In the first year of the baby's life, it is necessary to monitor his weight and height. Usually during this year the child grows up to 20-25 centimeters. In the coming years it will grow much more slowly. The growth of the baby is one of the most important indicators of proper development, which is why it is so important to monitor the dynamics of growth in the first year of life. If the child’s growth does not match his age, then you should consult a specialist for a complete diagnosis, which is able to identify diseases of various organs or show that the child is completely healthy.
How to measure the growth of a newborn at home? Height meter
As we already found out earlier, the growth of the baby is an indicator of the correct or incorrect development of the child. If the parents of the baby do not have the opportunity or the desire to visit the local pediatrician every month, they should learn how to measure growth at home. In order to know the growth of the child at any time, parents need to have a home stadiometer.
The height meter for babies looks like a regular board 40 centimeters wide and 85-90 centimeters long. On the board should be at least 80 divisions (centimeters) for measuring growth.
If there is no desire to make a height meter, then you can order it or buy it ready.
After manufacturing or purchasing a height meter, you need to learn how to measure growth at home in order.
How to measure growth? Step-by-step instruction
So, how to measure growth at home? First, the child must be placed on the stadiometer, while it is necessary to fix his straightened legs and head. Then it is necessary to note the resulting division on the stadiometer. The error in such measurements is about 0.5 centimeters.
If there is no way to make or buy a board for measuring growth, then you can use a regular centimeter tape. In order to measure the child’s growth with the help of a centimeter, the baby must be placed close to the wall with the head, straighten and fix his legs in this position and ask someone to measure him as follows: the tape is placed close to the wall and stretches along the child’s body to the feet. The resulting division is noted.
Measure the height of a child standing
How to measure growth at home, if the child is already rather big and does not want to lie? To do this, there are measurement methods standing upright. Nowadays, there are a large number of vertical stadiometers (wooden, cardboard, fabric and even electronic).
But how to measure growth at home, if there is no way to buy a special stadiometer? In this case, it can be made independently from plain paper or cardboard.
For the manufacture of the height meter, it will be necessary to glue the sheets of paper or cardboard together in one strip and draw a markup on it. This line is applied or glued to the wall in any room. To measure the growth of the child, you need to offer him to go back to the wall and stand close to it. Heels should be pressed against the wall, legs straightened. Make sure that the child does not stand on toes. Growing up children like to add centimeters of growth, they like to seem bigger, taller, older. After checking the correct position of the child, press a ruler or a hardback notebook to his head perpendicular to the height meter and make a mark on it.
If you do not mind wallpaper or painted walls, then you can take measurements of growth directly on the wall. To do this, we do the same thing, only without a height meter. Having made a mark on the wall, you will need to measure the resulting growth figure with a centimeter or ruler.
How to measure the growth of the child at home? The above tips will definitely help you answer this question. Using one of them, you can accurately know the growth of your baby.