My niece, who just turned 1 some time ago, went to the hospital for a physical examination. The report shows that she is of standard height and low weight. Eat well and sleep soundly. Why are you underweight? Is it because the addition of complementary food is not standardized, or is there something wrong with the digestive system? Anxious sister-in-law runs around and has to give the child a comprehensive examination.

Generally speaking, the indicators for evaluating children's physical development mainly include height, weight, head circumference, chest circumference, upper arm circumference, top hip length and so on. Among them, height and weight are most commonly used, and parents are most concerned about height and weight.

Height growth reflects children's long-term nutritional status and is influenced by heredity, endocrine, sleep and exercise. The weight change reflects the child's recent nutritional status, and is also related to the child's birth weight, feeding and disease, which fluctuates greatly and parents are more worried.

However, being underweight or overweight for a period of time does not mean that the baby has problems with development.

The ideal development of a baby is to grow in a balanced way according to its own "growth trajectory"

The ideal weight of a baby is neither average nor based on the comparison of children of the same age, but the balanced growth of finding its own "growth trajectory".

I watched Cui Yutao's popular science video some time ago. In the video, netizens have raised the baby's weight, saying that their children are a little thin, not as strong as their peers, and worried about their development problems.

Teacher Cui Yutao said that the most taboo of baby development is to blindly compare with peers, who is tall and who is fat; You can't judge their health just because they are temporarily obese. The most accurate way is to judge according to the child's growth curve!

So, what is the growth curve and why should we judge it according to it?

The growth curve is to represent the baby's growth phenomenon with a curve on the map. Simply put, it is to record the baby's weight, length and head circumference in a certain month regularly, and connect the measured data into a curve, and then judge the baby's development according to this curve.

As for the reason, there are many factors that affect the baby's development, including but not limited to: birth weight, feeding methods, nutritional intake, diseases, seasons and so on.

Taking full-term infants and premature infants as examples, the development of premature infants is obviously slower than that of full-term infants, and their weight and height are naturally lower. In the eyes of parents, children may feel that they are too thin and inferior to others, but children only compare with themselves? Are you making progress at every stage? The progress of each stage is within the standard range? If so, then the baby's development is no problem!

Moreover, the baby's growth is not carried out at a constant speed! The first year after birth is the first growth peak in life, and the weight gain is the fastest in the first three months, with an average of about 2 kg per month; Then slow down until 12 months, and the weight gain is basically the same as that in the first three months, which means that the weight at one year old should be three times the birth weight.

Another example is the season. It's hot in summer, and children have no appetite. As long as you are not thin, you can't be as fat as before. But autumn is the season when children hoard fat. If they increase their appetite, eat more and have high nutrition, they will naturally gain a lot of weight.

However, whether the weight remains the same, the weight drops or the weight increases, as long as it is within the normal range along its own growth trajectory, the baby is in a good mental state, there is no problem in eating and sleeping, and there is no disease that hinders growth, which is normal. Parents don't need to worry too much!

"Growth curve" is an important basis for evaluating whether a child's development is ideal.

Many parents don't quite understand the usage of "growth curve". In fact, the method is very simple. First, choose a child growth curve. It is recommended to use the child growth curve of the World Health Organization or China. After the selection, regularly record the baby's weight, length and head circumference in a certain month, and connect each data into a curve, which is the baby's "growth trajectory"; Then we can correctly record and evaluate the baby's development.

Growth curve of boys aged 0-3:

Growth curve of girls aged 0-3:

In the growth curve, there are five main percentiles, namely P97, P85, P50, P 15 and P3 percentiles. P50 belongs to the average level, and P97-P3 belongs to the normal range.

Most babies will grow relatively steadily between the two major percentiles along their own growth trajectory. For example, the following two red lines are the growth trajectories of two 2-year-old boys, 65,438+0-2. Although one is fat and the other is thin, their growth trajectory is balanced (the weight of a boy has been fluctuating between P85 and P97, increasing gradually; B Boys' weight has been fluctuating between P 15-P50, so their development is normal.

However, if the child's development exceeds a principal percentile, which belongs to "growth fluctuation", parents can adjust the child's diet or consult a doctor, but generally there will be no major problems, and parents need not worry too much; If the child's development deviates from the two main percentiles; Or exceed P97/P3, which belongs to "abnormal growth deviation". We need to find out the reason quickly and then solve the problem!

Parents don't need to measure the growth curve too often. Generally speaking, babies under 6 months are tested every 1-2 months. 6 months-1 year-old baby, tested every 2-3 months; 1-3-year-old baby, once every 3-6 months; Children over 3 years old should be tested at least once a year.

PS: There are also growth curves of children aged 2- 18 in China. Parents can query and download, and then make their own "growth trajectory" according to the baby's development.

Common "growth curve" misunderstanding, parents should not be recruited.

When many parents use the growth curve, they often enter a misunderstanding: taking the "average value" as the basis for their children's development.

These days, almost every parent is anxious about their children's development, hoping that their children are so excellent that no one can beat them!

But every child is an independent individual, and there are individual differences in height and weight, as well as in the development of big movements and fine movements. As long as it is within the scope, there is no big problem. Parents don't need to be too serious, and children should develop on average.

Since the growth curve is divided into five major percentiles, there is a reason for this. The bottom line is P3, that is, 3%, which means that 3% of infants and young children are below this level and may be stunted; The top line is P97, which is 97%, which means that 3% of infants and young children are above this level, and there may be overgrowth.

There is no doubt that these two situations are abnormal. If it is lower than P3 or higher than P97, parents must pay attention! The middle line is P50, that is, 50%, representing the average value, which means that nearly 50% of children's growth and development indicators are higher than the normal value, nearly 50% of children are lower than the normal value, and very few children are just at the average level; Other P 15 and P85 represent different levels within the normal range.

This normal range is the range covered by P3-P97.

Therefore, parents should never take "average" as the basis for their children's development and health!

Martin's message:

There are individual differences in children's development. Birth weight, feeding mode, nutrient intake, environment, heredity, sleep exercise and mood will all affect their growth and development. At this time, parents should never take simple standards or others as the basis for their children's health, but learn to use the "growth curve" correctly to help their children find their own "growth trajectory" and grow in a balanced way according to the trajectory.

The pictures in this article are all from the network, so delete them.