4 year old height, weight? please help

[mrsgus06]

I took our youngest dd into the dr. last week for her 4 yo check up/shots. She turned 4 on Oct 23. She weighs 50 1/2 lbs and is 43 1/2 inches tall. The doctor told me she is way off the charts for both. I keep saying she has the longest wingspan of any child I have seen . She is skinny and wears her weight well. Anyway, what is the "normal" height and weight for a typical 4 yo? I don't remember any of the others being her size at her age.

 

[SeeDisney]

I clearly remember my first son when he was four years old...

he was 40 inches,
40 pounds
and his dad was 40 years old!

Easy to remember.

 

[mrsv98]

Wow, she is tall! DD is on the other end, 5 1/2 and maybe 36 lbs and 42". Anyway, according to the new charts, the average weight for a 4 yo is 35ish lbs and the average height is 39"

Here is the page with the charts
CDC Charts

What really matters tho, is her own growth rate. Has she always been a big girl? DD has always been a pixie so that is just the way she is and nothing to be concerned about.

Start thinking basketball/volleyball scholarships!

 

[the kabuki]

You can find percentile growth charts here:http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/growthcharts2/a/percentiles.htm

 

[SueM in MN]

The growth charts that were posted give weight for age or height for age. You can get an idea from those - just looking quickly, it looked like she was slightly above the 95th percentile for height - which means that if you had 100 kids her same age and lined them up from shortest to tallest, less than 5 kids would be taller than she is. It looks like she is a bit farther above the 95th percentile for weight.
So, what does that mean?
Well, one way to look at it is to see what age child that height and weight would be at the 50th percentile (which would be average for that age).
For Height, 43.5 inches is at the 50th for about a 5.5 yr old girl. For weight, 50.5 pounds is at the 50th for a 7 yr old girl.

This growth chart gives a way to plot the child's weight compared to their height, which gives another picture of whether their weight is in proportion to the height.
The height is along the bottom of the form - find her height and follow the line up. Then find her weight along the side of the form. Follow that line until it crosses the weight line. It's a little hard to do accurately on a computer screen, but it looks like she is at almost the 95th percentile. Proportional would be closer to the 50th per centile.

 

[DisneyPhD]

My DD is at the other end of that chart (always has been, always will be most likely, same with her baby sister.)

She will be 5 in March and she currenlty is 40 inches tall (she just made it there, she wasn't in May when we went to WDW last.) and about 31 pounds.

However I am 5 foot tall and was really thin until I got married.

As my Dr says "Great danes have great danes, and chawawas have chawawas." Of course DH is tall so there might be some hope for them.

As long as your DD is healthy and growing I wouldn't worry about it. Every person is different.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I dont recall--my daughter is roughly 43 inches and is between 37 and 40 pounds..depending on the scale. She's on the other end of the spectrum . She's almost 5.5 .

ETA: As long as the % are in close proximity, your daughter is fine.

Worrisome would be 95th/10th percentil for ht/wt (tall super skinny kid) or 10th/95th percentile for ht/wt (super short, not so skinny kid).

Being off the charts isn't a problem as long as your child is proportional and healthy.

 

[Mermaid02]

I can't remember how tall he was at 4- but my 8 1/2 year old is 48" tall and weighs 57 pounds.

 

[aprilgail2]

I took our youngest dd into the dr. last week for her 4 yo check up/shots. She turned 4 on Oct 23. She weighs 50 1/2 lbs and is 43 1/2 inches tall. The doctor told me she is way off the charts for both. I keep saying she has the longest wingspan of any child I have seen . She is skinny and wears her weight well. Anyway, what is the "normal" height and weight for a typical 4 yo? I don't remember any of the others being her size at her age.

I don't exactly recall her at 4 but I am pretty sure she was about 28 pounds then....she is now 6 and is 44 inches tall and 36 pounds.

 

[momof2inPA]

I don't exactly recall her at 4 but I am pretty sure she was about 28 pounds then....she is now 6 and is 44 inches tall and 36 pounds.

Isn't it nice that you can still pick her up and cuddle her whenever?

 

[Pin Wizard]

Don't worry about it. It will level off when she's older. I was concerned about DS's weight when he was younger. Even the pediatrician finally mentioned that DS needed to grow into his weight, not lose. He was in the 90th percentile for everything his entire life. I laughed when the pediatrician once said DS's weight was "in the ozone layer." LOLOLOL! He was off the charts on the high end.

Last visit to the endocrinologist, he said that DS is NOT heavy. He's a big kid. I should ask the peds to give me an updated estimate on how they expect him to be as an adult. His pediatrician in FL (I love the guy and miss him! He's such a great person...I want to move him to VA. ) Any way, that pediatrician said I can expect DS to be headed for 6'3" or 6'4". No one in our family is that tall. I was told that a number of years ago. So I'm guessing a revision might need to be made!

Now my son is 12 years old, taller than me (I'm 5'8",) weighs 150 pounds, and is a STRING BEAN!!!!!! I feel bones when I hug him or touch an arm. It's strange.

 

[clori]

My 5.5 year old dd was 31.5pounds and 40.5 inches at her 4 year check up. At her 5 year check up she was 36lbs and 43.5 inches. Compared to other kids in her class she seems to be average.

 

[Rachie0507]

DD was 40" and 37 lbs. when she turned 4. Now at 5 she is 45" and 40 lbs. She has always been in the 50-60 percentile range. Her doctor always says that he likes to see kids stay around the same percentile year to year rather than worry about them being big or small. That is his way of reassuring me that DS isn't going to waste away to nothing--he always comes in at 75th for height and 10th for weight.

 

[Aneille]

My daughter goes on Monday for her 4year old appt. but she's about 36# and 41".

 

[EthansMom]

DS is 4 years old, 43" and 41 pounds. He's very active and all muscle.

Don't be concerned if your dauhter has always been on the high end of the percentages. Usually, the doctor is more concerned if there is a sudden increase or decrease in weight.

My DS has always been on the high side of the charts for height, but my brother is 6'2" (DH is only 5'6"), so I think DS may be tall like my brother. On the other hand, DD has always been in the 10-15th percentile for weight -- she takes after her father more and may have a smaller bone structure.

 

[mrsgus06]

Thanks guys! She is not my biological child, we brought her home at 4 days old. Her mother passed away after giving birth to her. Anyway, her mother was tall and her biological father was taller than her. I will definately keep basketball and volleyball in mind. I am also thinking supermodel ! She is absolutely beautiful and I am so happy to have her in my life. My biological son is about 6'0 and weighs about 250 (he is 19) and my daughter is about 4' 9 and weighs about 80 (she is almost 11). I have short, squatty babies so this is soooo different.

 

[justhat]

My niece is a pretty big kid and at 4 she was 43 inches and 41 pounds. She was a huge baby though, so she's definitely leveling out now. My daughter is one of those disproportionate kids-just under the 25th percentile in weight and around 75th in height. She doesn't look tall or skinny though, just sorta tiny overall.

 

[aprilgail2]

Isn't it nice that you can still pick her up and cuddle her whenever?

It actually is....I love being able to pick her up and hold her or carry her to bed when she falls asleep without breaking my back! There is a boy in her class who is twice her height and 109 pounds...can't imagine having to carry him to bed when he falls asleep in the car LOL!

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I have a friend whose daughter is like the OP's daughter. My daughter and my friend's daughter are very close in age, 4 months apart and they look like they are at least 2 years apart. Our daughters are 5 and my daughter is 40" and 36 pounds, and hers is 46" and 55 pounds. They both are very healthy. That is just the design God gave them.

 

[justhat]

It actually is....I love being able to pick her up and hold her or carry her to bed when she falls asleep without breaking my back! There is a boy in her class who is twice her height and 109 pounds...can't imagine having to carry him to bed when he falls asleep in the car LOL!

There's a little boy like this in my daughter's preschool class. He's 2 and weighs over 40 pounds and is about 39 inches. Compared to my daughter (and some of the other younger/smaller kids) he looks like he should be in kindergarten!