not the picture you want to use...
I don't know a child that *doesn't* do this at one time or another. Eating is one of those battles that you don't want to take on, because your daughter is the one in control of it, not you. You can't win a food war.
Your doctor has your girl in a "watchful waiting" mode, which isn't bad. He doesn't have her on meds or in the hospital. So it's OK.
Give her healthy food for meals and snacks, and just keep track (privately!) of what she eats and what she doesn't. If she seems sick or out of energy, you talk to the doctor right away, of course.
Your daughter could surprise you within this six-month watching period by suddenly acquiring an appetite like a horse... I wonder how much horses eat every day?
Yes, keep tabs on things and do see the doctor again if you truly are worried -- but don't weigh your child constantly or push, push, push food. The former will make her very self-conscious about her weight (which sets up kids, especially girls, for body image problems later) and the latter will turn into a power struggle.
The harder you push food at her, and the more she sees your tension over it and how much it matters to you, the likelier she is to resist eating. Even the sweetest kid knows that he or she can control only two things: Eating (or not) and using the toilet (or not). You cannot force another human to eat or poop and young kids know this instinctively, and if they want some control of their lives, they often exercise that by controlling the two things they CAN control -- whether they eat and/or whether they use the toilet as adults want.
So take care that your worries don't become so clear to your child that she starts to assert what little control she has and eats even less, or gets very, very picky about what specific foods she'll eat.
And take care that your anxiety doesn't turn into trip after trip in quest of a diagnosis. Our friends' son was small and over a few years between about 18 months and about age four, doctors had our friends in a total twist over his tiny size. The parents shuttled from doctor to doctor to doctor and program to program, ending up at a program at a university that they realized -- though a doctor had sent them there -- was for TEENS with eating disorders, not for little kids who were on the small side and not very interested in food! This is how ridiculous the whole quest for answers had become. Doctors found the boy was just fine, only small, yet kept sending the family to programs and specialists when it wasn't needed. Many doctors simply heard the mom and dad saying "We're worried! Something is wrong and we need a label for what is wrong!" and the doctors just handed out labels and programs and ideas -- to placate the upset, stressed parents, not because the doctors necessarily had answers. So please -- don't let yourself get SO wound up that you end up shopping for diagnoses or labels so you can "understand what's wrong" here. You may get those diagnoses and labels and they may only create more stress.
Regarding this family we know: At long, long last, one new doctor finally looked at the mom and dad and said, "YOU are both very short, and dad is very, very slender though dad eats huge amounts of food all the time. Your son's genetics are all that's going on. You parents are both small people and your son will be small, and is on track right now considering YOUR sizes."
No one had ever looked at the parents and seen that the boy's small size was probably to be expected!
I am usually the first to post that one should pursue specialists and be assertive with all doctors and advocate for one's child, believe me! But I also know from these friends' experience that some parents' anxieties end up driving needless searches for reasons when the reason may be something utterly normal. Of course you should track your child and maybe ask the doctor to see her in three months instead of six. If she truly can't gain weight or regresses and loses weight, absolutely look into whether there are conditions that could cause it. But for now, make food fun, let her help you shop, let her create funny faces from nuts and fruit slices or whatever -- and don't let her see you are worried and pushing things at her.
You can add in healthy fat foods including things made in olive oil (you can make your own delicious chicken nuggets and oven fries, for example - message me for a couple of great recipes), avocado, fish, etc. You can also add in a patented children's supplement with healthy amounts of bioavailable DHA , a fatty acid found in breast milk which is crucial for brain development. This will meet her basic nutritional needs in a highly absorbable form, and then the rest of what she eats is just extra. That will take the pressure off. A patent is very difficult to achieve and there are only a handful in the entire country (some adult, one children's that I know of) but it proves a high level of testing, proven effectiveness & safety, and a proven willingness of the company to be subjected to high standards. It also means that what's on the label is in the product - which believe it or not is not always true. A recent report showed that 1/3 of all natural supplements didn't contain any of the purported main ingredient! Supplements are poorly regulated so going for a patent is a great way to ensure you're getting what's necessary.
What are her allergies? Sometimes kids with nasal allergies get too much post nasal drip that fills up or upsets the stomach. The supplement I described can help with that as well.
Kids grow in cycles.
They eat and eat and eat and eat and eat. They chub out, parents get worried! Then the kid wakes up 2 inches taller and their clothes fall off due to being to skinny. Then kiddo doesn't eat and won't eat and nothing goes in their mouth.
Then they wake up one morning starving again. They eat and eat and eat and eat, they chub out and....well, you get the idea.
I would listen to the doc for a couple of reasons.
Kids that stop gaining and growing normally, for any length of time beyond a normal growth spurt cycle might have something else going on and need medical intervention. So keep an eye on her. If she doesn't start eating normally soon then take note of it. If she loses more weight then make an appointment.
I imagine she's in the middle of a non-growth spurt period so I wouldn't be too worried. If this goes on for another month and kiddo isn't playing well or being as active then I'd be very very concerned.
Your daughter sounds like mine! Mine has been pretty healthy and has good energy levels, but she has absolutely no interest in food. Before your next appointment, try to feed her lots of avocados and eggs (that's what our pediatrician recommended). You should also consider whole milk dairy products like whole milk yogurt, whole milk cheeses, etc. Coconut milk is also high in fat and pretty low in sugar.
As long as she is eating, and growing and developing, then I wouldn't worry as much about the scale. I was so small at 4 that my mom had me tested for growth disorders but the result was I was just small. My DD is nearly 6 and barely 35 lbs. Runs in the family. You might also look at her snacks and see if there are changes to be made there, either in time, quality or quantity. Rather than goldfish, try wheat crackers and cheese. Or rather than a processed fruit snack, try real fruit. If she only eats a little, try to make that little bit nutritionally dense.
