Small Toddler

My son is almost 4 and struggles to hit 30 lbs. He is a bright, happy child so I don't worry too much. His sister is almost 6 and she is as big as some third graders! He can still wear 18 month old shorts, but for jeans I get the adjustable waist jeans and cinch them all the way down. My youngest son is almost 10 months old and is starting to go into 12-18 month clothes. So much for Chandler wearing Trey's hand-me-downs, it may be the other way around! Ha Ha! And, as a kicker, my boys wear the same hat size, LOL. They will all be normal when they are grown.

I wouldnt be concerned, my now 4 yr old was the same way..in fact he has these pair of pants that are 2t and are highwaters on him but he STILL cannot hold them up with his waist...he always has to wear a belt. And he was also 23 lbs for the longest time...hes now 32 but he is a little over 3 feet tall and will be very tall like his dad. Dont worry.

Hi K.,
Are you or your husband small people? I dont think you should worry. I have the oposite thing going. I have a 4 year old boy that weighs 55 pounds and is very tall for his age. He has always been off the chart on this height and weight.Not a ounce of fat on him either. Everyone i meet when he is with me wants to know what grade he is in. I have to say he is only 4 and they are shocked.All kids are different. my son is big for his age and my husbands brother has a son that is 5 and is the size a two year old should be. If your doctor says he is fine, he probably is if your not so sure take him to a different doctor just to see. Is he on track with everything else except his size?

Don't worry about it!!! My 5 year old can fit into some of his 2t jeans (they are just too short!!). My 2 year old can wear 2t sometimes. Don't put too much stock in growth charts. Those are AVERAGES. They don't take into account a familys characteristics. Are you short/lean/small? Is your husband?? These things need to be considered when you think about your childs size. Both of my boys were over 8 pounds at birth, and are now the smallest in their class, but they are healthy and happy and THAT is what is important.

Hey K., not to worry. My son is 15 months and is only 19 pounds. He has been 19 pounds since 9 months old. My doctor told me to make sure he's getting at least 16 ounces of milk a day and try to give him 1 pediasure drink a day with the 16 oz. of milk. I do and all the food he can eat, but he still has not gained any weight. He just might be a tiny person. Don't worry about a thing. As long as your giving him his milk and food, there's not much you can do from there. Good luck with all.
C.

Don't worry about him. He WILL grow. I have 5 children and all are in the 5th percentile. My 12 year old went up last year and my 8 year old were up this year. My baby just turned one and she only weighs 17 lbs. As long as the doctor see no concern then you shouldn't either.

My daughter is the same way. She turned two in March and only weighs 23 pounds.She didn't weigh 20 pounds til she was 18 months, She is also a very picky eater. She can still fit some 6-9 month onesies. My doctor says not to worry. She wore a size 3 shoe for the longest time, but now is in a size 6. I wouldn't worry. They grow up so fast.

Hi K.,

I'm a young mother of twin boys. Of course they are only 10 years old but, however, they were premature by 9weeks.One is believes his adult I have maintain to get to understand that he still a child. His my picky eater he only consist for long time as peanut butter as only dish. I spoke with doctors they says, " That he will eat when he becomes hungry. " I told him to must least try spoon of anything that we eat and If he doesnt like it he doesnt have to.. " Doctors where correct when he got hungry he ask for something else. For long time since Peanut butter was his only dish. Id cut up apples and show him he could dip em and he loved it. As, he grew and went to school his friends would eat other things and so he changed his appetiate. Now My youngest twin has problem of his ten years old by growth chart only weighs 42 pounds. His very small and his mind is well under ratio of 1 year and half. But his angel in best disguise and very loveable child. ....So please dont get discourage on his well-being of smaller size or not eating but very limited menu... He will progress as long as doctors do not see problem here then you shouldn't...However, if you wish or believes their is a problem maybe changes doctors get a second opinion. You never know what may come out of it.

My son turned 2 in January and at his check up he weighed 24pds. Since his check up he has hit a growth spurt and now weighs 28 pds. Also went from 32 inches tall to 35 inches. He has his good days and bad days with eating and just has begun eating a carrot stick and broccoli, occasionally. I have found that kids this age like "fun food" like sandwhichs cut in shapes, fruit balls, things like that. His doctor suggested a vitamin so I found one for toddlers but only give him one 2 to 3 times a week. Also 24 month pants fall off him and 18 months fit him just right but are getting too short. I know kids will grow at their own rate and as long as they are not losing weight and do manage to gain a little they should be fine. Good Luck!

My baby is today 14 months and we are still haveing trouble with his eating and he weighs bout 20 pounds and also in the 5 percentile and even though it does save money clothes it is annoying but I remember this with my 11 year old and they will get better on growing. Maybe not exactly be the giant but they will grow up and out of it I promise

hi! My son is the exact same way. He'll be 3 in July and weighs about 27lbs and I can still put him in 18month pants. But he has ALWAYS been that way. As an infant, he never went through the "chunky monkey" stage. He is also an incredibly picky eater. I used to worry about it, but our pediatrician says that as long as he stays in the same percentile (and he has), he's fine. He very obviously takes after my side of the family. Some kids are just smaller than others. I honestly wouldn't worry too much about it. Just make sure his eating habits don't get worse. I also used to give him a Carnation instant breakfast to drink after he ate breakfast. It gave him some extra calories and he thought it was just chocolate milk. Good luck!

I wouldn't worry about it so much. My son (who is now 2 years and 9 months old) 12 month clothes well into his second year. He was still in a size 3 shoe!! Then it was almost like he grew over night. He finally went to a 2T in February and now he's outgrowing all his clothes. He is also in a size 6 shoe. My son is also a picky eater, but it didn't stop him from growing. He just weighed in at 30 pounds. He weighed 24 pounds for 9 months. Just continue to feed your son well. Feed him lots of fruits and vegetables and he'll grow in his own time. Just nurture him and he will do okay. Besides, growth isn't something we have any control of. It's predetermined by genetics. At least he's not having any health problems.

My son is 4 1/2 and has always been small. He was 7th percentile (for height, I think) at his last check up and maybe just a little more for that in weight. He also can wear a lot of his clothes for two seasons and takes a long time to outgrow his shoes. At his last check up they told me to bring him back for a height and weight check in 6 months, which I've decided I'm not going to do. The doctor was telling me to do all kinds of things like "put ranch dressing on his veggies"... and I'm thinking, if he likes his veggies better plain, why am I going to start a habit like that which is not healthy in the long run? Anyway... I'm guess I'm saying if the doctor thinks his rate of growth is okay, I wouldn't force it... just try to push healthy foods and he'll do what he's intended to do... at least that's what I keep telling myself!

My little guy (20 months) is very small as well, he is in the 4th percentile. The doctor expressed concern early, but since at all of his checkups he has remained in the 4th percentile, they are not worried at all. He will just be a small guy, 5'6" ish is what they see him being at full grown. That is fine with me because my husband and my whole family are all very small people. He did go through a spout where he was throwing up a lot and not keeping anything down, and he had diarrhea and no one seemed to care to help me figure out what the problem was. So we saw a Pediatric Gastroenterologist and he was concerned that he had actually lost weight and gone below the 4th percentile on the growth chart. I was very worried, but his tests turned out normal and he has since gained the weight back. The way I look at it is, if YOU think that something is wrong and the doctors show no concern and they are not worried.......but you, in your Mommy gut, really feel like tests need to be done, then you should insist on seeing a specialists or INSIST that tests be done. Even if there is nothing wrong, which there probably isn't, at least you now have the peace of mind that all of the possible things that could be causing his slow growth are all testing negative. That's what doctor's are for, in my opinion. If you are concerned and the doctor's aren't, you can either trust them or go with your instinct and get another opinion or insist on testing. Ends up costing money, but, for me, I wanted the peace of mind. On the other hand, remember that ALL children are different and they will all grow and develop at their own rate. And there is nothing wrong with being small. My Dad used to tell me when I was little and I got picked on for being the smallest kid in school that "Good things come in small packages."

Hi K.,
I am in the same boat as you. My 3 year old little girl just hit 28 lbs and I was doing back flips. She was finally in the 23th percentile after 2.5 years of being in the 10th. She can still fit perfectly into 18-24 month clothes and sometimes my husband mistakenly dresses her in her 13 month old sister's clothes. Katie has never been an enthusiastic eater, even when she was nursing. Every time she has a check-up I grill her ped. about her growth, and every time he says not to worry, that she is healthy and growing, albeit at her own pace. I have gotten used to her not eating, and try not to pressure her to eat more (I don't want to give her some sort of complex about eating).....but I always worry. There is no way to know how your little boy will grow up, but looking at your family and his father's might give you some idea of how he's going to turn out. You will always worry about this, but if his doctor says he's healthy, I would say try to worry a little less. :)

Hey,
I'm sure it's very worrisome for you for your child to be "small". However, if your doc says everytihng is okay try to not think about it so much.
A few words of comfort (maybe). My brother was the same way. He stayed little until he hit puberty (was in high school) and 6 months later...
Well, let's just say he is not a little boy anymore. He grew as tall as most of his classmates, gained wieght to put him with the rest of his peers, and of course needed a whole new wardrobe :)
I'm sure in time your little boy will not be so little anymore :) Enjoy the fact that you can still pick up your 2 year old - now a days many moms can't say that.

~A. C