Every woman who is the mother of a wonderful baby strives to be healthy, happy and cheerful. So that the weight and height parameters are as close as possible to the data of the tables, which many parents are guided by. How much a child weighs at 4 years old can be found in this article.
Norms and reasons for deviation
When mom knows the weight indicators for the baby, she can quite closely monitor its development. In the special tables that each parent looked at least a couple of times, the averaged indicators are indicated. For girls, they are between 14-17 kg. And the weight of the boys is 15-17 kg. But all this is averaged. Do not panic if the weight of the baby does not fit into the specified framework. It will be quite enough to watch a little daughter or son. By the way, often it depends on the mode in which the baby eats, and how much the child weighs at 4 years old depends.
If the baby is underweight, it can make mom and dad worry. The main causes of deficiency include:
- heredity - if the parents are thin, they rarely quite grow full kids, and vice versa;
- during pregnancy, some difficulties with a woman's health;
- the child’s diet - there is a possibility that the mother is feeding her baby incorrectly.
It is necessary to clearly analyze each of the reasons and, if necessary, rush to the doctor. If the baby has excess weight, then in addition to the wrong diet and heredity, one should study his physical activity.
What does WHO say?
It is natural that each parent is not indifferent to the development of his child. This is especially true of his social skills and mental abilities. Parents pay attention to his physical development, however, not always carefully enough. The development of a child at 4 years of age (height, weight and other indicators) is always under the close attention of every mother.
For example, take the baby’s weight. If a baby four years old is very thin, parents often experience anxiety. But if the crumbs have more weight than what is required, then in this case, on the contrary, mothers and fathers are very happy: what about their child eating well and gaining weight perfectly. But doctors are trying to convince that both of these “skews” in body weight are a clear consequence of the child’s maldevelopment, or a manifestation of some kind of pathology.
So how much does a child weigh at 4 years old? Experts of the World Health Organization answered this question, having calculated and entered the data in certain tables.
Of course, the weight of the babies depends on what gender they are. The body weight of the boy (with normal development) is on average 16.3 kg, and girls - 16.1 kg. By the way, doctors do not consider it scary if there is a slight deviation from the norm - for children, numbers from 14.5 to 18.5 kg are considered acceptable. And the table of changes in the height and weight of the child at 4 years old testifies to the same. If the weight indicators are much lower or higher, this will be a significant departure from generally accepted standards, which requires immediate action.
We control the weight of the baby in 4 years
At this age, the child eats from three to five times a day. As a rule, caring moms and dads share food for two breakfasts, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. The intervals between meals should be approximately equal. If such a regimen is observed, the baby will not overeat and he will not have heaviness in his stomach either.
Attention to young parents! The correct metabolism is formed thanks to five meals a day.
In order not to worry again about the question of how much a child should weigh at 4 years old, one simple rule must be observed. If the baby is a kindergartner, at home it is quite possible to offer him a simple breakfast consisting of fresh fruit, cottage cheese or juice. In the kindergarten he will be offered porridge or a sandwich.
I want to eat, but I won’t
If the child refuses food, do not insist. After all, adults also have a moment when their appetite disappears. Another thing is if the baby does not want to eat constantly. In this case, you must be especially careful. Such kids do not feel the need for food and can not realize that they are hungry. They may cry and be capricious, feeling hungry, but at the same time they will still refuse to eat at least a piece.
This is how a child at 3 years old can behave. The child development calendar at 4 years old will reflect weight data, which, as a rule, many parents are guided by. Four-year-olds will also cry and not eat.
It is not recommended to force-feed such babies. But they should offer a plate of food as persistently and often as possible.
Children need to be encouraged to attend hobby groups and children's sections, spend more time with them outdoors, organize various active games, and roller-skate or ice-skate. Do not bring plates in front of the TV or computer so that there is no overeating. It is also necessary to track the weight of the baby. If you have at least tiny concerns, you need to consult a pediatrician.
We correlate the weight and height of the baby
The concept of "body mass index" - BMI - is well known to many parents. Especially, this applies to those mothers who are trying to monitor their figure. To correctly assess the harmony of the development of the baby and identify any deviations in height or weight, you will also need to calculate BMI.
It should be remembered that the norm indicators for a small child differ from similar values that are intended for the adult population. Normal BMI for an adult is no more than 25, for children a similar index varies from 13 to 21. Typically, BMI is calculated so that it is possible to diagnose the following conditions:
- exhaustion that needs treatment;
- underweight;
- normal weight;
- slightly increased weight (it is included in the permissible range of normal fluctuations);
- overweight;
- obesity that requires treatment.
And this index is calculated thanks to the weight and height calculator, which can be found on the Internet. In the fields intended for this, data are filled in - the gender of the child, the number of years, height and weight at the moment. Then the button “Calculate” is pressed and the result is evaluated.
Non-compliance
About how much a child weighs at 4 years old, it has already been said above. But what about parents whose babies are too thin or too chubby? Usually, if the deviations from the norm are small, it is enough to just change the diet of the little one and its diet.
Of course, it is not necessary to introduce too drastic changes in the life of the child. It will be enough instead of two or three meals a day to provide him with 4–5 meals a day. It should be noted that neither thin nor fat children need to be given huge portions. For breakfast, it is enough to offer fruit and a glass of juice (this has already been mentioned). And the porridge in kindergarten can become the second breakfast. For lunch and afternoon tea for the baby, prepare something familiar, but for dinner, come up with something easy. Cottage cheese or vegetable salad is suitable.
Another tip: you need to observe the behavior of the child. Not all kids in their four years of age have learned to understand how hungry they are (this was discussed just above). They can remain hungry for quite some time, and then suddenly start acting up and asking for food. But at the same time, the kids eat very little, because they are very tired and began to get nervous. To normalize weight in this situation, it will be enough to follow the feeding regimen and monitor the quality of nutrition (more proteins and trace elements, less carbohydrates and fats).
About large deviations
If the table of height and weight of children under 5 years old introduces parents to the same figures, and the deviations of the weight of the four-year-old baby from WHO standards are quite large, then mothers and fathers must rush to a doctor's consultation. If the weight is small or, on the contrary, too large, this may indicate that there are many unpleasant diseases that, after a while, can lead to the development of the following.
Due to its very large body mass, the cardiovascular system is very depressed. Quite often, in children with a lot of weight, you can detect high blood pressure. Also, excess load affects the spine.
If the children have a small weight (shortage), they can quickly get tired. And this does not have a positive effect on their nervous system.
After examining the child, the doctor will give the necessary recommendations in this case regarding diet. If the doctor suspects the presence of any pathology, then he can refer the baby for a more thorough examination by a specialist.