Our Babies

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 5 October 1917, Page 4

Our Babies

(By Hygeia)

Published under the auspices of tut Society for the Health of Women and Children.

"It is wiser to pat up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an Ambulance at the bottom."

Weight and Height. An Inquiry from Otago. " Would yuu tell me the weight an average child gains during the second, third, and fourth year? I have been considering aix pounds an average gain for the second year, and rather less for the third, but cannot find out if I »m correct." Reply. I have received seVeral inquiries from time to time 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 eiving the weight and chest measnrements in later infancy. The following summary regarding weight and height, mainly adapted from data given by Dr Leioy Yale, of New York, in answer to questions submitted to him, conveys practically al! that most mothers want to know on the subject:— The Infant's Normal Weight. How Much Ought the Normal Child to Gain in one Week? What is the Average Gain in tb« First Four Months? Growth varies according to age. Daring the first week there is usually a alight loas. After this is overcome the gain is continuous, biit 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 oannes per week is a fair gain for the first few months; but the gain often reaches as much as half a pound weekly during this period.

rJy the age of four months the rate of growth is slackening, being usually not much above a quarter of a pound per week. The weight of 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 double 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 iiverage, be again doubled before the sixth or seventh year is reached. It is usual to consider that the birth-weight should he doubled at five or six months and trebled at one year; bat this is not true if the birth-weight ig exceptionally high.

TABI'B OP AVERAGE WEIGHT AND HEIGHT OF BABIES DURING THE FIRST YEAR. At Months. Birth. • Height in li2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12 Pounds 7 8 91 114 13 141 1H 16J 17i 18 21 Weight in Inches 20 j 22* 25 27 29 Baby girls tend to be slightly below and boys elightly above these figures, the difference in weight being usually not more than about half a pound. Of course, there are some naturally qnick growing babies, who must exceed the above figures, while other babiu*, who are quite healthy, may weigh considerably less.

Measurements and Weights of I.oys and Girls at Vsrious Ages. » } ."Will you please give me the average height, weight and cheat measurements of a two-year old, also of a three-year-aid, child? Is there found to be a difference between an average boy and averag? girl of these agas'in regard to size and wejfgbt?" While we have a good many figures regarding the first year, and abundance concerning the age—six years and cpward,—we have few regarding the interval from ooe to bi"x yeati, Dr Holt has recorded the ra-

suits of weighing and measuring 372 children from the second to the fifth year. His results are as follow:—

Two —Weight: Boys, 26 J lb; girls, 25Jlb. Height: 32iin for both sexes. Chest (middle of inspiration) : Boys, 19in; girls, 18* in. Three Years—Weight: Boys, 311b; girls, 301b. Height: 35in for both sexes. Chest: Boys, 20in; girls, 20in. An easy figure to bear in mind as an average is that when five years old a child should weigh in pounds about eight times its age—in other words, about 401b. Knowing that for several years before and af t-jr five years of age the yearly increase is about 41b or 51b, one can easily arrive at what a child Bhould weigh for any y«ar from two to eight by merely subtracting or addiDg these figures, as the case may be. The average normal height at five years of age is about 42in for boys and about 41 Jin for girls; and at 10 years of age 52in for boys and 51 h in for girls. The average weight of a 10-year-old normal boy is about 66ilb 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.