The most effective method to wean your babie

 A simplified guide to calculating your child's growth

Whether you're just curious about your child's development or if you're concerned about his or her growth, it's important to know how to calculate your child's height and weight to determine whether there may be a problem.

 Luckily, the Centers for Disease Control has put together an easy-to-follow guide on how to calculate your child's growth that even an inexperienced parent can understand.

Introduction

Everybody wants their children to grow up healthy and happy. Knowing that you’re probably concerned about whether or not your child is growing correctly; fortunately, there are a few ways for you to measure them. 

We’ll walk you through a simple way of tracking their growth here today!

Step 1 – Measure Child

Measure your child from head to toe in centimeters or feet and inches. Use a tape measure for accuracy. 

Then add these numbers together (head + chest + abdomen + thighs + legs = total body measurement).

 Round down if necessary, as you’ll be calculating based on a percentage of body mass rather than actual height/weight/size. If you don’t have a tape measure, get one now! You won’t regret it!

Step 2 – Calculate Age

Your child’s age at her last birthday was listed on her health card. As she turns 1, just subtract one from that age. For example, if she turned 1 in September, she’ll be 12 months old now—not 13 months old.

 If you don’t have a copy of her birth certificate, ask your doctor or pediatrician for help. Most babies will grow two inches (and put on five to 10 pounds) within their first year; see whether your little one is close by comparing height and weight charts with other kids of a similar age.

 This will give you an idea where your tot fits within normal ranges; however, it may not tell the whole story! A healthy baby might start out toward the lower end of height/weight scales but grow like a weed as he nears his first birthday.

 In any case, there’s no need to fret: Ask your pediatrician if he has any concerns about either growth rate or general development, and check out our post What Causes Low Growth Rates in Babies? along with our tips for how big should my baby be?

Step 3 – Calculate Height

This is probably the easiest step. Put your measuring tape or ruler next to a wall and have your son/daughter measure against it. 

You can also have them stand on something like a bookshelf so that you don’t have to hold onto them while they take their measurement.

 If you’re doing it on a hardwood floor with carpeting nearby, though, be sure there isn’t an area rug peeking out from beneath!

Step 4 – Calculate Weight

To calculate weight, simply multiply your child’s height by his/her current weight.

 For example, if a four-year-old girl is 38 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds, then: Step 5 – Use Standard Growth Charts: Using standard charts (see examples below), find where on that curve your child falls.

 For example, if a seven-year-old boy is 42 inches tall and weighs 58 pounds then he falls at point H in figure 2 above; since it says for a 7-year-old male he should be in between 39–42 inches then he’s right in line with where he should be. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your son or daughter’s progress, don't hesitate to ask your pediatrician! He/she can help you figure out whether there are any issues worth discussing further.

 It’s important not to obsess over measuring every day; just do it once per month. Once you get into regular habits of monitoring growth, you can start adding photos so you can track body changes over time as well!

Step 5 – Adjust for Time in percentile

To calculate how many months it will take for your baby to reach a given percentile, divide 220 by his or her current weight-for-length. 

For example, if he weighs 20 pounds at 8 months, 220 divided by 20 is 10. Therefore, it will take about 10 months for him to reach 50% of his expected length. (His other percentiles also would have grown about 10 months.) 

If you know how long he has been in his present percentile, then you can calculate when he might move up: Subtract that number from 220 and then divide by your child’s current weight-for-length.

 If she was in the 75th percentile when she was 4 1/2 months old, subtract 28 from 220 and then divide by 5 (her most recent measurement). 

The result tells you that she should be in the 75th percentile again (meaning ahead of 75 percent of babies her age) around 5 1/2 or 6 months old.