Please help me help my daughter. She is 6 and very little. I have taken her to the doctor for being so underweight and he only says she is fine and will eat when she is ready. I do my best in providing good meals. I cook all the time. She won't eat much and she is picky about what she eats. My son is 9 and he is taller and bigger than kids his age. So apparently I am doing fine with him. But my daughter, she is 3-5 inches shorter than kids her age. She says kids pick her up and carry her around the playground at school. If there is anyone that has had this happened to their child please give me some advice if yours has overcome this.

That is too bad being picked on, kids in school can be very mean. Maybe talk to playground teacher or her classroom teacher or even principle. I really wouldn't worry about the weight issue either - My 3yr old is 40# and my 8yr old 3rd grader is only 50#...everyone is different. My 8yr old eats better than the 3yr old and as long as the doctor says everything is fine -health wise I would say ok. Just sad she has to be picked on in school (scholl is hard enough for kids).

That is so sad :( I would definitely speak to the teachers etc. Let them know that this is unacceptable behaviour and maybe they can have a chat with the other children. This is also very dangerous , someone might drop your child.

My son was always smaller then the rest of his class and I remember in grade 5 his teacher saying something about him being the baby of the class...lol...In hockey his team mates used to keep an eye on him as he was the smallest and if the other team tried to check him too hard my sons team mates would crowd around him (so to speak lol) so that he wouldn't get hurt. He is 19 now and 5' 11 ".

My daughter who is 12 has always been the smallest in her class and with her friends....she is in grade 7 and only about 4' 6 and has not had any problems that I am aware of. I don't think that she will ever be as tall as me , I am 5'4".

My friends daughter was very petite as well and she wouldn't eat very much just pick like your daughter and her mother took her to the dr. and the dr. said pretty much the same as your dr. That little girl is now 17 and eats pretty good now :) just a phase that she went through...she wouldn't even eat meat when she was 7 years old.

Kids are such a worry , I have my fair share of grey with my 3 ;) You do what you feel is right to you....if that means going back to the dr. you go right ahead and if it means going to the school you do that too .....we do what we feel is right and there is no better feeling in this world then a mothers love:)

Let us know how you are doing.....we are all here for you:)
Bee :wave:

My Neice is 48lbs and right at 4ft tall and she is in 3rd grade. She was getting the same thing with kids picking on her. She also has a heart condition, not related to the growth, so she doesnt do P.E.... My sister talked to the teacher about it and said that she did NOT want to be treated like a baby. She talked to the kids and found out that they thought she was soo cute and it was a problem of simply paying too much attention to her.

It has turned around over the past few months. Kids dont treat her like a baby and the teacher is being more aware. She drinks Pediasure at home and it seems to be helping some. Good luck

I have a 36 lb 2nd grade girl. We just had the complete work up this past summer. Both her weight and height lines were bending away from the normal growth chart lines. This is probably the most important thing to think about. This is often an indication of something being wrong. Our pediatrician was very layed back about testing but I felt really uncomfortable about it (I am in the health field so I know too darn much). I switched pediatricians to someone that I knew had an aggressive policy about everything. He first did a lot of bloodwork and found some abnormal results. He also checked her "bone-age" and found that her bone growth was delayed over 2 years and this indicated that she would reach puberty late and therefore have over 2 years extra to grow. The abnormal bloodwork resulted in a referral to a Pediatric Gastro. who detected a Vit A deficiency. This is suppose to be unheard of in the American culture but he said that that is misinformation. The test was repeated for accuracy and found to be true. I put her on a multivit (our first doctor didn't believe in them if you have a healthy diet) and the deficiency resolved. No one really knows why she was vit A deficient. I suspect that haveing one virus after another and tonsillitis all winter caused it but I am not a physician. Our daughter ended up growing 2 inches in 2 months. This was a real confidence boost. She is still tiny but can now reach the water fountain in school and is rarely picked up I think because 2nd graders are a little more mannered than the younger ones. She knows that her adult height will be in normal range but she will have to wait a little longer than most kids to reach her final adult height. We always stress the positive that she is always up front in the concerts, gets the cute roles, can go into playhouses to an older age etc... She met one child smaller than her and this helped (there are about 100 2nd graders in our school.) We did discuss it with the teacher and she made a general discussion with the class about keeping your hands to yourself and not picking up other children. The school also considered pairing her with another small child as she goes through the grades. I haven't pursued this since she is doing better emotionally about the whole thing. One kid picks on her but it is kind of a joke. This girl is extremely overweight, very homely, and not so smart. I first tried to reassure my child that this girl has an impulsive tendency along with a probable learning disability and we really should have some compassion for her. This didn't seem to help. Finally, I came out and said, "Kelsey, look at this child. She has NOTHING going for her and she is picking on many kids to make her feel better about herself. She is going to have it real tough in the future because some kids are mean and she will be picked on more and more as she gets older." That seemed to end it. She stays clear of the girl and I may ask to have them in different classes next year if my daughter can't deal with it.

I'm really glad that I pushed for a more thorough checkup. At least we know the whole picture and are not concerned that there is a pituitary tumor or cystic fibrosis etc.... I don't want to scare you but there are some grave remote possibilities if either the height or weight charts are bending away from the normal curves. Also, if she has a growth hormone deficiency then early treatment works great. Don't be tempted to give her junk food to get her to eat. Give her a multivit. if you really think she is not eating enough.

Best of luck, Terry

Also, you can find height/weight graphs online and if you have your child's height and weight records, you can plot it out. I think I found the graphs on the CDC (Center for Disease Control) web site.

BTW I would love it if my daughter was 40 lbs!

Terry

wannabe,

My daughter was little too, until fourth grade when she started to grow (mostly in height). She didn't weigh 40 lbs until 3rd grade--she thought she'd never get out of a booster seat in the car. Though she's still hardly on the charts for weight--she's almost 14 and weighs 103, she is now 5'3" (normal height for her age). She's not a great eater, never has been, but she is an elite athlete competing at a national level in track and field--believe it or not, at 5'3" she's an incredible high jumper, almost jumping her height. So, though she'd like to be taller (and still has time to grow), great things come in small packages. Our pediatrician always told us that as long as she STAYED in the 0-5 percentile on the charts, and didn't fall below, she was growing on HER curve. She's now a healthy teenager.

WannabeU says that the kids are 'picking UP' her daughter and carrying her around the playground - not picking on her on the playground. WannabeU, is the picking her up and carrying her considered picking on her? She may like it?!? Anyway, my niece and son were skin on bones until they were at least 8 or 9. I know my son ate right so it's just metabolism at some point. As long as the doctor keeps on top of the weight and other issues that may indicate a problem, it should be ok.

Please help me help my daughter. She is 6 and very little. I have taken her to the doctor for being so underweight and he only says she is fine and will eat when she is ready. I do my best in providing good meals. I cook all the time. She won't eat much and she is picky about what she eats. My son is 9 and he is taller and bigger than kids his age. So apparently I am doing fine with him. But my daughter, she is 3-5 inches shorter than kids her age. She says kids pick her up and carry her around the playground at school. If there is anyone that has had this happened to their child please give me some advice if yours has overcome this.

I am so glad to have found your post. My grandson is 5 1/2 and only weighs
35 lb. Very short, too. Two doctors said he's fine. He's almost never sick and has lots of energy. His eating habits are dreadful. He has few things he likes but if he Does like something he eats very little of it. Nags for candy a lot; my poor daughter. His little tummy just won't hold much food. At Christmas dinner we had standing rib roast and he wouldn't eat one single bite of meat. He has learned to stay away from the other boys; one push and he's down. Won't even participate on the playground. He sits Under the Slidingboard at recess !

That is so sad :( I would definitely speak to the teachers etc. Let them know that this is unacceptable behaviour and maybe they can have a chat with the other children. This is also very dangerous , someone might drop your child.

My son was always smaller then the rest of his class and I remember in grade 5 his teacher saying something about him being the baby of the class...lol...In hockey his team mates used to keep an eye on him as he was the smallest and if the other team tried to check him too hard my sons team mates would crowd around him (so to speak lol) so that he wouldn't get hurt. He is 19 now and 5' 11 ".

My daughter who is 12 has always been the smallest in her class and with her friends....she is in grade 7 and only about 4' 6 and has not had any problems that I am aware of. I don't think that she will ever be as tall as me , I am 5'4".

My friends daughter was very petite as well and she wouldn't eat very much just pick like your daughter and her mother took her to the dr. and the dr. said pretty much the same as your dr. That little girl is now 17 and eats pretty good now :) just a phase that she went through...she wouldn't even eat meat when she was 7 years old.

Kids are such a worry , I have my fair share of grey with my 3 ;) You do what you feel is right to you....if that means going back to the dr. you go right ahead and if it means going to the school you do that too .....we do what we feel is right and there is no better feeling in this world then a mothers love:)

Let us know how you are doing.....we are all here for you:)
Bee :wave:

Maybe I'm wrong, but 40 lbs sounds about right for a 6 yr old. My son is 11 and only weighs 65! He is small because I was small as a child and so was his dad. My son eats constantly and never gains an ounce! I used to be like that and I wish I still was! She will grow believe me.

My kids are small for their age until about 5 and then catch up, but I can relate to being the small one. I was thrilled to be as tall as a yard stick in fourth grade!! I was wearing itty bitty clothes and had to have shoes special ordered because my feet were so narrow...then life caught up!! Gained the weight!!
I was always built small height wise. I have a large bone structure but at 26 I'm only 5'0" tall. If the docs say she's fine and she's acting fine I wouldn't worry. There may be someone down your family line who was tiny and she inherrited that. I would only worry if mommy-sense is kicking in. I got picked up and moved around all the way up to high school!! They thought it was great fun.
My friends would just pick me up and take me to class with them. Until I got sick I was just over 100lbs and 3" off of being a legal midget!!! LOL I'm just barely tall enough not to require a car seat!! LOL I know enjoy being small. When dating I never had to worry about being taller than ANY boys and got to pay less for my clothes because I got them in the childrens section. I still buy my shoes there because they're cheaper too!!
There are benefits, but do encourage her to stand up for herself. You may find soon enough that if she's like most small people I know, they're more of a force to be reckoned with than their bigger counterparts!! My grandma always used to say that dynamite comes in small packages...she wasn't kiddin'!! Best of luck, hope it helps to hear from someone who's been there. Give your girl hugs from me, she'll be "big" soon enough.

hi wannabeu,
my daughter who turned 5 on november 30th was taken to the dr for a preschool physical (she missed the cutoff for kindergarten) she is 3ft 6 and weighs 33 lbs her brother who is 17 months younger than her is 3ft3 and weighs 40 lbs i was told that my daughter the 5 yo is very healthy they did the complete blood work and the whole 9 yards to try to find something wrong with her to explain her weight and height but to no avail she is perfectly healthy the only thing with her is she refuses to eat meat of anykind so she is on vitamins
i myself was a very small child i was still in a 5t-6x in 6th grade i was the smallest in my class im still pretty short at 5ft5 but hey it happens lol to me it seems as time goes by alot of children are on one extreme or the other either very large-tall or very small-short.i have a cousin who just turned 15 and is 6ft5 his sister who is 13 is 6ft 2 neither one of there parents are very tall but those kids are still growing its wild