Making Sure to Check Children's Growth

Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson executive director of digital health at Seattle Children's hospital recently wrote on the Seattle Children's blog about the updated 2014 recommendations for children's check-ups. It's worth reading if you're a parent. The information parents should know is here. One of the most interesting facts Dr. Swanson mentions is #2 on her list-- growth.

"Growth: Children must get their growth checked at every single well check-up for their entire childhood. Babies should have a height, weight, and head circumference measured (through age 2) and then weight, height, and blood pressure should be checked at every check-up from age 3 and up," writes Dr. Swanson.

QuickMedical provides the medical supplies and equipment to make accurate dependable growth measurement easy for both parents and kids. Pediatric head circumference measuring tapeis latex free, making it ideal for measuring infant head circumferences. A durable growth chart such as the QM 338 Wall Growth Chart makes monitoring growth fun and easy for kids, at home, school, or the doctor's office. The polyester laminated covering makes it easy to clean. It has an adhesive backing for simple wall placement. It measures 0-78 inches or 0-198 centimeters. This can measure a person as tall as 6 feet 5 inches.

QuickMedical is also your online source for pediatric blood pressure monitors. Checking blood pressure in young people is important at every check-up. But it's important that the blood pressure monitor is designed for and approved for pediatric use. An improperly fitting blood pressure cuff will always give an inaccurate reading.

Dr. Swanson has also shared a large visual guide to the new recommendations. Doctors and parents should take a look at this and use it as a starting point to continue more conversations together about health and healthcare for kids.

Wall Growth Charts for Children

Growth before birth is very rapid. Although rates vary throughout pregnancy, at some points the baby grows about one inch per week. If this rate were to continue, children would grow 4 feet each year!

Growth is also rapid during the first year of life. By their first birthday, most babies have grown 7 to 10 inches in length and tripled their birth weight. Growth begins to slow between ages 1 and 2 (4 to 5½ inches a year). After age 2, growth remains steady until adolescence, when teens experience a puberty-related growth spurt. Growth continues until the child is 16 to 18 years old, when the bone ends fuse.

The adolescent growth spurt lasts about two years and is accompanied by the development of sex organs and the growth of pubic hair, as well as the beginning of menstruation in girls. This growth spurt begins at different times for different children — between ages 8 to 15 in girls and ages 9 to 15 in boys.  During this growth spurt, girls grow at a rate of 2½ to 4½ inches per year and boys grow about 3 to 5 inches per year. On average, boys begin puberty about two years later than girls, but their growth spurt lasts longer.

QuickMedical is your online source for wall growth charts for children.