Taking the confusion out of reading a growth chart (2024)

FAQs

What is the most important thing to remember when reading growth charts? ›

Reading the lines

The curved lines show the percentile numbers, or patterns of growth. The percentile number means that your child's growth exceeds that percentage of other children their age. If your child is in the 75^th percentile for weight, that means that your child weighs more than 75% of children the same age.

They are based on measurements taken from many children. The centile lines show how one child compares with other children of the same age and sex. Weights and heights that are anywhere within the centile lines are considered normal. There are no centile lines between birth and two weeks.

In routine clinical practice, height is assessed by using normative data based on growth charts and operationalized through percentiles. However, the cross-sectional nature of existing growth curves causes low accuracy in the prediction of final height, particularly during puberty.

For example: If height and weight have both been on the 60th percentile line until a child is 5 years old, and then the height drops to the 30th percentile at age 6, that might suggest a growth problem because the child is not following his or her usual growth pattern.

But try not to get too hung up on your baby's growth chart – it's not the last word on how your baby is doing. There's a wide range of normal, and your baby's measurements don't mean they'll be short or tall, or fat or skinny, as an adult.

Infants and children with a weight-for-length that is less than the 2nd percentile are classified as low weight-for-length. Infants and children with a length-for-age that is less than the 2nd percentile are classified as having short stature.

Any number between the 5th percentile and the 95th is considered "normal." Whether the measurements are high or low, they should follow a consistent curve on the growth chart over the first year.

A normal rate of growth means the child's growth points closely follow a percentile line on the chart. We usually don't worry about insufficient (or excessive) growth until a child's growth rate has crossed at least two percentile lines (e.g., from above the 90th percentile to below the 50th).

While often assumed to provide information on whether or not children are growing “normally”, or according to the “usual” pace of other children, growth charts cannot actually assess the process of growing. Growth unfolds across time at the individual level.

Some changes to your child's growth chart may worry your provider more than others: When one of your child's measurements stays below the 10th percentile or above the 90th percentile for their age. If the head is growing too slowly or too quickly when measured over time.

What is the most accurate growth predictor? ›

The Khamis-Roche method is considered to be one of the more accurate height prediction methods that do not require the measurement of bone age. It is based on the child's stature, weight, and the average stature of the two parents.

CAUSES OF FALTERING GROWTH

Postnatal factors, such as nutritional or environmental problems, endocrinopathy or chronic disease may affect growth. In toddlers, growth failure is often the result of inadequate caloric intake but may also be the first sign of disease in an otherwise asymptomatic child.

Peak height velocity — your child's biggest, fastest growth spurt — typically lasts 24 to 36 months. And while it's difficult to say just how much your child will grow during this time, you can count on most of it happening, for girls, between 10 and 14 years, and, for boys, between 12 and 16 years.

The average length of full-term babies at birth is 50 cm (20 in.). The normal range is 45.7 to 56 cm (18 to 22 in.). In the first month, babies typically grow 4 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 in.). Your baby's head will grow at its fastest rate during the first 4 months after birth than at any other time.

The most important part of reading a chart is identifying the variables. Variables are the information in the chart that can change, depending on where you're looking.

Introduction. The growth charts consist of a series of percentile curves that illustrate the distribution of selected body measurements in U.S. children. Pediatric growth charts have been used by pediatricians, nurses, and parents to track the growth of infants, children, and adolescents in the United States since 1977 ...

The most common measure of economic growth is real GDP. This is the total value of all goods and services produced in an economy, with that value adjusted to remove the effects of inflation.

Charts are often used to ease understanding of large quantities of data and the relationships between parts of the data. Charts can usually be read more quickly than the raw data. They are used in a wide variety of fields, and can be created by hand (often on graph paper) or by computer using a charting application.