Growth Chart Question

I think it's ok if the percentiles vary. Kids grow at different rates; like some kids might be "short and stocky" until age 3, then shoot up. However, when the child is under 5th percentile, or drops a whole percentile "category" (like from 75th to under 50th) within a period, that is cause for re-evaluation.

The purpose of the growth charts is to make sure your child stays on the same curve. Take my 3 yr old he is in the 75th for height and 25th for weight. He has been right around the 75th for height right along now if he all of a sudden dropped off that curve and was down to say the 50th or 25th for height that could indicate a possible problem. The numbers for all three are okay to be slightly off and not the same percentile. But when there is such a difference like my 3 yr old I sometimes get told he is too thin and needs to gain a few pounds but I have been told that about myself my entire life so I just brush it off.

Percentiles don't have anything to do with YOUR child, they tell how your child's height, weight and head circumference compare to other children the same age. Remember a PERCENTILE is NOT A PERCENTAGE. A child at the 80th percentile for height is as tall or taller than 80% of kids his age, but he could be only an inch taller than the kid at the 50th as long as 30% of kids fall in that inch. OR there could be a 3 inch difference between the 80th and 85th percentile. You just don't know. Anyway, it can be very misleading to parents because they you a statistical term without providing a background.

So, NO you don't need you child to be at the same percentile for all three measures. For height and weight, BMI is a much better measure anyway because it compares YOUR child's hight to his/her OWN height. They'll give you a percentile for BMI as well and you can see how that number compares to other kids, but more importantly, you can see if that number is in the healthy range for kids that age!

Hope this helps,
T.

I couldn't say about head circumference, but height and weight are related. Not to say they will or need to be the same, but proportionate. A child that is 90% percentile for height, but 30% for weight is a tall, skinny child. It may be perfectly normal for that child, but if there is a suddenly a change from your child's growth pattern it could signal something that needs to be addressed.

I only watched the pattern of my child's growth rather than the actual figures."Normal" is a wide range of numbers.

It is normal for the numbers to be different. My 4 yr old is at 80th% for height and 95th% for weight. My 3 yr old is 95th% for both height and weight. And my 5 month old is 98th% for weight and head circumference, and 85th% for height. The growth charts just compare your child's information to what they consider would be the average for their age.

I'm not going to be a huge help in this area, because I never really got it completely. I do know that it's Ok for the numbers to be different. For instance, I remember my daughter had one that was like, 50%-75%-90% (maybe not exactly, but you get the idea). Some Moms become so addicted to this chart and will even use it to compare their kid to yours. I know everyone is proud of their baby, but because someone's baby had higher percentages than another, it doesn't mean anything. It's just a guideline to your baby's growth, which is for you and your Ped. I was just with a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a long time, she says to me, "she (my daughter) is so tall! What percentile is she in?" I was like, are you KIDDING me? (I didn't say that) my daughter is almost 3 years old and growing healthy and normally so I don't pay attention to what percentage her height is in. I had to just laugh and say I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't like that silly growth chart! Lol :) Thanks for posting the question, sorry I used it to vent! Haha. Good luck and congratulation on baby!

I was told it didn't matter where they were on each individual curve, as long as they were following their own curve.

Like the other moms said, it really is used to make sure that the child is growing at a consistant pace. Some kids have big heads, some kids have small ones. I think the concern lies if the kid is like really at the high end for one number and completely at the opposite end for the low one. Anytime the numbers are so dramatically different then you know there is a problem. But say 75% for height and 25% of weight may be normal for a child who has always been that way. But 99% for height be 5% for weight and head circumfernce is probably not ok.

No, more frequently they aren't in the same percentile. No worries....Some-times there is a vast difference. If the head is the measurement you are worried about the Dr. would have said something, that they address, or if your infant/child is overweight over a period of time. Otherwise, height/weight/head/ all different.....and fine.