Published Date: 3^rd February 2018

As a parent, you are always worried about your child’s growth. You try to monitor it as regularly as possible, but how do you determine if your child is growing properly? If you are worried that your child is not growing as the way he/she should, here are three ways to track his/her growth:

Height And Weight Charts

Indian researchers have come up with growth charts which give you an idea of the normal height and weight for your child’s age. A standard growth chart includes seven percentile ranges – 3^rd, 10^th, 25^th, 50^th, 75^th and 97^th. If your child falls anywhere below 3^rd percentile and above 97^th percentile, he/she is out of the normal range.

You can track your child’s height and weight with Horlicks Growth+ calculator. It shows you whether your child is growing normally based on gender, age, height and weight. Paediatricians recommend that you check your child’s height and weight at regular intervals.12

BMI

Just height and weight individually, aren’t the only signs of your child’s growth. Body Mass Index (BMI) - your child’s height-weight proportion – is an important determinant of your child’s growth. Researchers have used BMI to screen children above two years of age and identify those who may be at risk for conditions associated with excess body fat.

If your child’s BMI is above the age and gender-specific 85^th percentile, he/she is overweight and if his/her BMI is above 95^th percentile, he/she is obese.3

Developmental Surveillance

Developmental surveillance involves monitoring a child’s growth based on guidelines developed by experts and the milestones of a child's physical development. You can use these guidelines to know whether your child has achieved the physical developmental milestone for his/her age, for example, development of his/her muscles and bones.4