How tall should my child be?
Whether a child’s size is within the normal range is regularly checked by the pediatrician as part of the U-examinations. The pediatrician then uses percentiles to show how tall the child is compared to other children of the same age. There are growth tables from which the growth of the child and the percentiles can be read.
If your child is in the 50th percentile range at the time of enrollment, this means that 50% of children of the same age are taller and 50% are shorter. Then the child is exactly in the middle. If your child is in the 3rd percentile, 97% of children of the same age are taller and only 3% are shorter.
In most cases, the growth of children already in the second or third year of life settles in a percentile along which further growth will take place over the next few years. If there is evidence of a growth disorder or if your child appears to be significantly taller or shorter than peers, you should consult your pediatrician to discuss the abnormality.
