7Yo and Growth Spurt??

This is how kids grow.

They eat and eat and eat and eat. They suddenly chub out so much that we worry then they wake up one morning a couple of inches taller and their pants are above their ankles and they fall off.

Then kiddo won't eat and won't eat. The don't eat hardly anything. Then they eat normal for a while.The suddenly they eat and eat and eat. Repeating their growth circle again.

Growth spurts does NOT mean, that a kid just gets tall and lanky and like a bean stalk.
ALL through childhood and youth, a kid, grows, sideways and in height.
It can alternate or happen at the same time.
The physique of a child/youth/teen, always changes.
They are not like an adult.
Nor is their body shape.
Kids may get pudgy, then get skinny as a rail, then grow again and on and on and on. They grow sideways and in height, sideways and in height, and on and on.
It is just how it is.
But this is also when a child may get hang-ups about their looks or physique or if they are "fat" or not, by what others say to them.
ie: one of my daughter's classmates in 3rd grade, had a hang up that she was "fat." And it was because, a Grandma of hers would make comments about her "belly" sticking out. OMG. I mean, it was only very slight... and the Grandma is a skinny bean pole type. But so the girl got hang ups and wouldn't even want to eat sometimes.
But she is now 11 years old. And not pudgy anymore and is very tall. For now at least.

One year I tried a bikini on my daughter a couple of days before a trip . When I put it on her less than a week later it fell off her waist ! She grew a couple of inches !

My daughter's growth spurts were like that from day one. I have seen some kids really get pudgy as they hit puberty as well. I would not think your daughter has hit puberty at age 7, but there is a thing called precocious puberty, if I am not mistaken.

Have you never noticed her growing out before shooting up before? My daughter ALWAYS has her clothes get a little snug around the middle before they become too short overnight. Usually with her, it is in the spring/beginning of summer and living in a warmer climate it is very noticable b/c that is the beginning of swimsuit weather. But usually, with a month or two, she has trimmed right back down (or rather, actually, shot up a little so that she is back to her proper proportions).

I have known girls to get really round around puberty, and some lose it gradually, some faster, and some stay a little rounder. My daughter is 12, and hasn't had any dramatic roundness happen, though she is maturing physically in other ways.
Son, on the other hand, got rather pudgy for the first time ever in his life, when he was about 11. It lasted around 18-20 months and then he began shooting up and trimming right back down to the washboard abs he always had. He's 15 now and just as flat a stomach as ever. That little weird time around 6-7th grade was the only time he was pudgy like that. Little waist rolls and face chub. :D

If it isn't the normal pattern for your daughter, then I would ask her pediatrician about it at her next wellness visit. Perhaps she is eating more calories than you realize (clean or no... calories count). Or it could be a new (but normal) growth pattern for her.

If it is all in her belly (not face, or anywhere else) then def consult with the pediatrician. Belly fat is the most dangerous of all body fat. The fat is stored in the organs rather than just on the outside of the muscle layers. Better to check with the experts in case there is something amiss.

That's how my boys grow. It's so funny to see because one day their pants are the right length but getting tight around the waist. The next day (and I mean literally, the next day) the pants fit just fine around the waist, but they're high waters!

Yes, that's how kids grow. They plump up and then shoot straight up. So when they actually grow taller, there's no weight gain, just a redistribution.

Yes, it's the fall and the kids fill out and stuff themselves. The spring they shoot up a good three or four inches.

My son would do this. I would make him pants for back to school with a good six or seven inch hem. When we were on Christmas break, I would take the hem down and it would fit until the end of the year. Son was the kind of kid who was larger in size and to fit he would need something three sizes larger so I made his pants for about three years. I learned how blue jeans were made by looking at them and making his. Lots of denim around the house then.

All is good. Just make sure you give them balanced meals as best you can to help them with their growth and bone health.

the other S.

My oldest does that all the time. Goes out before he shoots up. My third does it but not as pronounced as my first. My second one shoots up then finally fills in.

Yep, mine do it all that time. That's how we know it's time to buy new clothes again.

It starts with them eating everything in sight and still being hungry. Thus, they chunk out. Then the appetite tapers off and disappears, and poof! the clothes that were too big yesterday don't fit today.

My 10 year old is the size of a 12 year old. It kinda sucks buying pants for him too. The 12-14 fits his legs pretty well, but he has no butt so they're about 3 sized too big in the waist.

My 6 year old is the size of most 7 year olds. I have the same problem with her too. Size 6 clothing is too small or too tight on her, but the 7/8 is just WAY too big. We are LOVING belts in this house right now.