Health balances at the pediatrician: what are they and when should they be done?

The first year of a child’s life is punctuated by appointments with the pediatrician, the so-called health checks, during which the child’s state of well-being is assessed and, at the same time, his progress is checked. These appointments also represent an opportunity to expose doubts and perplexities to the pediatrician: take advantage of them!

On the contrary, always write down the progress, doubts and questions to ask the pediatrician during each appointment in your notebook.

It’s good to know that a child’s development is never smooth and constant. There are periods in which progress is faster, also in terms of weight and height, others in which growth is slower.

Another important point is the comparison with other children which is often a source of unnecessary anxiety. Every child is unique in terms of their genetic heritage, but also for the environment in which they live and for the stimuli to which they are subjected. Therefore comparisons with peers could be misleading.

If you have doubts about your child’s growth and cognitive and motor development, the main point of reference is always the pediatrician.

The health check schedule

The first checks are performed at birth.

Health balance sheets must be done with precise timing and are not only used to monitor the child’s weight and height but also evaluate the cognitive, neurological and motor development.

Timing is also programmed to be able to identify in time any pathologies that could arise in that particular age of the child.

There are 10 main appointments for health balances, although there could be some differences between the various Italian regions. This is the standard scheme:

• 1st assessment: between the 16th and 45th day of birth
• 2nd assessment: between the 61st and 90th day of birth
• 3rd budget: between 4 and 6 months completed
• 4th assessment: between 7 and 9 months of age
• 5th budget: between 10 and 12 months completed
• 6th assessment: between 15 and 18 months of age
• 7th budget: between 2 and 3 years of age
• 8th budget: between 5 and 6 years of age
• 9th budget: between 7 and 9 years of age
• 10th budget: between 11 and 13 years of age

Weight and height are the two parameters that most attract attention and that we parents most often take into consideration when we evaluate the well-being of our child.

Weight and height gain in the first year of life

In the first year of life it is above all the weight that is the master. Babies on average double their birth weight around 5 months of age, and triple it around 12 months of age. The height, on the other hand, does not follow the same pattern.

Weight and height in the first year

The weight of the child increases clearly in the first six months of life, indeed in particular in the first 2. While already in the fourth month a completely physiological slowdown is frequently noticed and that should not justify an anticipation of weaning .

Even the length of the child increases especially in the first 3 months of life.

On average, a child increases by 10 cm in the first three months and then by 4 cm every 3 months.

At the end of 12 months of life, an average child is about 75 cm tall.

Weight and height in the second year

During the second year there is a further slowdown in growth.

Between 1 and 2 years a child gains only about 2 kg in weight and 10-12 cm in height.

This increase does not occur linearly but periods of growth and slowdown alternate which should not worry.

In fact, in this phase the child not only grows in height and weight but his tissues mature: the child will gradually take on a drier appearance but not because he is losing weight, but simply because his body is maturing and evolving.

Weight and height between 2 and 5 years

Between the ages of 2 and 5, this slow growth continues, with the child increasing by about 6 kg in weight and 25 cm in height.

Children grow more between spring and summer and less in autumn and winter and this is true regardless of their age.

Weight and height after age 5

After 5-6 years the growth rates are a little higher, the weight gain is greater than the height and this is true until adolescence when again the growth in height will take over the growth in weight.

If this rhythm of weight gain and height gain is altered, for example if a child under the age of 6 grows more in weight than in height, the risk of developing obesity increases, a disease which should not be underestimated and which requires countermeasures .