How to Track Your Child’s Growth Spurts

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Are you wondering why your child seems to eat everything in the house and still want more, or a normally active child sleeping for long hours during the day? Your child may be having a growth spurt. Usually, they have a large appetite for food or sleep long hours during the day and then shoot up in height and weight.

It is important to track your child’s growth spurts as this helps you ensure your child is growing properly. When you sense your child is going through a growth spurt, ensure that they get a healthy dose of balanced meals. It would help if the child already has a healthy eating pattern. Rather than have your child snack on items low on nutrients, you can give him fruits, vegetables, milk and yogurt, to foster their growth.

In tracking your child’s growth, it is important to measure his height and weight, recording them in a book or computer. This record helps you have a well informed eye on your child’s physical development as well as helps you make the right choices when shopping for your child. Your child’s height and weight can be measured as follows:

Measuring your child’s height…

Place your toddler against the wall ensuring his head and heel are touching the wall.
Placing a ruler on your child’s head, mark the point where it touches the wall.
Take the child away from the wall and measure the length from the marked point to the floor.

Measuring your child’s weight…..

Remove your child’s clothing, shoes, head accessories
Place the child on a scale.
Record the weight indicated to the nearest figure.

In all, you should know that your child is genetically programmed to grow to a certain height and size and to a large extent his growth pattern will be determined by this. Apart from genetical influences, you can influence your child’s growth by ensuring he gets between 10 to 12 hours of sleep daily and ensuring he eats a wholesome diet.