iVillage logo
Search iVillage
Pregnancy
Parenting
Health
Food & Drink
Diet & Fitness
Beauty & Fashion
Relationships
Home & Garden
Work & Money
Entertainment
Horoscopes
Travel
Pink world landmarks
Lit for Breast Cancer Awareness
Police racism allegations
Do we need an inquiry?
Food fixer
Recipes for any occasion
Pregnancy & Baby 
  |  Toddler  |  Physical Development  |  Growth problems
Advertisement
Topics
Childcare
Baby
Fertility
Pregnancy
Community
Just For Mums
Pregnancy galleries
Toddler
Parenting
pregnancy videos
iVillage shopping

Hot stuff
Celebrity baby game
Baby development tracker
Pregnancy calendar
Baby name finder
Spooky Halloween ideas
Find your fertile days
Shop for your baby
Newsletters
Sign up for FREE!




 
Promotions
Baby friendly pools
Find a swimming pool to take baby with the Baby Friendly Swimming Pool directory

Growth problems

by Dr Howard Lee

question
I am concerned that my son, who is four years old, is too small for his age. I need some guidance on height and weight development. Is there a standard chart? I cannot find much on the Internet.

answer
If your son was on the small side at birth, he’s very likely to be small for his age now, and that’s entirely normal. If he was average at birth but is small now, there may be cause for concern.

I have just looked at the growth charts in Penelope Leach’s book, Baby and Child, (Penguin 1977). The average boy’s birth weight is 7lbs 12 oz and length is 21 inches. The average height for a four-year-old is 40 inches and weight is 36.5 pounds. ‘Small’ baby boys will weigh just over six pounds at birth, are 20 inches long and by the age of four weigh about 32 pounds. From this you’ll get an idea if he is ‘falling behind’ as he grows.

Of course, if you are worried, the best thing is to do is call your health visitor, or go to see your GP who will advise you and, if necessary, monitor your son’s growth.

iVillage TV - Pregnancy experts

View video in larger player
Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon