A baby who is almost the same size as her older sister has gone viral on TikTok, earning over 2 million views.
Their mom, Alyssa Crawford, shared two images of herself with her daughter Violet, with text alluding to the 4-year-old’s height being smaller than her peers. The final photo shows Violet sitting beside her 1-year-old sister, Sommer—and there is barely a difference in size.
Crawford, 29, told Newsweek that there is an 11-inch and 8-pound gap between them.
According to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 4-year-old girls typically measure between 37 and 42.5 inches. Violet, who is five and a half, stands at 37 inches and weighs 26 pounds. One-year-olds are usually 27 to 31 inches tall; Sommer measures 26 inches and weighs 18 pounds.
‘She’s Growing Fine’
“At her recent appointment, the pediatrician assured us that she is growing fine,” Crawford told Newsweek: “She might be smaller than those her age, but she is growing quickly on her own curve so there is nothing to worry about!”
Crawford added that she is also “small” for her age at 5 feet, 2 inches. “So, it’s likely just genetic,” she said.
Ruling Out Medical Causes
Violet, from Ontario, Canada, was tested for celiac disease (CD), a lifelong autoimmune disorder in which the small intestine is hypersensitive to gluten, interfering with nutrient absorption and sometimes affecting growth.
Both celiac and thyroid tests came back negative. According to Yale Medicine, short stature can have many causes. Sometimes, it is medical; other times, it is simply a delay in development.
Genetics often play a role, as short parents typically have short children (familial short stature). Other causes include genetic conditions, chronic disease, growth hormone deficiency, malnutrition, and psychosocial stress.
Crawford said: “She was a little low on iron, but, other than that, everything came back normal!”
A Big Personality
Despite being smaller than her peers, Violet doesn’t let her height hold her back. The TikTok caption reads: “She might be tiny, but her personality makes up for it. We’re in the negative percentiles now, but she’s as healthy as can be.”
“She gets a little disappointed when she’s not tall enough to go on rides at our local amusement park when she sees her peers able to go on them, but other than that, she doesn’t really notice,” Crawford said.
“I remember her first week of preschool she came home and told me she had fun playing with the ‘big kids,’ but after asking a few more questions, I realized she was just talking about her classmates that are all her age. She thought they were older since they were so much taller than her.”
Crawford added: “She is full of personality! She’s a girly girl who never stops talking and singing. She has always been incredibly smart for her age, so that adds to the shock for people when they see how tiny she is.”
TikTok Reacts
Viewers flooded the comments with their own experiences.
“Same as my daughter. After years of appointments we got the diagnosis growth hormone deficiency,” posted one mom.
Another wrote: “I’m so glad to see other tiny kids. My 5-year-old son is in the negative percentile and had everything tested except growth hormone. He’s healthy, just small.”
A third added: “My brother is a year older than me and I was taller than him 90 [percent] of my childhood. He hit puberty and now he’s 6’4. He literally was one of the smallest kids growing up and he outgrew EVERYBODY.”
Reference
Soliman, Ashraf, et al. “Linear Growth of Children with Celiac Disease after the First Two Years on Gluten-Free Diet: A Controlled Study.” Acta Bio Medica : Atenei Parmensis, vol. 90, no. Suppl 8, 2019, pp. 20—27. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v90i8-S.8515.
