Every child is different - it's no secret. However, there are indicators that children in certain age groups should meet the average statistical standards. Such parameters help the doctor to determine the possible presence of problems on the part of physical and mental development, as well as to suggest the presence of any disease.
Evaluation of a child's physical development is a very important point for any doctor and, of course, for parents. What do all these scales, ratings and tables mean in a baby's life and where do they come from?
Newborn
When a child is just born, he immediately gets his first marks. According to the Apgar scale, a neonatologist sets a certain number of points in the first and fifth minutes of a baby's life. It depends on these two numbers whether he stays with his mother or whether he needs additional medical care, the issue of first vaccinations is decided.
Baby up to a year
After the baby is one month old, mothermust carry the baby to scheduled appointments with the pediatrician. This happens according to the schedule when the baby is executed:
- one month;
- three months;
- six months;
- nine months;
- twelve months.
At these receptions, an assessment of physical development is mandatory according to centile tables. They also record the age when the child began to smile, sat down for the first time, stood up, took the first steps, said the first word, the timing of teething. Measure:
- Weight.
- Body length.
- Volume/head circumference.
- Chest size.
- Body temperature.
- Fannel size.
Based on these data and possible complaints from the mother, the child may be sent for additional tests or a specialist appointment. In other cases, an assessment of physical development is given according to centile tables. According to these tables, the rate of development is always considered to fall into the middle corridors, that is, in the range of 25–75 percent. But a child can also develop quite normally if the data for all indicators are in the same range, below or above the average (in this case, they talk about body features).
Centile tables for boys under one year old
To measure the growth of a baby up to a year old, a special board with sides is used in the clinic. To one of them they press the head of the child, to the other - the legs.
| Ageboy, in months | Boy's height | ||||||
| Centile spacing, % | |||||||
| 3-9 | 10-24 | 25-49 | 50-74 | 75-89 | 90-96 | 97-100 | |
| newborn | 46, 5 | 48 | 49, 8 | 51, 3 | 52, 5 | 53, 5 | 55 |
| 1 | 49, 5 | 51, 5 | 52, 7 | 54, 5 | 55, 5 | 56, 5 | 57, 5 |
| 3 | 55, 5 | 56, 5 | 58, 1 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 64 |
| 6 | 61, 5 | 63 | 65 | 66 | 68 | 69 | 71, 5 |
| 9 | 67, 5 | 68, 2 | 70 | 71, 5 | 73, 2 | 75 | 79 |
| 12 | 71 | 72, 5 | 74 | 75, 5 | 77, 3 | 80 | 82 |
The centile tables for boys and girls also contain data on the size of the child's head. Non-compliance with the standards for this parameter is a reason to refer the baby to a neurologist.
| Ageboy, in months | Boy's head circumference | ||||||
| Centile spacing, % | |||||||
| 3-9 | 10-24 | 25-49 | 50-74 | 75-89 | 90-96 | 97-100 | |
| newborn | 33 | 34 | 34-35 | 35 | 35-37 | 37 | 37, 5 |
| 1 | 34, 5 | 35, 5 | 36, 5 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40, 5 |
| 3 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 40, 5 | 41, 5 | 42, 5 | 43, 5 |
| 6 | 41, 5 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 45, 5 | 46, 5 |
| 9 | 43, 5 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 46, 5 | 47, 5 | 48 |
| 12 | 44, 5 | 45, 5 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 48, 5 | 49, 5 |
Factors affecting physical development
The physical he alth of a child is the main indicator of the state of his he alth. It depends on several factors:
- climatic conditions;
- heredity;
- food;
- the level of material well-being of the family;
- compliance with the regime of the day;
- parent-child relationship;
- psychological atmosphere in the family.
Required anthropometric data to assess the physical development of children after a year
Evaluation of the physical development of children after a year is based on the following indicators:
- Somatic indicators (weight in kg, height in cm, chest circumference in cm).
- Somatoscopic indicators (the condition of the integument of the skin, mucous membranes, the development of subcutaneous fat deposits, the development of the musculoskeletal system, the level of sexual development).
- Physiometric indicators (muscle strength, lung capacity, blood pressure, pulse rate).
- General he alth (transferreddiseases, the presence of chronic ailments).
Methods for assessing physical development are strictly unified, since only by taking measurements under the same conditions and with the same tools, we can talk about the comparability and reliability of the research results.
Somatic indicators
Assessment of the physical development of a child often occurs in this way: the somatic indicators of the development of a particular child are compared with centile tables according to age and sex. What these tables look like for boys can be seen below.
| Ageboy | Boy's height | ||||||
| Centile spacing, % | |||||||
| 3-9 | 10-24 | 25-49 | 50-74 | 75-89 | 90-96 | 97-100 | |
| 2 years | 81 | 83 | 84, 5 | 87 | 89 | 100 | 94 |
| 3 years | 88 | 90 | 92, 5 | 96 | 100 | 102 | 104, 5 |
| 5 years | 99 | 101, 5 | 104, 5 | 108, 5 | 112 | 114, 5 | 117 |
| 7 years | 111 | 113, 5 | 117 | 121 | 125 | 128 | 130, 5 |
| 10 years | 126, 5 | 129, 5 | 133 | 138 | 142 | 147 | 149 |
For girls, growth rates are slightly different. Up to two years, they are usually slightly smaller than boys, but after they catch up and even outstrip in growth.
| Agegirls | Girl height | ||||||
| Centile spacing, % | |||||||
| 3-9 | 10-24 | 25-49 | 50-74 | 75-89 | 90-96 | 97-100 | |
| 2 years | 80 | 82 | 83, 5 | 85 | 87, 5 | 90 | 92, 5 |
| 3 years | 89 | 91 | 93 | 95, 5 | 98 | 100, 5 | 103 |
| 5 years | 100 | 102, 5 | 105 | 107, 5 | 111 | 113, 5 | 117 |
| 7 years | 111 | 113, 5 | 117 | 121 | 125 | 128 | 131, 5 |
| 10 years | 127 | 130, 5 | 134, 5 | 19 | 143 | 147 | 151 |
Study of somatoscopic parameters
Methods for assessing physical development include a number of key measurement indicators. They can be studied in the following table.
| Sign | Parameters | Norma | Note |
| Fat Deposition | The thickness of the fat fold on the abdomen | 1-2cm | Side at the level of the navel and under the shoulder blade |
| Shape and features of chest development | Cylindrical, flat, conical, mixed, rachitic, barrel-shaped | Cylindrical | Mixed chest may sometimes be considered normal in young children |
| Backbone | Slim, chunky, intermediate | - | - |
| Spine | Normal, kyphotic, lordotic | Normal - s-shaped in the sagittal plane | Scoliosis is also a spinal deformity |
| Shape of legs | Vaulted, flat, flattened | Vaulted (normal) | - |
Physiometric indicators
Assessment of the physical development of schoolchildren occurs, among other things, by measuring the functional indicators of the body:
1. The vital capacity (volume) of the lungs is an indicator of the strength of the respiratory muscles and the volume of the lungs. The measurement is carried out using an air or water spirometer. Age indicators for children of different sex and age will be different.
| Age | Gender | |||
| Girls | Boys | |||
| Volume, ml | Power | Volume, ml | Power | |
| 8 years | 1474 | 280 | 1670 | 301 |
| 10 years | 1903 | 360 | 2000 | 409 |
| 15 years | 3022 | 433 | 3670 | 729 |
2. The strength of the muscles of the hands - the degree of developmentmuscles. The measurement is made with a device called a hand dynamometer.
3. Deadlift strength is the strength of the body extensor muscles in the hip joints.4. HR - heart rate.
| Age, years | Blows per minute |
| 1 | 120-125 |
| 3 | 105-110 |
| 5 | 93-100 |
| 7 | 85-90 |
| 10 | 78-85 |
| 15 | 70-76 |
5. Blood pressure begins to be measured after the age of seven. Normally, from this age, systolic (upper) should be in the range of 100–120 mm Hg. Art., and diastolic (lower) - 60-80 mm Hg. st.
Assessment of physical development for these indicators is made by comparing individual indicators and average values characteristic of a given age and gender group of children.
Other Development Assessment Methods
Mandatory anthropometric data for assessing physical development are also used in other methods:
- Anthropometric standards/sigma deviation method. When using this method, the proportionality of development is calculated. This method is rarely used today, as it does not show the full picture.development, but explores the elements separately.
- Regression scales. The tables for evaluation by this method are compiled taking into account correlations, which is an undoubted advantage of the method. But it cannot be used for children with disproportionate development on certain grounds.
-
One-dimensional scale Matveyeva N. A. This method is used when entering the first grade, when moving to the 3rd, 8th and 6th grades. It takes into account eleven signs of development:
- body weight, - height;
- circumference (volume) of the chest;
- number of molars;
- lung capacity;
- frequency (beats per minute) of the pulse;
- size of the fat fold in the navel area;
- muscle strength of the left arm;
- muscle strength of the right hand;- minimum and maximum blood pressure.
assessment of the physical development of adolescents This method is quite detailed, but has the same drawback as the method of anthropometric standards. Therefore, the assessment of physical development will be more accurate if two-dimensional centile tables are used, which take into account the dependence of body length on mass.
- Two-dimensional centile table. The assessment takes place on an eight-point scale, which takes into account the ratio of sex, age, length and body weight.
- Centile table according to I. M. Vorontsov. It uses a scale that takes into account three main indicators - the length of the body, the weight of the child and the size of the chest. Tests (screenings) according to this method are used during preventive examinations in order to determine the group of children with severe developmental disabilities.
- Complex method.
Complex method for assessing physical development
All the previously considered methods take into account only morphological data of developmental assessment, but for a growing person, it is natural and necessary to take into account biological development. Comprehensive method includes:
- Assessment of biological age (the degree of correspondence to the age of maturation of the child's systems and organs). Criteria: weight gain and body length per year, age by the number of teeth, puberty, development of the bone apparatus.
- Body type according to the ratio of the shape of the legs, abdomen, chest, back, development of muscles, bones, adipose tissue.
- Evaluation of the harmony of developmental characteristics in terms of the ratio of body height and weight.
A comprehensive assessment of physical development, which is carried out in institutions of treatment and prevention, as well as during detailed medical examinations, allows, depending on the totality of data, to divide children into five different he alth groups:
- I group. It includes children without chronic diseases, not sick or rarely sick, developing physically and mentally without deviations.
- II group. This group includes the category of children without chronic diseases and sick no more than four times a year, with risks of developing chronic diseases, there may be minor deviations in the level of functioning of systems and organs.
- III group defines children with chronic diseases, pathologies (congenital, not interfering with the bodyfunction normally), frequently ill (more than four times a year).
- IV group. Children with malformations (congenital), chronic diseases that disrupt the normal state of he alth and the general condition of the body.
- V group. This group includes children suffering from serious chronic diseases that cause obvious disorders and impaired functioning of the body.
Teenagers
Assessing the physical development of adolescents does not differ from the assessment methods used for all children. All tables and scales include data for children under 17.
Although, of course, we must not forget that the development of girls after the age of nine and boys after eleven will be significantly different from the development of younger children.
In adolescence, there are significant changes in the proportions of the body and the development of organs and systems:
- Girls under 14 are significantly ahead of their peers in terms of weight, height, chest size.
- During this period, there is a strong growth spurt (girls will have time to grow by about 25 centimeters and add 25 kilograms; boys - 35 centimeters and 35 kilograms).
- By the age of 13-15, the formation of secondary sexual characteristics will be completely completed.
- The active formation of the nervous, mental, cardiovascular, endocrine systems continues.
- Pulse and pressure are gradually approaching those of an adult and at the age of 18 they will stop at 120 to 65 for girls and 115 to 60 for boys.
It is worth noting that the acceleratingthe pace of physical development (acceleration) has significantly changed the norms of somatic indicators recently.
