Children’s growth usually follows a typical pattern, which is influenced by genes and environment.
Growth charts show the typical range of child growth at different ages.
Growth charts help health professionals check that your child is healthy and growing well.
What you need to know about child growth
Children’s physical growth is a sign of their overall health and development.
Growth patterns vary among children, and children go through periods of fast and slow growth. But children’s growth usually follows a typical pattern over time.
Growth patterns are influenced by children’s genes, so children’s growth often reflects growth patterns in their family. Other factors like environment affect growth too.
You’ll usually be aware of your child’s growth, as your child gets too big for clothes and equipment that probably seemed enormous not long before.
What are growth charts?
Growth charts are graphs that show changes in children’s length or height, weight and head circumference over time.
Health professionals use growth charts to track children’s growth and development in the early years. For example, your child and family health nurse regularly measures your child’s length or height, weight and head circumference and marks these measurements on your child’s growth charts. This helps to show whether your child is growing in a healthy way over time.
There are growth charts for different sexes, for younger children and older children, and for certain conditions like Down syndrome.
Your child’s personal child health record probably has a growth chart inside it.
It’s always best for your child and family health nurse or GP to do your child’s measurements. They’ll use the correct growth chart for your child and know how to mark the measurements. They’ll also explain the chart and measurements to you.
What do the lines on child growth charts mean?
Growth charts have a lot of lines on them. These lines show the range of typical child growth at different ages.
Children’s growth generally tracks close to one of these lines, with height and weight tending to track along similar lines over time. But growth doesn’t have to follow a growth curve exactly.
Most children’s length or height, weight and head measurements are somewhere between the top and bottom curves on the charts. Half of all children grow at a rate above the middle of the typical range, and half grow at a rate below this range.
Sometimes children’s measurements start to follow a different growth curve from the one they started on. If this happens with your child, your health care professional will closely monitor your child’s growth over the next few appointments. Your health professional might also suggest things you can do to help your child grow well.
You might see the word ‘percentile’ used. Percentiles divide up the range of typical growth on growth charts. A baby who is on the 5th percentile for weight weighs less than 95% of other babies of the same age. A baby on the 90th weight percentile weighs more than 90% of other babies. But both babies are within the typical range for weight.
How length, weight and head circumference are measured
Length is measured when your baby is lying down. For children over 2 years, height is measured when they’re standing up.
For children under 2 years, weight is measured without clothing on a special infant weighing scale. After 2 years, weight is measured in ‘light’ clothing on a regular set of scales.
Head circumference is usually measured by putting a tape measure around your baby’s head. Babies’ heads grow rapidly in the first year, which makes it easy to check that they’re growing in a healthy way.
