Best ways to keep track of your child’s development – Part 1

"Late siya naglakad, di yan nag-mana sa iyo kasi 11 months pa lang naglalakad ka na."

"Bakit di pa siya nagsasalita? Si ganito si ganyan ang daldal na."

"Ang dami niya kumain pero bakit ang payat niya?

"Sobrang kulit ng anak ninyo, baka po mayroon siyang ADHD"

Dear Parents, do these statements strike a sense of familiarity to you?

While the observations of other family members and the people around you  contribute information on your child's growth and development, comparing your child to others is a MISTAKE. To avoid unnecessary anxiety on parents, we would like to share some of the STANDARDIZED, VALIDATED tools to aid in monitoring a child's healthy development.

1- Baby Book

After delivery or during your first follow up check-up, your child's pediatrician would usually give you a "baby book". Here is what it could look like:

As you scan through the baby book, look for the growth charts found towards the latter end. It could look something like this:

These growth charts plot height (length), weight and head circumference and is the most important tool for assessing and monitoring a child's growth.

These charts represent the combined growth patterns of both breast fed and formula fed infants. Please note that these charts are only reflective of the population who are healthy and born at term (sapat sa buwan). The charts are released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Center for Health Statistics of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). You may also download them at their website.  The use of WHO charts is recommended for the first two years of life (0 to 2 years).

During your well child visit, always ask your pediatrician to review your child's growth using the chart. Note that the numbers are not as important as the trend in the chart. You can even refer to the growth chart when your family and friends ask about your child's height or weight.

2 - Average values and Formulas for physical growth parameters:

Simply put, the average growth in the weight of your child at 5 months, 1st year of life and 2nd year of life is:

The average growth of the head circumference should be:

If your child is around 12 to 15 months of age, don’t worry if he or she appears to have stopped growing. Growth normally starts to slow down at this age range. After 2 years of age, length increases approximately 7cm per year.

A formula can also be used to calculate estimated adult height.

First step is to take the Mid parental Height:

Mid parental height (cm) = Mothers height + Fathers height , divided by 2

Sample computation:

Mother’s height : 4 feet or 121.92 cm

Fathers height : 5 feet, 6 inches or 167.64 cm

Mid parental height = 121.92 + 167.64 / 2

= 144.78 cm or 4 feet, 9 inches

Second step:

Take the mid-parental height and add  6.5 cm for males or subtract 6.5 cm for females, with a range of 2 standard deviations (SD). One SD is equivalent to 5cm.

SO:

Son: 151.28 or    4 feet, 11 inches

Daughter :138.28 or 4 feet, 6inches

READ: Best ways to keep track of your child’s development – Part 2

– Katrina Rey MD