Growth of child from 0 to 4 years

Every mother wants to know that her child, if not the best, then at least normal. Correctly grows and develops. Mothers communicate with each other, exchange data, compare and either rejoice for themselves, or sob in the pillow, if they think that their child is somehow behind others. The comparison goes on all parameters, and sometimes the mothers are proud of what was supposed to cause concern and, on the contrary, are nervous because of what is actually a variant of the norm.

To avoid such situations, it is necessary to thoroughly study the stages of the child's development and all the main parameters, including, but not limited to, height, weight, chest circumference and head circumference. Knowledge of these parameters and their "normal" values greatly facilitates the life of the mother. The word "normal" is quoted in connection with the ephemeral nature of the concept of the norm and a huge number of individual factors that affect the development of the organism. This article will discuss one of the most important parameters that determine the development of the child, namely, growth.

At different ages, children grow in different ways, most quickly in the first year of life. At this time, the growth of the child is measured by months, and therefore monthly visits to the doctor are necessary. Of course, it can be measured at home. However, in this case, the probability of error is high, because a special rostomer is used in the polyclinic for measurement.

For the first month, children add about 3 cm, about the same in the second, then the growth rate gradually slows down, until six months the children gain about 2.5 cm per month, and closer to the year this figure drops to 1.5 cm.

What should be the growth of a child at birth? Normal children are considered to be 50-52 cm tall. Premature babies are usually much smaller, depending on the term - 36-45 cm. By the way, premature babies grow slightly differently, not as healthy. The first months are very slow, and then even faster than the others. For the first year of life, children born on time, gain about 25 cm, and preterm to 40, thus compensating for what was lost in the womb.

Normally, the height of a boy at the age of the year ranges from 72 to 80 cm, girls, in turn, from 70 to 77 cm.

Then the growth of the child slows down, and on average for the year the children add 4-5 cm. Accordingly, in two years for boys, normal growth is from 85 to 90 cm, and for girls - from 83 to 88 cm. In three years, boys Reach 93-97 cm, and the girls - 91-95. The growth of a child in 4 years is about 100 cm.

However, it is important to remember that, firstly, each child is individual, and its development can depend on a number of factors. His role is played by heredity. Everyone knows that each race has its own characteristics. Depends on the growth of the child and on how he is healthy, how to eat, in what climate lives. Secondly, one can not evaluate children in only one parameter, the weight, chest girth, and head are also necessarily tracked. If the baby is slightly higher or lower than normal, but it is developed proportionally, then there is nothing to worry about.

In addition, a deviation from these figures of 3% is considered absolutely normal. The reason to see a doctor may be a 10% deviation from the norm. In this case, the child may have any health problems, for example, genetic disorders.

The maximum growth that a person can achieve under ideal conditions is calculated by the following formulas, which differ for girls and for boys:

P (boy) = (P (father) + P (mother)) + 5 cm;

P (girl) = (P (father) + P (mother)) - 5 cm.

Where P means growth.

Separately, I want to emphasize the importance of proper nutrition for harmonious development. So, at the age of up to one year the growth of a child directly depends on the amount of proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins, in particular vitamin D, which promotes the absorption of calcium. The optimal option for a child of this age is breastfeeding. In this case, the growth of the child directly depends on the mother's diet.