6 things to do if your baby’s weight is outside the ideal range – and 1 thing to avoid

One of the most essential challenges we face as parents is ensuring that our children develop at a robust pace.

To combat this, we take them to regular check-ups with our GP or nurse, where essential measurements, including weight and height, are recorded and compared to the ‘ideal’ range.

But how exact are these measurements? What to do if your baby’s weight is outside the ideal range?

How is children’s weight measured?

It is essential to facilitate our children maintain a robust weight. Around 80% of children People who are obese during adolescence will struggle with their weight throughout their lives.

GPs and nurses regularly measure your baby’s height and weight and exploit growth charts to visualize your baby’s growth over time. They usually exploit two charts covering:

1. birth to two years of age, which it assumes World Health Organization standards. They were developed based on studies in six countries that measured the growth of robust breastfed infants

2. from two to 18 years ancient, which takes the charts from US Center for Disease Control for children and adolescents, body weight, height and body mass index (BMI).

These charts exploit percentile lines to plot a child’s measurements in the form of a growth curve, which is then compared to the expected – or ideal – range of weight and height taken from children of the same age and sex.

A child’s development is considered robust if his or her measurements consistently follow percentile lines. Impoverished growth is characterized by a tendency for a child’s weight or height to decline at each percentile.

For children under two years of age, a body weight above the 85th percentile is considered extent of overweightand weight-for-age above the 97th percentile is included in the obesity range.

In children over two years of age, a BMI above the 85th percentile is taken into account overweight and a BMI above the 95th percentile is classified as obesity.

But height and BMI charts are not perfect

Growth charts provide a plain yet effective indication of our child’s growth and development. They can facilitate healthcare workers detect potential health problems early so that they can be examined by a specialist.

However, growth charts can cause parents a lot of anxiety and stress because they don’t realize that each child grows and develops at a different rate.

That’s why it’s so essential to assess trends and changes in body weight over time and not react to measurements that may show outliers.

1 thing to avoid if your child is above the ideal range

NO limit your child’s food intake or restrict your diet if they fall outside the ideal range. Although this may facilitate them lose weight initially, it will be harmful later.

Putting a diet on a juvenile child affects their ability to metabolize food and their innate ability to regulate their food intake as they grow and develop. This may have an impact their relationship with food and over time they accelerate the weight problem.

Holding on to your child’s weight can also lead to anxiety, low self-esteem, and eating disorders body image problems.

6 things you can do

If your child’s weight is outside the ideal range, continue to monitor his or her growth over time and focus on allowing him or her to “grow” to a robust weight. You can do this by:

1. Focus on health, not weight

Each of us has a predetermined weight: a set value that our body protects. It is programmed in the early years of life – especially in the first 2,000 days of life – from conception to age five.

Our genes play a role in programming our weight setpoint. Just as DNA determines whether we are shorter or taller than others, this is what it is be born with a tendency to be slimmer or larger. But our genetic makeup is just a predisposition, not an inevitable fate.

Developing robust habits and a positive approach to eating, exercise and body image in the family home will facilitate your child achieve an optimal body weight throughout their life.

This includes:

• teaching your child about nutrition by discussing the importance of the foods we eat and why certain foods are only eaten sometimes

• finding time for daily activity that focuses on enjoying movement rather than exercising to lose weight or change your appearance

• paying attention to how we talk about our bodies and avoiding negative comments about weight and appearance.

2. Reach for nature first

Provide your child with plenty of “nature delicacies” – for example, fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, nuts and seeds. In their natural state, these foods trigger the same pleasure response in the brain as highly processed junk and speedy food, and they also provide the nutrition your body needs.

3. Eating a full rainbow

Offer your child a wide range of foods with different colors and textures. Cook your family’s favorite dishes in different ways, e.g. spaghetti bolognese with lentils as an alternative to spaghetti bolognese with beef.

Being a more adventurous eater helps children’s development palate and provides them with the nutrients their bodies need for robust growth and development.

4. Making meals relaxing and enjoyable

Involve the whole family in meals. Improve your baby’s innate characteristics appetite regulation slowing down and eating together at the table. Slowing down your eating means there is enough time for appetite hormones to be sent to your brain and signal that you’ve had enough.

Meals that are composed and enjoyable also facilitate create positive associations with robust eating and facilitate overcome nutritional problems.

5. I play every day

Consider national business guidelines to understand your child’s movement needs at every stage of its development. For most age groups, this is about 60 minutes of physical activity or vigorous play, which can be divided into several smaller series.

Schedule regular time for activities that involve movement and play, such as energetic games, sports, and family walks and bike rides.

6. Back to screen time rules

Ensure your child has a robust exposure to screens and a good night’s sleep by developing robust technology habits and implementing plain rules, such as setting screen-free zones at mealtimes and in the bedroom.

Create positive entertainment alternatives that bring the family together.