New Approach to Defining "Failure to Thrive" (FTT)

As parents, it is not uncommon to feel the need to be overly protective of our children. While the definition of protection can vary from one family to another, the underlying intent of the majority of parents is to provide a safe and loving environment in which their children can grow and develop.

For some children, the over protection of parents leads to a complication commonly referred to as a "failure to thrive". While there are some cases of intentional "failure to thrive" activity by a parent, most cases are the result of ineffective parenting and the need to overly protect a child.

"Failure to thrive", in terms of child growth and development, refers to the inability of a child to grow to his or her full potential, physically. However, in recent years, some healthcare professionals are using the term to diagnose complications of psychological complications. For premature infants, or infants who are born with special needs, the "failure to thrive" complications may be more apparent.

Most commonly diagnosed by the family care physician, or pediatrician, a child who experiences a failure to thrive most often will show signs of malnutrition but to be classified as a child who has "failure to thrive" (FTT), the child's weight must fall below the fifth percentile of children in similar age and height.

In terms of the expanded view of "failure to thrive", healthcare professionals are also referring to FTT in cases where a child appears to be distressed, socially awkward or introverted, or may be experiencing complications associated with learning disabilities. To be considered a case of "failure to thrive", however, most physicians defer the diagnosis until such time as the complication can be attributed directly to the activities of a parent, or both parents. Again, these activities in the home or in the child's environment may be unintentional but, yet, creating distress and psychological complications in the child, often resulting in FTT from a social aspect.