Despite the fact that all children grow at an individual rate, there are norms for growth rates for each age group. Parents should know them, firstly, in order to timely identify and correct a health problem, if any, and secondly, in order to buy clothes for the child of the right size.
Instructions
Step 1
To determine the growth rate, pediatricians use centile tables. Any parent will be able to interpret their data, if he understands on what principle they are built. For example, for a newborn girl, the growth rate in the centile interval of 3% is 45.8 cm. This means that only 3% of female infants do not reach this height at birth. The table also uses centile intervals of 10, 25, 50, 75, and 97 percent. If the value of your child's height at a certain age falls within the 25-75 percent centile interval, then you have nothing to worry about, since the baby's body length is normal. If the indicators fall in the range of 3-25% or 75-97%, you should consult your doctor. Perhaps everyone in your family is tall, then it will be completely normal for a child to be ahead of peers. However, deviations in growth indicators can be associated with disorders in the functioning of the pituitary gland, which can only be determined in a timely manner and, if necessary, corrected only by a specialist.
Step 2
Your pediatrician can use the child development corridors to assess your child's growth. In total, 8 corridors are distinguished, and the interval from 3 to 5 is considered the norm. The values of these indicators fall within the previously described frames of 25-75 percent centile intervals. If a girl was born with a height of 51 cm, which corresponds to the 4th corridor of development and indicators of the centile interval of 50%, this does not mean that she should continue to fall into this norm in the future. Growth, like other indicators, depends on many factors: genetic predisposition, the amount of substances entering the body necessary for its development, health in general. If during some period the deviations were 1 corridor or centile interval, do not worry. But you should monitor sudden changes in growth rate and report it to your doctor.
Step 3
The height tabulations for girls are slightly lower than for boys. Therefore, when comparing your child's indicators with the data intervals, pay attention to which gender the table is for.
Step 4
For a girl, the growth rate at birth is 49, 8-52 cm, at 3 months - 57, 6-60, 7 cm, at six months - 64, 1-67, 1 cm, at 1 year - 72, 8-75, 8 cm, at 1, 5 years old - 78, 9-82, 1 cm, at 2 years old - 83, 3-87, 5 cm, at 3 years old - 93-98, 1 cm, at 4 years old - 98, 5-104, 1 cm, at 5 years old - 104, 7-110, 7 cm, at 6 years old - 110, 9-118 cm, at 7 years old - 116, 9-124, 8 cm.
Step 5
For boys, similar indicators will be: at birth - 49, 8-52, 3 cm, at 3 months - 58, 1-60, 9 cm, at 6 months - 64, 8-67, 7 cm, at 1 year - 74- 77, 3 cm, at 1, 5 years old - 79, 8-73, 9 cm, at 2 years old - 84, 5-89 cm, at 3 years old - 92, 3-99, 8 cm, at 4 years old - 98, 3-105.5 cm, at 5 years old - 104, 4-112 cm, at 6 years old - 110, 9-118, 7 cm, at 7 years old - 116, 8-125 cm.
