Each child develops individually: someone quicker, someone more slowly. However there are average growth and weight standards for children of each of age developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). With their help the pediatricians analyze physical changes of the child to make sure of his normal development.
The factors influencing growth and weight of children
First of all parents have to monitor the physical changes happening at their kid whether to understand everything with him as it should be. For this purpose mothers with fathers should know the norms of indicators of physical level of boys and girls corresponding to each age.
Parents are always concerned by a question of physical parameters of their growing child, especially in comparison with other children. But it is necessary to understand that you should not compare the kid to higher a weather or to try to overfeed the thin daughter only because the neighbour's girl of the same age has more well-fed appearance. Physical data of the child depend on many factors.
Treat the factors influencing growth and weight of children:
- Weight and growth indicators at the birth.
- Hereditary factor.
- Presence of congenital pathological diseases, failure in a set of chromosomes.
- Social conditions of accommodation.
Boys are often higher and larger than girls. At undersized parents children who will never differ in high growth in most cases are born.
It is proved that the baby on artificial feeding gains weight much quicker, than the baby whom mom feeds with breast milk. Statistics provided by WHO also demonstrates to it. And it is recorded that the last 20 years of norm of growth and body weight of babies prior to a year decreased by 15-20%. This results from the fact that recently most of mothers prefer to raise the newborn child in the natural way. In this regard, in 2006 the tables of standards of growth and weight of children were modified under development of modern children.
The tables of children's weight and growth parameters developed by WHO are considered as the most acceptable for determination of parameters of physical development of the child. All standards in the table have the gradation, convenient for application, consisting of the following indicators: average, low or high, below or above the average.
Stages of physical development of the child
As a rule, the boy stops the physical development by 17-18 years. The girl ceases to develop in 19-20 years. The child on the way of formation to the adult mature person passes several stages:
- Newborn age.
- Baby age.
- Early age.
- Preschool age.
- School age.
- Pubertal period.
The age of the baby from the birth moment to 1 month is considered extremely important stage in life of the kid. The newborn period is base for further development.
During the baby period (from 1 month to 1 year) the kid promptly develops. At early age from 1 year to 3 years the baby has an active formation of an emotional system. The preschool age lasts from 3 to 6-7 years when the child passes the next stage of intensive physical development, formation of nervous system and brain.
During the school period (7-17 years) the child is formed psychologically. Closer to the middle of this stage the teenager begins to grow promptly, his body strongly changes. This period of life is extremely important and disturbing in life of any person. In school days there is a formation of the identity of the person, he endures teenage crisis and pubertal maturing. Girls have an approximate age of a puberty - 11-12 years, the malchikovy puberty begins after 12-13 years.
Parents during puberty of the teenager should be especially attentive to children, the quantity of psychological and physiological problems can increase at this time. Teenagers need to give more care, participation and to watch especially carefully their diet and an emotional state, to advise to happen more in the fresh air, to be engaged in physical exercises of moderate intensity.
Growth and weight standards for babies aged from the birth till 1 year
According to the table of WHO the physical development of the baby irrespective of a way of feeding is easily estimated. However at the same time it should be taken into account that each kid is individual and develops in own way. The deviation from average norms does not need to be connected with any pathological process. Except growth and weight standards it is necessary to consider their ratio and a monthly increase. For tracking physical development of the child the anthropometrical method is used.
Compulsory and important procedure is weighing and measurement of growth of the newborn baby. The pediatrician carries out primary assessment of level of physical development of the kid according to the table of WHO. For determination of proportionality of a body of the newborn, the doctor measures, besides growth and weight parameters, a circle of a breast and the head. In case of identification of a shortage of body weight, measures are promptly undertaken.
Within the first 6 months of life the baby intensively grows. At the same time development happens unevenly. For example, babies at abundance of vitamin D develop in the summer period far quicker. In a dream as it is considered, children grow more promptly too.
There is a rosto-weight standard for the baby since the birth and to one-year-old age. According to WHO the gain of the kid within the first year of life has to be located in 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 growth by 2-3 cm.
- Age from 6 to 9 months – an increase of height from 4 to 6 cm.
- Age from 9 to 12 months – an increase of 3 cm.
The normal weight of just been born baby fluctuates in the range of 2500 to 4500 g. According to WHO data in a month the additional weight of the baby has to be about 400 g. Aged from 6 months till 1 year the mass of the kid usually increases not less, than by 150 g. At assessment of speed of an increase of weight it is necessary to consider the body weight of the baby at the birth.
Growth and the weight standard considers in addition sex of the newborn. Often boys grow quicker and gain weight higher rates, than girls. Therefore WHO was developed the separate table of growth and weight standards for boys and the table of these indicators for girls.
Growth and weight standards for children aged from 1 year up to 10 years
Growth of kids aged from 1 year up to 3 years begins to slow down and gain is about 10 cm a year. The additional weight on average fluctuates from 2 to 3 kg.
In the age range of 3-7 years the constitution of kids begins to change. Active growth of legs is noted, increase in the head, on the contrary, slows down. Physical development of the child during this period differs in unevenness:
- aged from 3 up to 4 years the average increase in growth is 4-6 cm, weight – 1.5-2 kg;
- at a five-years period the increase in growth averages 2-4 cm, weight – 1-1.5 kg;
- the six-year-old kid grows on average by 6-8 cm, body weight increases by 3 kg.
During the summer the kid most actively develops. It is promoted by big physical activity, abundance of the sun, fresh air and sufficient consumption of vitamins.
In 6-8 years at school students of initial classes quite intense period in their life begins. The little school student experiences unusual strain that can affect his physical development. Parents need to monitor changes of physical indicators of the children carefully. At the slightest deviations from normal growth and weight indicators it is worth checking the junior school pupil at the expert and, in case of need, to take measures for elimination of their reasons.
Growth and weight standards for children aged from 11 up to 17 years
The scale of average weight and growth of children from 11 to 17 years has quite wide spacing of indicators. This results from the fact that children during this period undergo the strongest physical changes. This age cycle is characterized by formation at first of the child by the teenager, and then the teenager by the mature person. The period of puberty of teenagers has a number of features.
- Active growth of girls happens aged from 10 up to 12 years.
- Boys most intensively develop in 13-16 years.
- The jump of growth is provoked by splash in hormones during the pubertal period.
- Compliance of growth and weight during this period often is very conditional.
- During the pubertal period quite often teenagers differ in excess body weight.
Norm of weight and growth of the child - very conditional concept. This parameter depends on many factors and is not always a consequence of pathological diseases. It is only necessary to be guided by the age table of norm of growth and weight of children. But if the child, regardless of age, too actively gains or loses weight, the indicator of its growth strongly differs from standards, then it is necessary to address the gastroenterologist, the geneticist, the endocrinologist and the neuropathologist.