My child is small for her age =(

United States
September 4, 2008 11:41am CST
My little gal is 6 1/2 years old and very tiny. She weighs 40 pounds fully clothed and can still wear a 4T! When she wears a 5T I have to belt it really tight or they will fall off her. I can still tote this sweet child around on my hip like a toddler. I am starting to be a bit worried about her size. She is allergic to milk, and I've fed her soy milk since she was a baby, and now I am reading all this bad stuff about soy and worried that it hurt her development! =( Gosh, do Mamas always have to feel guilty about stuff? Does anyone else here have a child who is small?
3 people like this
3 responses
• United States
7 Sep 08
You'll find plenty to feel guilty about as she grows up, trust me - don't let yourself feel guilty that you did something healthy for her. What does her doctor say about it? How is her growth curve? That's far more important than how big she is. Ask your pediatrician to show you the graph of her height and weight. If the line shows steady growth, she's probably just small. Every one of my five kids was at the bottom edge of the growth chart. My oldest was able to wear 3Ts and 4Ts until she was six, and her little sister could still wiggle into size 4T shorts at ten years old. They're both short adults (5'1" and 5'2") but gorgeous and healthy. My boys followed the same growth curve but shot up in their mid-teens - the only one who is still small for his age is the youngest, but he makes up for his height with his build. Just hang in there. If her doctor isn't concerned, I wouldn't be either.
• United States
7 Sep 08
I'm glad I'm not the only one. She is low on the growth curve, but she has grown since last year since I had to buy her longer pants =) I guess I will stop worrying about it. Plenty else to worry about it is right!
1 person likes this
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
4 Sep 08
I have never heard that about soy milk, maybe she is just a small person I know I was very small when I was a kid, I know a member of my family is allergic to milk and she was put onto goats milk I don't know if that is helpful to you, you shouldn't feel guilty, you can only do the best you can and you sound like a good mum and she will love you for that...i hope things work out for you...
• United States
7 Sep 08
Thanks =) I had never heard it either until just recently, and it really freaked me out.
1 person likes this
7 Sep 08
Yes, mom's always feel guilty about that kind of thing. I seem to have the opposite problem. I have a boy who isn't quite two who wears 4Ts. He weighs about 35 pounds but is so tall that he isn't heavy. In fact, you can see his ribs! He is taller than his 5 year old step sister.
1 person likes this