Growth
Infant and Childhood Trends in Growth
by Mary Howard, RN
Would you like to feel more in charge when it comes to
knowing how your child should be growing at certain ages?
Each child and family traits are so different we don’t all
fit into the charts. Let's look at some of the norms and
some reasons why the charts aren't accurate for everyone.
It is not commonly known, but there are actually two
different growth charts. One that comes from national
averages and another for Chinese and other small framed
people. If your child is below the 50 percentile on a
standard chart, that does not mean your child is not
healthy, it just means your child’s growth is different than
a certain percent of American kids. The same applies to kids
that measure over the 50 percentile on the chart.
If your child eats a healthy diet and is growing at a steady
pace without signs of illness he or she may just have their
own rate. Children are also known to have slow to no growth
periods and then growth spurts. This will all come out in
the averages over the years.
There are a few general trends in height and weight gain
during childhood that might be interesting for you to know.
Remember, these are averages and some small-framed people
have large babies and some large framed people have small
babies.
- At 2 weeks baby should be back to birth weight.
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Weight usually doubles by 4-7 months and height increase by 1 inch. (Notice that is a big variable and still the average.)
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Birth weight may triple by 14-17 months and quadruple by age 2 to 3 years.
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This is interesting, at 2 years height is approximately 50% of eventual adult height.
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Birth length may double by age 4. And triple by age 13.
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On average there is a 4 to 7 pound weight gain a year from age 2 to age 13.
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Then, during puberty, for girls of 10-14 years old, a gain of 15 to 55 pounds and an increase of 2 to 10 inches. (You talk about a wide variable! and that is an average!). About 95% of mature height is achieved by onset of Menarche.
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Boys age 11-16 have a weight gain of 15 to 65 lbs and a height increase of 4 to 12 inches. Height is about 95% of mature height by age 15. This is an average and often times some children reach their mature height before this time and some 2-3 years after this time and still be considered within the normal trends.
So how does your baby grow? Quite contrary to the fear of
nervous parents who scan the growth charts looking for the
norms. Many times, a baby may be off the scale at one
pediatric visit but at or near normal on another visit.
Remember, babies do go through growth spurts and sometimes
have wide variables.
Thin is in for adults, but babies are expected to be fat and
chubby. The simple fact is that babies generally take on the
same characteristics of their parents. In other words, small and
thin parents may have small and thin babies. It is not always
so, but if you and your spouse are small people, your babies may
also be smaller than the "norm." The same thing applies to
taller and larger people. The main thing to remember is that as
long as your baby is getting good nutrition, plenty of
affection, and is growing at a continuous rate, your baby is
probably thriving at his own pace.
It is always safe to be cautious when a baby does not appear
to be thriving, are they sleeping too much or too busy to
have 5 to 6 feedings a day? Sometimes, these may be symptoms
of allergies or illness present that may cause baby to lag
in eating and failure to thrive. Use your instincts and
watch your baby’s symptoms, report anything you feel might
be abnormal to your Doctor. Offer your infant and child
healthy food choices. Remember, "Everything in Moderation"
and by carefully adjusting your baby’s feedings and
surroundings you will be well on your way to a happy and
healthy child.
