Why be concerned with child's height?

Q.  Should I be concerned that my granddaughter, who is 9, Ts almost 5 feet tall and wears size 7'/2 women's shoes?
 — M.R., Tucson, Ariz.

A. You granddaughter is taller than most 9-year-old girls. However, about 5 percent of girls her age are 4 feet 8 inches or taller — so millions of women alive today have been in a similar situation. In theory, there are medical conditions that cause a person to be taller than normal, but this is a very, very small fraction of those who are. I hope she has been seeing a pediatrician on a regular basis that would be able to detect a medical problem based on other symptoms. However, for appearance's sake, a child's height does concern a lot of people. But most of the time the concern is about a boy being too short, with growth hormone being used to make him grow taller. This also works for girls, but it's rarely used because of the potential impact on sexual maturation and because the cultural pressures are not nearly as great for a girl. The reverse is true for being taller than normal. Presumably this is changing, with the enhanced role model of taller woman as basketball players and supermodels. As women approach equality in all aspects of life, size will become less an issue either way.

By Dr. Allen Douma
Syracuse Herald-Journal
October 5th, 1998

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