My kids want to grow. How can I help them?

[Anonymous]

Everyone has a genetic range of determination for their height. The top of this range can be hit by proper nutrition and SLEEP!
The bottom of this range will be a result of the opposite. But ultimately this is a matter of an inch or two, not a huge change.

[Anonymous]

Pediasure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I should say, they’re not picky. They try lots of new stuff.

Issues are:
-finding meals all 3 to like at the same time
-they like it enough, but don’t love it enough to go back for seconds
-occasional meals they don’t like. While they try it, they only take the one bite of each ingredient.
-already challenging as it is, don’t even know that I could do better

If it’s that hard to find something everyone likes, they are picky.

If you just want to fatten them up (why?) put some form of butter, dressing, olive oil, ranch, cheese, etc on everything.

Without growth hormones I don’t think you can actually make them taller.

[Anonymous]

If your family is genetically predisposed to be small, your kids will naturally be small.

My neighbor’s child is in 2nd grade and on growth hormone medications and so was her mom at the same age. She literally stopped growing. She is 7 and the size of an average 5yr old. Her mom needed the same treatment and is 5’1” as an adult.

You should tell your kids to eat lots of lean protein, vegetables, and whole grains as well as getting exercise and sleeping well. That will help them optimize their genetics- but there is only so much you can do. My oldest is a picky eater who eats small portions and is not motivated by food - but he is tall for his age and an average weight because he has tall parents.

[Anonymous]

Loads of dairy and meat, like loads and loads.
DS had the potential to be 6'2", we know because of the x-ray, but his eating was non-existent until 13 years old. He never touched milk, had ice cream a bit, we do not know if he has an allergy, but I do, DH is lactose intolerant and after Forumla he refused. The pediatrician said, eh, let him be.
All his friend who chugged milk and ate food and protein like there is a cow farm behind their houses made it past 6 feet.
Even if their parents were barely 5'3 or 5'4 both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loads of dairy and meat, like loads and loads.
DS had the potential to be 6'2", we know because of the x-ray, but his eating was non-existent until 13 years old. He never touched milk, had ice cream a bit, we do not know if he has an allergy, but I do, DH is lactose intolerant and after Forumla he refused. The pediatrician said, eh, let him be.
All his friend who chugged milk and ate food and protein like there is a cow farm behind their houses made it past 6 feet.
Even if their parents were barely 5'3 or 5'4 both.

They had tall grandparents. You can't really escape your genes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loads of dairy and meat, like loads and loads.
DS had the potential to be 6'2", we know because of the x-ray, but his eating was non-existent until 13 years old. He never touched milk, had ice cream a bit, we do not know if he has an allergy, but I do, DH is lactose intolerant and after Forumla he refused. The pediatrician said, eh, let him be.
All his friend who chugged milk and ate food and protein like there is a cow farm behind their houses made it past 6 feet.
Even if their parents were barely 5'3 or 5'4 both.

I don’t know if there is any truth in this but my son loves food and has always eaten a lot. He’s 15 and 5’11, which doesn’t sound terribly tall except that he’s likely not done growing and towers over both of us already. Im not even 5’1 and DH is not close to that.

Still, I wouldn’t give extra calories unless your doctor suggests this. Don’t force feed your kids. If they are hungry, try healthy protein.

[Anonymous]

Height is mostly genetic. You should have chosen different DNA.

[Anonymous]

MILK, sleep and daily vitamins

[Anonymous]

There realy is nothing you can do as long as your kids are not malnourished. My kids eat a ton and get a good amount of sleep and he is 3% for height. My husband and I are both 5'4 and grandma is 4'11. He just doesn't have a chance!

[Anonymous]

Michael Jordan wished he was taller when he was 15 and 5'10. His mom told him to put salt in his shoes and pray. His dad told him, "You have it in your heart. The tallness is within you. You can be as tall as you want to be in your thinking." Michael Jordan ended up 6'6" while one brother is 5'4" and the other 5'5".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So long as they are getting minimal nutrition, height is a function of genetics not meals.

I wonder about this. People are so much taller now than they were 100-200 years ago. Have genetics changed in that time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loads of dairy and meat, like loads and loads.
DS had the potential to be 6'2", we know because of the x-ray, but his eating was non-existent until 13 years old. He never touched milk, had ice cream a bit, we do not know if he has an allergy, but I do, DH is lactose intolerant and after Forumla he refused. The pediatrician said, eh, let him be.
All his friend who chugged milk and ate food and protein like there is a cow farm behind their houses made it past 6 feet.
Even if their parents were barely 5'3 or 5'4 both.

I don’t know if there is any truth in this but my son loves food and has always eaten a lot. He’s 15 and 5’11, which doesn’t sound terribly tall except that he’s likely not done growing and towers over both of us already. Im not even 5’1 and DH is not close to that.

Still, I wouldn’t give extra calories unless your doctor suggests this. Don’t force feed your kids. If they are hungry, try healthy protein.

+1
We know a family who tried this route to make their small kid grow. When he hit puberty, it worked...only he grew horizontally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loads of dairy and meat, like loads and loads.
DS had the potential to be 6'2", we know because of the x-ray, but his eating was non-existent until 13 years old. He never touched milk, had ice cream a bit, we do not know if he has an allergy, but I do, DH is lactose intolerant and after Forumla he refused. The pediatrician said, eh, let him be.
All his friend who chugged milk and ate food and protein like there is a cow farm behind their houses made it past 6 feet.
Even if their parents were barely 5'3 or 5'4 both.

They had tall grandparents. You can't really escape your genes

LOL. No. Not when my grandparents were barely 5 feet tall and from nations where they had a very different diet than here. The only thing that changed with the Dutch post-Second World War was better nutrition. And there was some natural selection, clearly.
So those that escaped severe famine could feed their kids more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So long as they are getting minimal nutrition, height is a function of genetics not meals.

I wonder about this. People are so much taller now than they were 100-200 years ago. Have genetics changed in that time?

So if people are on average significantly taller-- doesn't that mean environment incl nutrition DOES indeed play a role? Or are most people above whatever threshold environmental factors matter in this respect now?