Understand Your Toddler's Growth

Toddlerhood, the most important phase in the development of a baby, is a time when a baby makes rapid changes. It is a stage when babies would be perfecting their walk, start speaking and learn to respond in an interactive manner. However, there are two aspects of a toddler’s growth, namely, physical and mental. Physical growth can be characterized by increase in height, weight and other physical attributes. On the other hand, mental growth includes the changes in the mental development of a toddler, such as the capacity to think, imagine, analyze, judge right and wrong, etc. A toddler’s growth is often monitored using toddler growth charts that represents whether a child is growing or not. Mental development charts are also prepared to record toddlers’ speech, pauses, words, repetition of syllables, and so on. Read on further to find out how to make a toddler growth chart to understand your toddler’s growth.

How To Make A Toddler Growth Chart

Get a copy of a toddler growth chart from your toddler’s pediatrician.
In case your child’s pediatrician does not have an existing toddler growth chart to give you, make one by yourself, using a graph paper. Starting with the current month, list the twelve months across the top of the paper.
Write down the current weight of your toddler in the center of the left side of the graph paper.
Mark single kg increases in a list above this weight. Similarly, mark single kg decreases in a list below his current weight.
Mark your toddler’s current height in the center of the right side of the graph paper.
Make 1-inch increase in a list above this height and 1-inch decrease in a list below the current height.
Measure your toddler’s height and weight every month and mark a circle on the graph lines in the spots corresponding to his measurements.
Mark your toddler’s weight changes using an orange marker and height changes using a purple marker.
While the months pass by, connect the circles to make sure that he is making steady upward climbs. Compare your toddler’s growth with the chart provided by the pediatrician.
For head measurements, wrap the measuring tape around your toddler’s head, just above the eyebrows and ears, then around the back where the head slopes up prominently from the neck. The goal is to measure at the spot where it has the largest circumference.
You can also take your chart to the pediatrician on your toddler’s next appointment. This will enable the pediatrician to monitor your toddler’s progress.
Similarly, you can create charts for mental growth of your toddler showcasing developmental milestones, such as first words, speaking in a sentence and responding to commands. Mark these milestones with a black marker.
Punch your toddler’s growth charts and place them in a three-ring binder for transporting them easily to the pediatrician’s office.

How to Cite

Related Articles

See also

More in 'Parenting & Family'