YOUR CHILD’S HEALTH: PHYSICAL GROWTH
Growth occurs in predetermined phases, although there is a great deal of individual variation. For example, a baby on average will double his birthweight at about 5 months, and treble it at about 12 months of age.
The rate of growth in children (weight, length or height, and head circumference) is measured in percentiles. When you visit your doctor or nurse, your child may be measured and these measurements plotted on percentile charts. This is to check that growth is proceeding appropriately.
Percentile charts are comparative graphs of children’s growth rates. If your child’s weight is on the 50th percentile, he is the same weignt as 50% of children of his age. If he is on the 97th percentile he is heavier than 97% of children of his age; being on the 3rd percentile means he is in the bottom 3% for his age. There are different percentile charts for boys and girls.
Checking percentile charts may give the first indication that a child is ‘failing to thrive’, is overweight, too tall, or too short. Growth is most rapid in the first couple of years of life, and then again in adolescence. The latter is known as the adolescent growth spurt.
A child’s head grows in a similarly predictable manner. At birth, the baby’s skull is very soft, with two open spaces or holes at the top of the head. These are called fontanelles, and allow the bones of the skull to grow as the child grows. The one at the front, called the anterior fontanelle is the larger of the two, measuring 3-5 centimetres at birth, although again this varies considerably. Both fontanelles are closed by about one year of age.
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Tags: General Health
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