Parents are inevitably worried that their children’s growth and development will fall behind at the starting point, so they always pay attention to issues such as whether their children are tall enough, whether they are heavy enough, and why they look smaller than other children. How much do you really know about children's growth and development and common myths? In addition to carefully recording growth curves, children must develop good habits of balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, and moderate exercise, so that they have a chance to grow as tall as a tree! Not tall enough? Too skinny? Turning to the last few pages of the Children's Health Handbook, there are several seemingly dense tables attached. This is the "Standard Growth Curve Chart" published by the World Health Organization and applicable to children aged 0 to 5 years old around the world. The growth curve is mainly based on measuring height, The data obtained from weight and head circumference are used to interpret the percentage. As long as the percentile falls between 3 and 97, it means that the baby's growth and development is within the normal range. Interpreting the baby's growth curve Sometimes parents are too worried about the baby's growth and development. Gao Quanhong, an attending physician at the Department of Pediatrics at Yadong Memorial Hospital, reminds that children's growth and development are continuous and dynamic. Whether growth is delayed can only be confirmed by continuous observation for several months. Parents usually observe whether the baby's growth line follows the growth curve trend. If the change is higher or lower than the two curve intervals in a short period of time, or the percentile is lower than 3 or exceeds 97, they must seek medical attention for evaluation. For example, if a 12-month-old female baby is currently 77 centimeters tall and weighs 10 kilograms, comparing the growth curve chart, you will find that the percentile is at 85, which means that the baby's height and weight exceed 85 of 100 children. The child looks very strong and strong! Check! Look at the growth curve like this: Step 1 》Find the abscissa according to the baby’s age (term/year). Step 2 》Find the ordinate based on height (length), weight, and head circumference. Step 3 》The point where the two lines intersect can be used to compare the percentile value of the baby's current positive value. Key points for height observation: Children before the age of 3 are in a period of rapid growth. The average length of newborns is about 50 centimeters. By about 1 year old, they will grow to about 75 centimeters, which is the stage of rapid growth. After that, there is an average growth rate of 10 centimeters per year, reaching about 85 centimeters at the age of 2 and 95 centimeters at the age of 3. After reaching the age of 3, you can still grow 4 to 6 centimeters every year until you reach pre-puberty and enter adolescence. It will grow at a higher rate later. I wonder if smart parents have discovered that the "length/height chart" curve at the age of 2 is not consistent. The main reason is that before the age of 2, the length is measured when lying down, and over the age of 2 (including 2 years old), the length is measured standing up. Because of the different measurement methods of height, there is a slight difference in the curve. Key points for weight observation: A child's weight should show a stable upward growth trend. If the weight does not increase but decreases, you should look back and think about whether the child has been sick or unwell recently. Compared with height, the rate of weight gain is relatively slow, and each child is very different in height, shortness, fatness and thinness, so there will naturally be some differences in weight. Basically, as long as the weight does not increase suddenly or decrease too much, and the percentage falls in the range of 3 to 97 after comparison, it is within the normal range. Dr. Gao Quanhong said that modern people have adequate nutritional intake, and clinically it is rare to encounter the problem of underweight in children. However, if underweight is long-term, it must be considered whether it is related to the disease, and parents should not ignore it. The average weight of newborns is about 3 kilograms. At 4 months old, the weight is about twice the birth weight. At 1 year old, it is 3 times the birth weight (about 9 to 10 kilograms). At 2 years old, the weight is about 12 kilograms. At 3 years old, the weight is about 12 kilograms. About 14kg. Key points for head circumference observation: The baby's head circumference is inseparable from the development of the nervous system. If the head circumference is too large, it may be related to abnormal skull development or hydrocephalus and other diseases, while if the head circumference is too small, it may also be caused by cerebellar disease, genetics, malnutrition, etc. question. In addition, it is also necessary to observe whether the front and rear fontanelles close at the normal time. The anterior fontanel should close between 12 and 18 months, and the posterior fontanel should close around 6 to 8 weeks after the baby is born. Closing too early or too late may have problems with the brain. Related to abnormal development of the head. How long should you continue to observe the growth curve? Although the growth curve chart in the health manual is only recorded until the age of 5, parents can still continue to observe and record their children until the girls are about 14 years old and the boys are about 16 years old. At this time, the child's height will be roughly determined. .
Many parents are worried about whether their children are not tall enough or strong enough. However, in fact, every child has his own growth and development pace. Parents do not need to compare with others. As long as the child's growth curve improves month by month, it is enough! How to interpret the growth curve of premature babies. When interpreting the growth curve of premature babies, is it necessary to use corrected age? Dr. Gao Quanhong said that this must depend on the degree of prematurity. Medically, a child born earlier than 37 weeks is a preterm birth. However, the development status of a child born between 35 and 37 weeks is almost the same as that of a full-term birth. If If the birth weight is also above 2500 grams, there is usually no need to use age correction. However, if the baby does not fall into the above situation, because it takes a while to catch up with the growth progress, the corrected age can be used to interpret the growth curve. Preterm infants need to use the corrected age to evaluate growth and development and add supplementary foods until about 2 years old. However, after all, every child's health condition is different. It is recommended that if you have any doubts about this, you should discuss it further with a pediatrician who understands your baby's condition. Why are growth curves different between men and women? The reason why the growth curves of men and women are different is because boys and girls are born with slight differences in growth and development speed. These differences may not be obvious when they are young, but as they grow older, they can be clearly seen in adolescence──Girls Puberty begins earlier and grows rapidly at the beginning of puberty. Therefore, girls in senior elementary schools are usually taller than boys. They gradually stop growing taller after menstruation occurs. However, boys start to grow taller quickly after entering puberty. On average, It can grow up to 6 to 10 centimeters per year. In addition, girls' growth plates close earlier, around the age of 14, while boys' growth plates close around the age of 16. Therefore, boys tend to be taller than girls in adulthood. Subscribe to the Healthy Love Live video and audio channel to read health knowledge more easily. Join and pay attention to your health every day! LINE＠ ID: @：/supply/article/8081/Not tall enough, too thin, too small, interpretation of baby’s growth curve (Part 1) Keywords: children’s health, growth curve, child’s height, growth, baby, too short, mommy’s baby, Gao Quanhong, Yadong Memorial Hospital, Pediatric Department