When monitoring your child's growth, it's best to have the most accurate measurements
possible. If you have height and weight measurements recently taken by a healthcare
provider, enter those measurements and the date the measurements were taken. Otherwise,
follow these guidelines for taking height and weight measurements at home.
To Measure Your Child's Height
Remove your child's shoes, bulky clothing, and any hair ornaments, hats, or braids
that might interfere with the measurement.
Have your child stand on an uncarpeted floor with feet flat, together, and against
a flat wall. Make sure they have they hold their legs straight, arms at sides, and
shoulders level.
Ask your child to stand with head, shoulders, buttocks, and heels touching the wall.
(See illustration.) Don't worry if your child's body shape prevents some of these
points from touching the wall – just get them as close as you can.
With your child looking straight ahead, rest a book, or other flat item, firmly
on the crown of their head so it forms a right angle with the wall
Make sure your eyes are at the same level as the book, and then lightly mark where
the bottom of the book meets the wall.
Use a metal tape measure to measure from the base of the floor to the mark on the
wall to get the height measurement.
Enter your child's height into the Calculator, rounding to the nearest ¼ inch
or 0.25 cm.
To Measure Your Child's Weight
Place your bathroom scale on a hard surface, such as tile or wood, rather than carpet.
It is best to use a digital scale if you have one.
Have your child remove their shoes and any heavy clothing. Underwear only is most
acurate.
Ask your child to stand with both feet in the center of the scale and wait for their
weight to register on the scale.
Enter your child's weight into the Calculator, rounding to the nearest ¼ pound
or 0.25 kilogram.