Help Resolve These Issues With My Daughter?

[SarahGarza88]

Clara is six years old, but she has dwarfism and comes in at 1‘5“ and 17 pounds. Ok. I’m sorry in advance because this is sort of long.

Just like any child, she is wanting her independence. Normally this isn’t an issue at this age, but she is only about an 18 month old in terms of physical development, other than that, everything else is normal. But we are facing a few challenges.

Do y’all have some ideas on our I can help my Clara be able to reach the restroom and the kitchen sink so she can wash her hands by herself? We have tried various combinations of stepstool’s and faucet extenders with no luck. It would also be great if she could see above the countertops, or even reach them.

She also struggles climbing up/down the stairs. given her age she wants to do it independently instead of me having to carry her. She can do it by herself, but it’s done ittle kid style and it takes a while, plus it takes a lot out of her. (I don’t even know if there is a solution but anything helps) right now it is just a huge task for Clara , it takes a lot of effort for her just to climb up one step. The handrail is way too high for her to reach and even if she could reach it her hand is way too small to wrap around,we also have to watch out that she doesn’t fall through the banisters.

Also do you have any suggestions to help her be able to turn on and off the lights? Right now we are having to do it for her because she isn’t tall enough to reach the switch.

Also when she is sitting at our kitchen table, we can barely see the very top of her hair when we are sitting across from her. Our table is a normal sized one, but relative to her it is huge. I imagine a small for their age 2 year old sitting at a regular sized table and chairs. Ideally we would like to get her sitting up high enough to see over the table and be able to rest are arms on it and eat with us comfortably, All the while being able to get in and out of the chair by herself. She honestly needs a highchair in order to be at the right height, but she is six years old, I think she’s a little too old to be in a high chair.

What should we do about this when we go to restaurants? Usually when we sit at a booth or a chair, we can’t even tell she is there. And we have tried using the boosters they provide but that just raises are high enough to barely be able to see over the table.

What car seat should we be using for her? We are getting her a different car seat and I wasn't too sure which one to get. She is six years old after all, but also 18 pounds. And the height of a toddler. She wants to have with all of her peers have in the car, but I was telling her that due to her weight/height that might just not be possible. Part of me thinks she still needs to be in a rear facing car seat, but I know for her it won’t be cool with a six year old has to be in a rear facing. what is something I could get that would best accommodate what she wants versus what would be the safest?

Do y’all have any advice to help my Clara out?

[calmck]

If you are in the US try Little People Of America. I am sure there are many resources available to you. Try Yellow Pages for your area for support groups. Any large hospital will have contacts for you to access