How big is your 4 year old girl?

[Norasmomma]

My DD is 40lbs and 40 inches, I was told that makes her in the 92nd percentile and that it makes her BMI a 17.3, which makes her overweight. I personally find that to be a bunch of crap, but whatever. She has always been taller and bigger than most kids her age. She wears a size 4t-5t, or a girls size xs.

I'm just curious what size other other girls her age are.

[lyterae]

My daughter is 4.5 (born in February) and she is 45 lbs and 43" tall, she wears a size 6/7 (the 5's are too short) and a size 11 shoe. The ped. hasn't said anything about her height/weight as she has consistently been at the top of the chart. She is also bigger/taller than most of the kids her own age.

[savannah smiles]

Originally Posted by lyterae

My daughter is 4.5 (born in February) and she is 45 lbs and 43" tall, she wears a size 6/7 (the 5's are too short) and a size 11 shoe. The ped. hasn't said anything about her height/weight as she has consistently been at the top of the chart. She is also bigger/taller than most of the kids her own age.

Ditto for my kid, except her bday is in January and her shoe size is a 12.

[crowcaw]

My twin girls were 43 lb and 44" and 41lb and 42.5" at their 4 year check up. And they have a friend 3 mo older who makes them look small. These girls are all at the very high end of the charts but none of them are overweight, you can tell by looking and the peds think they're strong and healthy.

[redpajama]

My daughter is 3 years, 10 months. She's ~40" tall and ~35 pounds, and wears a size 10 shoe.

[One_Girl]

Kids aren't overweight until they go off of the weight chart, and even then you have to look at the weight and height together not just the one thing. If she is in the 90th percentiles they may tell you she is at risk of being overweight, but that isn't the same as being overweight and it is still important to look at where she is in height. They are also only estimate BMI, not doing the actual tests for it so even if she is at risk you should also look at her activity level and what she eats before being at all concerned. It may be that they charted her incorrectly also. This has happened twice at my dd's office and it put her way above where she should have been. Luckily our doctor caught it both times and said she would speak to the nurse who charted it. The numbers are so close and the lines are so cloes that you have to be careful when you are plotting numbers.

[~PurityLake~]

Originally Posted by Norasmomma

My DD is 40lbs and 40 inches, I was told that makes her in the 92nd percentile and that it makes her BMI a 17.3, which makes her overweight. I personally find that to be a bunch of crap, but whatever. She has always been taller and bigger than most kids her age. She wears a size 4t-5t, or a girls size xs.

I'm just curious what size other other girls her age are.

That BMI stuff is crap and even moreso with children.

My oldest daughter at four was 38 pounds and 40 inches tall. My other daughter was 36 pounds and 38 inches tall at four year exam.

[deditus]

That doesn't sound right. My 4 yo dd is teeny tiny, maybe 32-35 lbs and 39"? Pretty much the smallest child I know for her age. Most of her peers in playgroup or classes are a head above her. She fits in 4t by length but that's mostly saggy in the butt.

[loraxc]

Your numbers sounded weird to me because I remember my own DD being approximately 40 pounds and 40 inches for a while and she has never been considered overweight or at risk for it. When I thought about it more, I realized she was more like 5 when she was this height/weight. Sure enough, when I entered the numbers on a BMI calculator, 40/40 is "overweight" for a 4yo but "healthy weight" for a 5yo. This makes no sense to me. Your daughter's height for weight seems to be totally fine--she is just tall for her age.

[Qbear'smama]

At last check, my DD was 40lbs and 40 inches tall but we both think she may be a little bigger now. She wears mostly size 5 but sometimes 6 clothes (but 6pants are a little long) and 12 to 13 shoe depending. She's not overweight at all, just tall and solid and definitely bigger than kids her age and many 5 year olds.

[GoBecGo]

my dd is 44inches and 43lbs. she wears an 11 (US 12) shoe. our dr says she is a tall, strong, healthy kid.

nak

[Norasmomma]

Originally Posted by ~Purity♥Lake~

That BMI stuff is crap and even moreso with children.

I agree 100%, that's why I was asking other moms how big their girls were. It wasn't her ped who measured her it was at WIC, I'm annoyed because they make it out like she's overweight, which I know for a fact she's not. The whole new BMI for a child is completely ridiculous. Her diet consists of regular healthy food, sure she a cookie here and there, but really she eats a normal varied diet. She also has a very high activity rate and is just bigger than most girls her age(which if you look at her chart, she always has been). It might be alarming IF she had a sudden weight gain, but the the girl has always been on the top of the chart. Plus it's not like she'll every be a skinny mini-DH and I both are the largest of our siblings, so obviously genetics is going to play a part.

Her ped thinks she's perfect, which of course I do too

[lyterae]

Originally Posted by Norasmomma

I agree 100%, that's why I was asking other moms how big their girls were. It wasn't her ped who measured her it was at WIC, I'm annoyed because they make it out like she's overweight, which I know for a fact she's not. The whole new BMI for a child is completely ridiculous. Her diet consists of regular healthy food, sure she a cookie here and there, but really she eats a normal varied diet. She also has a very high activity rate and is just bigger than most girls her age(which if you look at her chart, she always has been). It might be alarming IF she had a sudden weight gain, but the the girl has always been on the top of the chart. Plus it's not like she'll every be a skinny mini-DH and I both are the largest of our siblings, so obviously genetics is going to play a part.

Her ped thinks she's perfect, which of course I do too

WIC is a pain about that.. We were "required" to go to nutrition counseling when we were on WIC because she was consistently at the top of the charts and was "overweight".

[teeg1973]

DD will be 4 in about 2 weeks. At her yearly appointment about a month ago, she was a little over 42 inches and 39 lbs. I am guessing she is probably 40 pounds by now. She wears a 10.5/11 shoe! Perfectly healthy, albeit a tall little girl!

Tracy

[Wild Lupine]

My DD is 3 years and 10 months. She is 42 inches tall and 41.5 lbs. I think these are proportionate, i.e., the height percentile matches the weight, which I think is what matters. I don't do BMI because she's all muscle and BMI's don't control for what of the weight is muscle and what's fat.

But at her 3 year WCV her weight was a higher percentile than her height and I asked the ped if we should be concerned. My ped said there's no need for concern as long as she eats well and gets exercise. If her weight was high because she was sitting in front of the TV all day long eating potato chips, then she'd worry. But her lifestyle is healthy so her high weight is her normal growth pattern.

[staceychev]

My just-turned 5YO is 42" (just made the cutoff for disney rides this summer) and 35 lbs. She's considered pretty skinny.

I agree with the PP who thinks it seems fishy that 40/40 is OK for one age but not for another. That's just weird. If 40 lbs is a healthy weight at 40", then that's what it is. Why would age have anything to do with it? (I can see saying "Oh, she's tall for her age" but that's a different story.)

[ctdoula]

At 4 my daughter was 34 pounds & 40 inches, both of which were 50%.

[KCMichigan]

at 4 my twins were

40 in 32 lbs

41.5 in 36 lbs


Both are considered average height per pedi & slender- my 32lber is skinny even.

They wore 4T and sizes 9.5 & 11 shoes.

[Tigerchild]

Originally Posted by Norasmomma

My DD is 40lbs and 40 inches, I was told that makes her in the 92nd percentile and that it makes her BMI a 17.3, which makes her overweight. I personally find that to be a bunch of crap, but whatever.

Get used to it. You will get that lecture every time if your kid is off the charts for height and weight, because the computer tells them to.

My DD has always been beyond the 97th percentile for height, and ranged between 88 - 97th for weight. Right now she is 8 years old and 5' tall and 77 lbs.

I don't remember what her height was at 4, but she was already in size 6x for length (have always had to take in the waist of her pants, she outgrows the length while never growing into the width. At that time, I was told she off the charts for height, had fallen to 88 percentile for weight (she'd always been at 90 - 95 before) and was told in front of her that she was overweight. My girl whom I was having to ALTER her pants so that they would fit around her middle because she was so skinny (but muscular, so she was a lot denser for her width). Believe it or not, I was told by the doctor that for calculating kids' BMI they only pay attention to weight. Sigh.

Then all the way home DD was asking why the doctor thought she was overweight, did that mean that she was too big. GRRRRRRR!

Numbers sometimes replace common sense at well child visits. I think the main thing to track is a precipitous fall or gain in weight alone. I do think though that if you have a loudmouthed, insensitive doctor who's going to make comments like that, you may need to ask them to refrain from doing so if you've got a precocious kid or by the time she is 6, kids are already getting pounded by "fat" messages at that age, the last thing I needed was to have some clueless doctor meaninglessly babbling at me from the computer printout without respecting what my kid was absorbing.

[snoopy5386]

I've got a peanut, she's 4.5 and is 36 lbs and 39ish inches.