Parents should monitor the stages of child growth at all times. In addition to keeping children healthy and optimal, monitoring their growth is also important to detect early signs of growth disorders so that they can be prevented or treated as soon as possible.
Child growth is a process of change characterized by an increase in physical size and body shape. Children's growth can be assessed through measurements of height, weight, and head circumference. Whether or not the measurement is normal or the growth rate can be known through the available measurement standards.
Recognize Some Stages of Child Growth
The following are some of the stages of child growth that you need to know:
Height
The growth of a healthy child's height will develop gradually every year. The average ideal height gain in children is:
- Infants 0–12 months: 25 cm
- Children aged 1–2 years: 13 cm
- Children aged 2-3 years: 9 cm
- 4 years old to puberty: 5 cm per year
But keep in mind that each child's growth stage is different. A child's height is also greatly influenced by the nutrition he receives in the first 1,000 days of life and also his health condition.
So, your little one's growth rate could be a little slower or faster than this. As long as your little one's height or length is within the ideal limits for his age, there's nothing to worry about.
Weight
Ideally, a healthy newborn will weigh around 2.6–3.8 kg. With age, weight will continue to increase according to the stage of child growth. The following is the average weight gain in children that you need to know:
- Infants 0–6 months: 140–200 grams weekly
- Infants aged 6–12 months: 85–140 grams weekly
- Children aged 1–2 years: 2.5 kg annually
- Children aged 2–5 years: 2 kg annually
- Children aged 5 years to puberty: 2-3 kg per year
Just like height, weight gain in children also depends on nutritional intake and health conditions. To make it easier for you, make sure your baby's weight is 3 times his birth weight when he reaches the age of 1 year.
Even if it's not exactly 3 times, remember, as long as it's proportional to your height or within the ideal weight limit for a child his age, your little one's weight is still normal. how come, Bun.
head circumference
In addition to height and weight, another measure of child growth that you need to know is the baby's head circumference. This examination is important because the size of the baby's head circumference that is not normal can indicate a brain growth disorder. The following is the average increase in head circumference in children:
- Infants 0–3 months: 2cm per month
- Infants 4–6 months: 1 cm per month
- Infants aged 6–12 months: cm per month
- Children aged 1–2 years: 2 cm in 1 year
How to Optimize Children's Growth Stages
So that children can grow up healthy and optimally, there are several ways you can apply to support their growth, including:
- Make sure your little one eats healthy food by following balanced nutrition guidelines, starting from consuming various sources of protein, good fats, vegetables and fruits, and also drinking enough water.
- Make sure your little one has a clean diet and lifestyle to prevent them from getting infected.
- Avoid the risk of obesity in children by adjusting their diet and regularly inviting them to exercise from an early age.
- Get used to your little one meeting the ideal sleep time, which is 11-14 hours per day for toddlers and 10-13 hours per day for children aged 3-5 years.
- Perform routine measurements at the puskesmas and posyandu, ie every month until the age of 1 year, every 3 months until the age of 3 years, every 6 months until the age of 6 years, and once a year in the following years.
It is very important to maintain the nutritional quality and cleanliness of the food and beverages consumed by children. Adequate nutrition from food will act as a source of energy and bone-forming components and muscles to grow.
Meanwhile, clean food can prevent children from various infectious diseases. If it often occurs during growth, infectious diseases in children can cause growth disorders, and can even have an impact on children stunting.
Healthy children will continue to experience ideal growth and development. So, a child's growth can be a measure of the child's health condition. This is why every mother needs to always monitor the stages of her child's growth.
If you feel that your little one has a growth disorder or that his body measurement results are not normal, you are advised to immediately consult a doctor or nutritionist to find out the cause and the treatment needed.
