Each child develops individually: some faster, some slower. However, there are average height and weight standards for children of each age, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). With their help, pediatricians analyze the physical changes of the child to make sure that he is developing normally.
Factors affecting the height and weight of children
First of all, parents should monitor the physical changes taking place in their baby in order to understand whether everything is in order with him. To do this, mothers and fathers should know the norms of indicators of the physical level of boys and girls, corresponding to each age.
Parents are always concerned about the physical parameters of their growing child, especially in comparison with other children. But you need to understand that you should not compare your baby with a taller weather or try to overfeed a thin daughter just because a neighbor's girl of the same age has a more plump look. The physical data of a child depends on many factors.
Factors that affect the height and weight of children include:
- Floor.
- Weight and height indicators at birth.
- Hereditary factor.
- The presence of congenital pathological diseases, a malfunction in the chromosome set.
- Food.
- Social living conditions.
Boys are often taller and larger than girls. In short parents, in most cases, children are born who will never be tall.
It has been proven that bottle-fed babies gain weight much faster than babies fed with breast milk. This is evidenced by the statistics provided by the WHO. Moreover, it was recorded that over the past 20 years, the growth rates and body weight of infants under one year old have decreased by 15-20%. This is due to the fact that recently most mothers prefer to feed their newborn baby in a natural way. In this regard, in 2006, tables of standards for the height and weight of children were adjusted for the development of modern children.
Tables of children's weight and height parameters developed by WHO are considered the most appropriate for determining the parameters of a child's physical development. After all, all the standards in the table have a convenient gradation for use, consisting of the following indicators: medium, low or high, below or above average.
Stages of physical development of a child
As a rule, a boy stops his physical development by the age of 17-18. The girl stops developing at the age of 19-20. A child on the way to becoming an adult sexually mature person goes through several stages:
- Newborn age.
- Infant age.
- Early age.
- Preschool age.
- School age.
- Puberty.
The age of a baby from birth to 1 month is considered an extremely important stage in a baby's life. The newborn period is the basis for further development.
During the infancy period (from 1 month to 1 year), the baby develops rapidly. At an early age from 1 to 3 years, the crumbs are actively developing the emotional system. Preschool age lasts from 3 years to 6-7 years, when the child goes through the next stage of intensive physical development, the formation of the nervous system and brain.
During the school period (7-17 years), the child is formed psychologically. Towards the middle of this stage, the teenager begins to grow rapidly, his body changes greatly. This period of life is extremely important and exciting in the life of any person. It is during the school years that the formation of a person's personality takes place, he is going through a teenage crisis and puberty. For girls, the approximate age of puberty is 11-12 years, boy puberty begins after 12-13 years.
Parents during puberty of a teenager should be especially attentive to their children, because at this time the number of psychological and physiological problems may increase. Adolescents need to be given more care, participation and especially carefully monitor their diet and emotional state, advise them to be more outdoors, to engage in physical exercise of moderate intensity.
Height and weight standards for infants from birth to 1 year
According to the WHO table, the physical development of the baby is easily assessed, regardless of the method of feeding. However, it should be borne in mind that each baby is individual and develops in its own way. Deviation from the average norms should not be associated with any pathological process. In addition to height and weight standards, it is necessary to take into account their ratio and monthly increase. An anthropometric method is used to track the physical development of a child.
An obligatory and important procedure is weighing and measuring the growth of a newborn baby. The primary assessment of the level of physical development of the baby is carried out by the pediatrician in accordance with the WHO table. To determine the proportionality of the newborn's body, the doctor measures, in addition to height and weight parameters, the circumference of the chest and head. In case of revealing a shortage of body weight, measures are taken promptly.
During the first 6 months of life, the baby grows intensively. At the same time, development is uneven. For example, in the summer, babies with an abundance of vitamin D develop much faster. In a dream, it is believed that children also grow faster.
There is a height and weight standard for an infant from birth to one year of age. According to the WHO, the growth of a baby during the first year of life should be within the following limits:
- The first 3 months of life - an increase in height from 3 to 4 cm.
- Age from 3 to 6 months - increase in height by 2-3 cm.
- Age from 6 to 9 months - increase in height from 4 to 6 cm.
- Age from 9 to 12 months - an increase of 3 cm.
The normal weight of a newly born baby ranges from 2500 g to 4500 g. According to WHO, the weight gain of an infant should be about 400 g per month. At the age of 6 months to 1 year, the baby's weight usually increases by no less than 150 g. In assessing the rate of weight gain, it is necessary to take into account the birth weight of the infant.
The height and weight standard takes into account, among other things, the sex of the newborn. Often, boys grow and gain weight faster than girls. Therefore, WHO has developed a separate table of height and weight standards for boys and a table of these indicators for girls.
Height and weight standards for children aged 1 to 10 years
The growth of babies aged 1 to 3 years begins to slow down and the growth is about 10 cm per year. The average weight gain ranges from 2 to 3 kg.
In the age range of 3-7 years, the physique of babies begins to change. Active growth of the legs is noted, the increase in the head, on the contrary, slows down. The physical development of the child during this period is uneven:
- at the age of 3 to 4 years, the average increase in height is 4-6 cm, weight - 1.5-2 kg;
- in the five-year plan, on average, the increase in height is 2-4 cm, weight - 1-1.5 kg;
- a six-year-old baby grows by an average of 6-8 cm, body weight increases by 3 kg.
During the summer, the baby develops most actively. This is facilitated by a lot of physical activity, an abundance of sun, fresh air and an adequate intake of vitamins.
At the age of 6-8, primary school students begin a rather stressful period in their lives. A small schoolboy is experiencing unusual stress, which can affect his physical development. Parents need to carefully monitor changes in the physical parameters of their children. At the slightest deviation from normal height and weight indicators, it is worth checking the junior student with a specialist and, if necessary, take measures to eliminate their causes.
Height and weight standards for children aged 11 to 17 years
The scale of the average weight and height of children from 11 to 17 years old has a fairly wide range of indicators. This is due to the fact that children undergo the most powerful physical changes during this period. This age cycle is characterized by the formation of a child first as a teenager, and then a teenager as a sexually mature person. The adolescent puberty has a number of characteristics.
- The active growth of girls occurs between the ages of 10 and 12.
- Boys develop most intensively at the age of 13-16.
- The growth spurt is triggered by a surge in hormones during puberty.
- The correspondence of height and weight during this period is often very conditional.
- During puberty, adolescents are often overweight.
The norm of weight and height of a child is a very conditional concept. This parameter depends on many factors and is not always a consequence of pathological diseases. You just need to be guided by the age table of the height and weight of children. But if a child, regardless of age, is gaining or losing weight too actively, his growth rate is very different from the standards, then you should consult a gastroenterologist, geneticist, endocrinologist and neuropathologist.
