Keeping track of how a child grows and grows older is very interesting and exciting! When our parents were young, their mothers and fathers often made nicks or pen marks on doorposts. Such traces can still be found in apartments where there has been no repair for decades. Today, a similar option for measuring growth is no longer relevant. But there is also a worthy alternative - special stadiometers for children, devices that allow you to accurately monitor how your child grows without harming the interior.
Where are stadiometers used?
A device for measuring growth can be found in any pediatric office. In a medical institution, this is a device made in a strict, concise design that allows you to accurately determine the parameters of the patient. Interestingly, in modern hospitals not only classic children's stadiometers are used, but also modern electronic ones. Such devices can be directly connected to a computer and immediately able to transmit the information received to the system. Household non-medical stadiometers are performed in a bright design attractive for children. Usually this is a large colorfully designed “ruler” of plastic, wood or cardboard. Such a stadiometer will be appropriate in a children's room, preschool or summer camp. Sometimes devices for determining growth are also used in public places, for example, in amusement parks or water parks. They are necessary so that the staff can quickly determine whether a young visitor can go down the hill or ride a carousel, which has restrictions on physical / age indicators.
We determine the growth of infants
For the first time , a child’s height is measured a few minutes after he is born in a maternity hospital. Usually baby scales and stadiometers are installed in the birth wards. And as soon as the umbilical cord is cut and the baby is wiped, doctors record the indicators with which he was born. The height for 46-56 cm is considered to be the norm for newborns. The children's height meter for the smallest is a device with a horizontally located scale. Often, a growth meter is built into the balance. As soon as the child learns to sit confidently, his height can be determined using a special medical stadiometer with a stand-chair. The growth of children who have already celebrated their first birthday is usually measured with a vertical fixture.
Medical stadiometers for children
Devices for measuring growth in hospitals are made more often from metal. Classic mechanical models consist of a footrest, a measuring scale and a stop that moves freely around it. Due to their impressive weight, such devices are considered stationary. The child alone will not be able to tumble the height meter, the simplicity of the design guarantees its durability. But usually medical stadiometers are simply installed in a convenient place without additional fixation, and if necessary, they can be moved.
Products from wood, plastic and other materials
No wonder they say that children do not grow by the day, but by the hour. A child’s home stadiometer, located in the child’s room, will become not only a stylish element of the interior, but also an excellent assistant for parents in observing changes in the growth of the baby. Today on sale you can find such devices made of wood and plastic, as well as some other materials. Soft and stadiometer for children looks original and cozy - on a fabric basis, with decor from textile elements. And if you wish, you can find a bright and original measuring device made of polyurethane foam. Unlike medical stadiometers, pets have a simplified design, most often they are a decoratively designed scale that is mounted on the wall.
Cardboard stadiometers and interior stickers
A device for measuring growth, having a solid base, requires special mounting on the wall. If you do not want to nail the stadiometer or fix it in another difficult way, pay attention to the lightweight options. You can measure the growth of the child using a special sticker made on a self-adhesive film or cardboard. Such stadiometers are as compact as possible, do not require any complicated “installation”. At the same time, cardboard options are quite dense, and if desired, they can be removed from the wall and stored as a souvenir when they cease to be relevant. Children's stadiometers of this type are produced by many companies, and if you wish, you can choose the design that is best suited for a particular room.
How to make a device for determining growth with your own hands?
If you wish and the presence of a small amount of free time, you can make a stadiometer for the nursery with your own hands. Start by sketching. The height meter can be made in the form of an even rectangle or have a complex shape - a tree, a fairytale castle - it all depends on your imagination. At this stage, it will be useful to determine the material for manufacture. Thick cardboard, plywood, foam of medium thickness will do. Try to immediately decide whether you will have a stadiometer for children, stationary or mobile, and think in advance of the mounting / stand option. Transfer the template to a piece of selected material and cut out the shape. Then you need to decorate your height meter, and in the end put on it a measuring scale. Use an ordinary ruler as a sample, watch only then to transfer the divisions as accurately as possible. As for the design - the device can be decorated in a simple style or, on the contrary, be richly decorated. As a sample, you can choose any photo of a baby stadiometer from our article and slightly change the decor in the process to your liking.