OUR BABIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 690, 29 July 1914, Page 6

OUR BABIES.

Published under the auspices of the Society for the Health of Women and Children. " It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." WEIGHT AND HEIGHT I have received several inquiries during the last few months as to the average normal height and weight of infants. The question of weight in early infancy is dealt with in the feeding table, page 34, "Feeding and Care of Baby"; but I am glad to supplement this with data as to height, as well as giving th 9 weight and cheat measurements in later infancy. The following summary regarding weight and height, mainly adapted from data given by Dr Leroy Yale, of New York, in answer to questions submitted to him, conveys practically all most mothers want to know on the subject:— THE INFANT'S NORMAL WEIGHT How much ought the normal child to gain in onp week? What is an average or fair weight for a child of four months? Growth varies according to age. During the fir3t week there is usually a slight loss. After this is overcome the gain is continual, but not uniform. It varies first of all with different children, depending somewhat, but not entirely.upon the original size and strength of the child. Five ounceß per Week is a fair gain for the first two months; but the gain often reaches as much as half a pound weekly during this period. By the age of four months it is slackening, being not much above a quarter of a pound per week. The weight at that age will be on an average about 131b — sometimes 141b or more —but owing to the progressive retardation of growth, the weight at a year is on the average less than doubls what it is at three months. Thus a child who weighs 141b at three months cannot be expected to weigh above 241b at 12 months, if so much; and the weight at one year will not, on the average, be again doubled before the sixth nr seventh year is reached. It is usual to consider that the birthweight shall be doubled at five or six months and trebled at one year; but this is not true if the birthweight is exceptionally large. Average weight and haight of babies during the first year. —At birth 71b, 1 month 81b, 2 months 921b, 3 months lljlb. 4 months 131b,5 months 1411b, 6 months 15Jlb, 7th months 16Jlb, 8 months 17£lb, 9 month 181b. 12 months 211b.

Height in inches, at birth 20, 3 months 22.}. 6 months 25,9 months 27, 12 month* 29 inche. Baby girls tend to be elightly below and boys slightly above these figures, th 9 difference in weight iB usually not moie than about half a pound. Of course these are some naturally heavy quick-growing babies who much exceed the above figures, while other babies who are quite healthy weigh somewhat less. MEASUREMENTS AND WEIGHTS OF BOYS AND GIRLS AT VRAIOUS AGES

Will you please give the average height and weight and chest measures of a two year-old child? Is there found to be a difference between an average boy and an average girl of these ages in regard to Bize and weight? While we have a good many figures regarding the first year, and abundance concerning the school age—six years and upwards—we have few rearding the interval from one to six years. Dr Holt has recorded the results of weighing and measuring 372 children from the second to the fifth year. These results are as follow: — Two years.—Weight: Boys, 26.51b; girls, 25.51b. Height: 32.5 in for both sexps. Chest (middle of inspiration) : boys, 19in; girls, 18.5 in. Three years—Weight: Boys, 31.21b; girls, 301b. Height: 35in for both sexes. Cheat: Boys, 20.1 in; girls, 19.8 in.

. An easy figure to bear in mind as an average is that when five years old a child should weight in pounds about eight times its age—in other words, about 401b. Knowing that for several years before and after five years of age the yearly increase is about 4lb or 51b, one can easily arrive at what a child should weigh for any year from two to eight, by merely subtracting or adding as the case may be. The average normal height at five years of ago is about 42in for boys and about 41Jin for girls: and at 10 years of age 52in for boys and 51$ in for girls. The average weight of a 10 year-old normal boy ii about 66Jib, and that of a girl 641b; but at 16 years the average boy weighs about 101b or 111b more than the girl, and he should have shot 4in above her in height.