| Importance of Growth Charts |
As per the Indian Academy of Paediatrics, use of growth charts can help parents’ asses the status of child’s growth. Height, weight, head circumference and BMI are parameters used in the process that help indicate the general growth pattern in a child. Comparison with the expected range for the above mentioned parameters with the children of the same age and gender is then made. Doctors thus are able to evaluate whether your child’s growth rate is progressing or are there any issues that need due attention.
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The growth charts that are recommended for growth monitoring in Indian children has been a compiled efforts of the data considering the affluent urban children, from varied regions of India. It essays information on the growth of the age group 0 to18 yrs.
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A worrisome mother may often stumble upon these questions:-
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Why my child isn’t as tall as others?
Is he lean for his frame or is it a matter of concern?
Why is the need to measure head circumference?
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It’s quite normal to have comparisons and ponder over certain observations. But it is equally important to also know that factors like genes, gender, general nutrition, physical activity, premature birth, underlying inborn illnesses and hormones influence your child’s growth pattern. So you may notice two children to be different, who also happen to develop at varied pace. They may be slow or fast but usually most of the children manage to achieve a constant growth curve with height and weight in sync to each other. Thereby based on their gender, they later reach the average expected adult height and weight.
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For the first three years of a child’s life, measurement of the head circumference is of utmost importance. It helps one to know, whether the child’s head is unusually big as in conditions like hydrocephaly i.e. accumulation of fluid in the brain. A child having an extremely small head could be well indicative of poorly developing brain.
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| Understanding ‘Percentiles’ in a Growth Chart |
Let’s get in to knowing the base, which is used as a means of comparison for your child’s measurements. Have you ever wondered over the arcs or curved patterns in a growth chart? You’d observe that just approximately at the point where the two sets of given parameters intersect; an arc is drawn that represents your child’s percentile. This arc or curve when drawn and followed to the right coincides to a certain number. This number represents a child’s percentile. A higher percentile would indicate that the child is big as compared to his peers of the same age group and gender. A lower percentile would rather indicate the opposite and this reference holds true for both height as well as weight assessment. For example, a three year old boy with weight in the tenth percentile means, 10 % of the boys of his age weigh less than him wherelse the remaining 90% weigh more than him.
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In the following example on the growth chart, weight and height of a 4 year old boy is plotted. A normal healthy 4 yr old boy weight is around 16 kg and height is about 100 cm. Tracking the percentile for the child can be done as explained above. It’s normal if your child’s weight has always been on a certain percentile for e.g. 5th percentile, during his growing years. It only means he is been developing along that line of pattern. But it can become a matter of concern, if earlier he was on 75th percentile and now suddenly has dropped down to 5th percentile.
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Growth chart would vary for boys and girls. Children born prematurely or suffering from diseases such as Down syndrome, Turner syndrome may also follow their peculiar growth curves. This would largely fluctuate from those followed by normal healthy children of their age.
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Indian Academy of paediatrics growth monitoring guidelines also provide elaborate insight into understanding growth charts with the help of other parameters. Besides this, discussion with your child’s paediatrician will also help you to get familiarize with the norms in a better way.
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