Concerns About 2 Year Old Boys Weight and Size

Don't be too worried. All kids are different. My eldest son was always in the 95th -100th percentile and I worried about him being too big, then my youngest son was in 5th-10th percentile and I worried about him being too small. All kids are different and averages are a big range. My almost four year old still fits in clothes for two year olds. I have accepted that he is on the smaller end of the scale and that is just fine. He has a friend who just turned three who is bigger than him, it's just how it is.
Your son may not have eaten much that day because he didn't feel well so your mom and grandma may be thinking he's so small because he doesn't eat well, they're putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5. You know your son and know if he usually eats well or not, trust your instincts and don't think too much on your grandmas comments. People of that era do tend to want to see "some meat on the bones". Don't let her comments scare you, some kids are just bigger than others, that's all there is to it.

I just checked my growth chart.. your son is almost 3 so I used the 3 year old .. the average 3 year old boy weighs 32 pounds and is about 37 or 38 inches tall.

BUT that is the average.. .everyone is different. how big are you ??? how big is his father.??? what about all the male relatives.. ARE they all 6 footers or are they short.

If you have taken your son for all of his well child checkups and the dr is not concerned I am sure he is fine.

Your son may not grow up to be 200 pound linebacker... or a 7 foot tall basketball player..

If you are like most moms you feed your child whatever he will eat. I knwo I do.. if they will eat it I buy it. but toddler are very picky and some days they just dont eat..

My daughter is so skinny that her weight is not even on the growth chart.. at 15 months her weight fell below the chart and she still hasnt gained enough to be on the chart.. (she is 3 1/2 now..) she is healthy and kind of tall but very skinny. She is built just like her father..long and lean.

I am at both ends of weight and size in kids. I have a over weight 4 year old, while my 6 year looks like we starve him to death. I would check with his doctor when you bring him in for his 3 year old check up. As long as he is happy and healthy, that is truly all that matters.

Dear B.,

Don't let it get to you. Your child sounds perfectly healthy. If he weren't, your doctor would be concerned and would have said something. Try to remember that it's not so long ago that people needed to see "baby rolls" on kids in order to think they were healthy.

Take it with a grain of salt..everyone has an opinion..and for some reason, they all feel the need to share it!

What is eating 'properly'?

Is it eating according to your grandmother's body's needs?

It sounds like you have a healthy, happy, active little guy who is rarely ill, who is energetic and busy and completely fine by any measure. Growing, cheerful.. what does grandma want?

Oh, right: compliance.

She knows what is best for all the other bodies on the planet, yeah? No: she just doesn't trust that your little boy's body can know what is best for your little boy's body.

And, if I were in the room when she told you that she thought he was 'pitiful' I'd have slapped her -- at least verbally. Who needs that kind of message from? How offensive is it possible to be?

A normal 2yo should be within three pounds of his weight at 1, and he should be between 4 and 8 inches taller than he was at 1. He should have a much more slender profile than he did at 1 because as his trunk lengthens, his organs don't protrude as much. Unless he was very long as a newborn and tall as a one-year-old, I'd say that he's probably actually heavier than he needs to be at just 2. Most children hold their weight from one to beyond 3. He really, really should not be gaining pounds at this point in his life.

Let's all be grateful he's not actually overweight, hey?

As long as he's growing in height, and he's healthy and well, he's fine.

Is his cousin growing in height? Good. She's healthy and well? Fabulous.

Are they supposed to be identical twins? Seriously -- who benefits from this comparison? Apart from grandma, who apparently needs dramatic things to viciously complain about while creating family strife. How rude!

B.,

I would not let the comments from your Grandmother bother you too much. To me it sounds like kind of a thoughtless and uninformed opionion.

How is his growth curve? If he has always been on the small size but grows regularly even a small amount I wouldn't worry too much. I have 5 boys and my oldest is in the 90th percentile for height and and 70th percentile for weight- he has always been a big boy. But my 4th son has always been small. He is only in the 3rd percentile for height AND weight! He is 5 1/2 years old and still wears a 4T! Seriously we had to shop for his school clothes last fall in the toddler dept. He is the 2nd smallest boy in his class. He is growing but it seems so slow and my 2 year old (#5) is wearing his clothes almost as soon as he outgrows them.

This world is made up of all types of different sized people, and you never know once they hit the teenage years they could have a huge growth spurt. My dad tells me he was 5'2" until his senior year in high school when in a single year he shot up to 6'1". You just never know.

I wouldn't burn too much energy worrying about it, but I would defintily talk to your peditrician about it, especially if hes been going to the same Dr since he was born, they should have been tracking this information at every visit. I'm sure he's fine. God Bless.

Ask your Dr...do not listen to grandma. He sounds fine to me.