Growing Pains

by Myra Turner | More from this Blogger

13 Nov 2006 11:40 AM

When you are a parent writing about parenting issues, sometimes you don't have to go in search of topics to write about, they come to you. Take Sunday night for instance. It was about 11 PM and I was working on an article that's not due until the end of January but I like to finish far in advance in case something happens. Anyway, Tyler cries out in pain that his legs are hurting "bad, bad, bad." He was on the verge of tears and I could tell by the expression on his face that he wasn't pretending.

Since I had just remarked the other day that he looked like he had gotten taller overnight, I figured what he was going through was nothing more than good old growing pains. He's already tall and thin like his father and if he continues to grow he'll probably pass me up before he turns 7!

I wasn't really sure how to tell if it was growing pains or something more serious but using my common sense I felt it probably was growing pains. He'd been outside playing earlier and like most boys his age there's lots of running and jumping and falling but he didn't complain earlier. And he's the type who laments every boo-boo so I was certain that wasn't the problem. Still I decided to pull his pj's down to check for swelling, protruding bones, bruises, snake bites, etc.

Satisfied that none of the above was present, again I was back to good old growing pains. Still how to comfort him? I had no idea and since it was late, I gave him a container of yogurt and massaged his legs until he fell asleep, then went back to writing my article.

Then a bulb went off in my sleepy head and I thought, hey let me write a blog about this. So I pulled out The Portable Pediatrician's Guide To Kids , and checked to see if the author had any sage advice. Here's what I found out about growing pains:

(1) By definition, aching legs without any apparent cause are called growing pains. Doctors don't know if the pain is caused by the growth or by lots of jumping around.

(2) Growing pains are almost always not a cause for concern when:

The pains are not constant and severe,

They don't occur in just one leg,

The pain is not in one specific spot,

The pain's not in a joint but along the bones and muscles,

Fever, redness or swelling's not present,

There's no limping,

The child otherwise acts normal, and

When the legs are rubbed it feels good and rubbing or touching does not hurt.

If these characteristics aren't present then the pain may not be growing pains and you should consult your child's pediatrician. Luckily, I feel confident that growing pains is exactly what Tyler was experiencing but I will monitor the situation. Sometimes trusting your instincts actually works. Maybe I'm getting a hang of this whole parenting thing after all!

Learn more about Myra Turner

I'm a proud mid-life single mom with an active seven-year-old son, Tyler.

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