Naturopathic Doctor

Growth and Motor Milestone Charts

In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its growth charts. The new charts show optimal growth patterns for children from birth through age five years.

In contrast to the previous charts, the new charts show how children should grow, and differences reflect abnormal growth, rather than deviations from the average. The new norms are based on healthy children from several diverse countries, raised in conditions favorable to optimal growth, and with mothers who make beneficial health choices like breastfeeding and not smoking.

"A key characteristic of the new standards is that they explicitly identify breastfeeding as the biological norm and establish the breastfed child as the normative model for growth and development."

- WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group, 2006b

Also new to the standards are windows of achievement for six gross motor developmental milestones.

**** All of the following downloadable charts are in PDF format. ****

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Growth Charts

Boys

Weight for Age (0 to 5 years)

Length/Height for Age (0 to 5 years)

Weight for Length (0 to 2 years)

Weight for Height (2 to 5 years)

Body-Mass Index (BMI) for Age (0 to 5 years)

Head Circumference for Age*

Girls

Weight for Age (0 to 5 years)

Length/Height for Age (0 to 5 years)

Weight for Length (0 to 2 years)

Weight for Height (2 to 5 years)

Body-Mass Index (BMI) for Age (0 to 5 years)

Head Circumference for Age*

* The Head Circumference for Age charts have not been updated by WHO yet.

Motor Milestones

Windows of Achievement for Six Gross Motor Milestones

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