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The 411 on Growth Charts
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To get an accurate measurement, be sure your pediatrician is using the correct chart for his race and gender - boys and girls grow at different rates. And lend a hand - to steady a wriggly baby, for example - in order to get a good reading. For the various ages and stages, doctors tend to look for babies to double their birth weight and add 10 inches of height as they hit their first birthday. In the next year, growth slows to about 5 inches and 6 pounds. From there, kids grow about 2 inches and gain about 6 pounds per year until age 10, when puberty begins to hit. During this period, growth depends on sex - girls grow about 9 inches and gain 20-55 pounds; boys can grow up to a foot and pack on up to 65 pounds. Try to resist comparing your child with his peers' rate of growth and even your own childhood size - kids are individuals who grow at their own pace - size doesn't really matter; health does.
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