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percentiles explained : understanding your
child
?s
growth
charts
by dr. michele salassi summer has ended and school is upon us with its supply shopping, uniform buying, open houses, practices, and for many
child
ren, a check-up with their pediatrician. one of the most important components of a well-
child
visit is assessing a
child
?s
growth
?primarily by plotting his or her measurements on a standard
growth
chart. although those curved lines and percentiles may seem daunting,
growth
charts
are not difficult to understand. what are
growth
charts
?
growth
charts
were created using decades of data collected about
child
ren?s
growth
. in
child
ren less than two years old,
growth
charts
developed by the world health organization are used to plot length, weight, and head circumference.
child
ren 2-20 years old use the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc)
growth
charts
on which height, weight, and body mass index (bmi) are recorded. boys and girls are plotted on different curves because their
growth
patterns are different. ?ese
charts
serve as a reference for pediatricians?a tool that allows comparisons. what do the percentiles mean?
growth
charts
allow pediatricians to compare your
child
with other
child
ren of the same age and gender. ?e
charts
consist of smooth curved lines that represent different percentiles. ?e higher the percentile, the bigger the
child
is compared to other
child
ren. for example, if your five-year-old son?s weight is at the 25th percentile, then 25 percent of five-year-old boys weigh less than him and 75 percent weigh more. healthy
child
ren do not have an ideal or a goal percentile because
growth
is influenced by genetics, environment, nutrition, activity, and illness. it?s helpful to look at a
child
?s
growth
at one moment in time, but it is more valuable to observe his or her
growth
over time by comparing the measurements from today?s checkup with previous ones. your pediatrician looks at the overall
growth
trend to ensure that your
child
is growing normally. predict your
child
?s future height by visiting babycenter.com and filling out the
child
height predictor. 3 2 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | a u g u s t 2 0 1 7
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