Another interesting story on 60 Minutes tonight

[TheOtherVillainess]

It was right after the Robert Duvall story. The whole story was about NORMAL healthy but SHORT kids getting injections of Human Growth Hormone (HgH). And in some cases, the parents getting their insurance or someone else to cover the cost of the extremely expensive injections.


Now I am all for using HgH if your child shows a definite lack of growth and falls off the normal growth curve for their age. But normal,healthy kids who just are on the short side but still within normal range for their age using HgH to make them taller is absurd.

One boy mentioned in the piece uses HgH to make himself taller because he's got an avg mother,but a tall father and tall siblings. He said he wasn't put on the basketball team when he tried out because he was too short even though he was talented enough to make it.

I had to turn it off close to the end of the piece because I was so sickened by it. Everybody has something about themselves that is not even close to perfect. Maybe you have uneven eyebrows..or funny looking ears..or whatever. Yes..kids WILL get teased but they have to learn to ignore it and get on with their lives. EVERYBODY gets teased at some time or another for SOMETHING about th e way they look. It's part of growing up.

There are some people who are meant to be short. That's just how it is. Genetics are like that..it's unpredictable who will be tall and who will be short. Height is the luck of the draw. I am short. I've gotten used to it, but then most of my family is on the short side of avg. DH's family is pretty avg too, but from somewhere he got a giant gene that made him 5' 11 1/2, so that he towers over everybody. DS will probably be somewhere in the middle, but he might be tall. Nobody know for sure what will happen. If he ends up being on the shorter side, like me, I will NOT shoot him up with HgH just to make him taller. THat's ridiculous and disgusting to me.

Now I do realize there are kids out there who really DO have growth problems and probably need it. I knew a girl in school who was extremely short and it was thought she might have a form of dwarfism, so she got shots of HgH and grew to be an avg height of like 5' 4 or something. If the child truly needs it, then I have no problem saying they should get what they need. BUT I really hate the idea of these 'designer' children who look a certain way and are a certain height just because that's what their parents want. The mother of the boy featured in the piece said that looks and charm will only get you so far. HEIGHT will get you farther than anything except experience.

TOV

 

[chell]

I saw that too and don't agree with them getting the treatment just because they think they are too short. Life isn't always so grand being so sort, but it's just a part of life that I have to deal with.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

ITA,chell.

What made me the angriest was the mother's flip attitude about her son injecting himself with drugs to make himself taller. That and the dr's attitude about giving the drugs to him. "Well he's normal,but we're gonna give it to him anyway.."

TOV

 

[padams]

I have friends who are currently having their DS 6yo tested so that he can begin to receive HgH injections because he is short. He is within the normal range, and he is not even the shortest kid in his class. He was born prematurely and has always been on the low end of the height percentile charts (10-25%). The parents, however, want him to be taller so he will excel more in sports, popularity, etc.

 

[chell]

I just hope their bodies don't pay for it later in life.

 

[LMC]

Speaking as a mother with a child w/ a rare genetic syndrome which data so far suggests that short stature is part of the syndrome, I was a bit intrigued by the program. My son is so far in the 12% in height on the charts but the percentage continues to drop every year he ages. We are fine weight wise but now staying short. I don't know if he would "qualify" as a candidate for this procedure but it is something that I might would consider. Not sure if I could stand the thought of daily injections though! Don't even know if it would help w/ his condition; I believe others with this syndrome are using some type of hormone therapy. I do not know if I could condone its use in healthy children; we are not faced with that situation so I can't say what we would do. But unlike alot of those on the program tonight who actually got their therapy paid for, we probably would not because our health ins "stinks!". Seriously, they don't pay for alot of his special needs issues.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

My son is so far in the 12% in height on the charts but the percentage continues to drop every year he ages.

Now see..your son is obviously one who needs it. IF the child is falling off the growth curve the way yours obviously is..then if you can get the shots, I say go for it.


But getting HgH because you want your kids to be taller, more athletic, whatever is not only stupid but proves what a poor parent you truly are.


Oh..and btw..my son was on the low end of the percentile charts,too,height and weight wise. We think he's cute anyway. I firmly believe that you should love your kids for who they are,short,tall,fat,skinny,whatever.


TOV

 

[chell]

LMC I can completely understand why your son would want the shots. I hope you didn't think otherwise from what I had said. When it is needed it is one thing, but when there is nothing wrong that's when it bothers me.

 

[padams]

ITA TOV. My friends' child is healthy. He's just short. I don't really want to admit that I know someone doing this...

I would be concerned about the future physiological and psychological ramifications.

BTW, my DS who is the same age is only about an inch taller than this child, and DS isn't even on the weight charts. We love DS just the way he is.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I would be,too,padams.

What's next....are we going to design and breed kids the way we dogs and cats?

"Well..me and Kathy wanted a blondie,'bout six foot tall as adult, with a good temperment and great football talent. It was a shame that we couldn't get what we wanted,so we got us a dog instead."

I could SO see this happening in the future.

TOV

 

[tar heel]

I know someone who did it, too. Great kid who is now in college. One of his parents is a physician, they are very devoted to their children and seemingly very normal.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

And I have a DD who is almost 14 and taller than most of her friends at 5' 8 1/8" (annual checkup was yesterday) and growing, and wishes she was shorter. My older DD is 16 and 5'4 1/2" and wishes she was as tall as her younger sister.

There are always those special circumstances, but sometimes you just gotta take what's dealt out to you.