My daughter is very tall and "solid". Should I be concerned?

Hi Amanda :)

I don't think that you need to be worried about your daughter. Concerned meaning that you are watching the situation? Yes that is totally reasonable. I can see converting from metrics that your daughter is above average weight for her age but It doesn't seem scary. And childhood weight is not too significant for telling whether you are or will be normal weight.

The thing is that height and weight and age and what is "normal" is really not a good reference for individuals. For medical purposes even the Body Mass Index is just a consistant measurement and realy not reliable for individuals as a guide because of other factors. For example it does not take into account the difference between muscle mass weight and fat mass weight but just gives a single figure.

Medically you are overweight if your body fat/total weight is higher than is healthy for functioning. You say she is athletic and she eats the same food as the rest of your family which is a better indicator than a standard chart.

Of course it is best to encourage her to be athletic and physically active in all ways and you may want to limit how much dairy products you all eat and encourage drinking water at meals and between meals. You don't have to be a camel but the truth is that dairy products are really not healthy especially after puberty because we just don't process milk efficently as a source of calcium and other nutrients and we do get more storage fat that we don't need and is an effort to burn off.

Next time your daughter goes to the doctor you may want to ask about it with her with your daughter there and she can advise her and you on what is a good healthy range of weights for her age as she grows. Than she knows that weight is something that people pay attention to as part of their general health but not "OMG! Something's gotta be wrong with me!" and she won't get upset because she has a sense of context..if that makes sense?

Best wishes and I hope I was helpful. :)

if tallness runs in the family through another relative this could be normal. if you think about it realistic 110 pounds is not bad for a 5'2'' girl. that is normal. If she eats more it could be she is keeping up with her matabolism like you said she is athletic. they need there strength. She may look like you in many ways but she also may take after your father as well only in hight. A little pot belly is kinda cute if she has no problem with it, unless you want her to be annorexic she is normal and well the belly shows that she is eating right? I have this situation with my niece, she is 11, 5'3'' not many tall people in the family, in fact I am only 5'0''. Doctors dont worry so why should you. Take a breather, and show her you love her and not judge that she is filling out early or when later in school she will be in living hell because if mommy cannot except me why would others.

Some kids are just taller than others. It's genetic. And if she's 5'2 and 110 pounds thats a normal weight for that height. You don't want her to be anorexic or anything. I wouldn't worry too much it she is eating healthily and being active thats just the way she is. And you don't want her to be aware of your worries. You may think she is unaware but kids are very preceptive.. this could wind up damaging her self esteem.

at 5'2" you should not even flinch. My daughter is a lean 52 lbs and 48" tall. According to the charts she is under weight and malnourished. She eats healthy and loves activity so I do not worry. Throw away the knowledge of the charts and go with what you know.

You don't want my opinion of your thoughts on your daughters "pot belly" as I will not be nice if I give it. I have a mother like you. She thinks that I don't know her view of my body. Your daughter knows. Let her be a kid. If you're not feeding her junk than why worry?

Sorry to rant and if I offended you, just a wee bit emotional on the subject.

I was freakishly tall when I was a kid too and a bit chuncky. My parents were average size so they were concerned too when their 4th grade child was approaching a size 8 ladies shoe. I went through my growth spurt early on in age and then slowly topped off at age 15. I am 5'6" now and medium frame. I think your right to be alittle concerned but nowadays kids are just generally big too. 1 more thing to add a kid in my high school died of Marfan Syndrome... his parents didn't even know he had it because they thought he's a boy a they loved it that he was tall.

People with Marfan's syndrome are most often unusually tall and slender, with particularly long arms, legs, and fingers in comparison with the rest of their body.

People with the Marfan's syndrome typically have one or more of the following:

~Excessive height, particularly long arms and legs, with long slender fingers and toes

~Nearsightedness (myopia) and retinal detachment

~Indented or protruding breastbone

~Curvature of the spine (scoliosis)

~Mitral valve prolapse

~Aortic toot dilation with aortic regurgitation or aortic dissection

***Diagnosis is usually based the clinical findings as well as family history (if known).

Amanda

I would not worry about her size, But I would suggest that you give her a complete physical evaluation, Just to be on the safe side, on the Health issue and it should be handled as a regular yearly physical.

Now I need to address a different issue, Sex education, She is a little girl in a much older female body and may draw some unwanted attention in that area.You must prepare her for that possibly and how to avoid getting into situation she is not able to handle.

I hope I did not speak out, negatively, but that would be a concern of mine.

Wow. She is tall for her age, but my High School daughter is 5 ft. 2 in. and 116 pounds and plays High School Soccer. I think, in the "back" of your head, you are comparing her to other 4th graders. As you said, she was always a big girl, and is a tall 4th grader now. For her age, she is at a good weight!!!

Maybe, if she does desserts, you could just say no desserts on the weekdays, only on the weekends. (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights)

Hope this helps!

Don't worry about it. She is probably just a big framed person and her BMI is perfectly normal .

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Loads of kids have a pot belly and grow out of it. Depends on the person though. My 11 year old cousin has a totally flat tummy already (she had a little belly until she was about 9) and I still had a pot belly until I was about 12 or 13.

She sounds perfectly fine and as long as she is happy it doesn't matter.

She sounds ok actually - the weight to height ratio is not bad at all. It might just be disconcerting because of her age but if she's active, eats healthy food, and is not unhappy with her appearance, then she's fine. The other kids will catch up, and then she'll be 'regular'.

I think you would only have to be concerned if she gains (a lot of ) weight while not getting taller.

I think that you'll find a lot of 9 year olds have pot bellies...does she do any excercise? If she does and if she eats healthily I would suggets that she will grow into herself soon....as a tall girl she just needs to catch up on herself...she doesnt sound overweight to me...not at that height. I bet when she's 15 she'll suddenly seem more in proportion.