Starting from the age of 5, your child’s height will continuously increase. Monitoring their growth rate is crucial to ensure that they achieve the standard height when they reach adulthood. What is the standard height for a 5-year-old child? And what can you do to help your child maximize their height growth?
Standard height and weight for a 5-year-old child
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the standard height and weight for a 5-year-old boy is 110.3cm – 18.5kg and for a 5-year-old girl is 109.6cm – 18.3kg.
You can use a measuring tape and a scale to measure your child’s height and weight. If your child’s height is not yet over 100cm, it’s recommended to check their nutrition and other factors that may affect their growth, to improve this condition early on. Keep in mind that height development in early childhood is the foundation for your child to achieve their ideal height when they reach adulthood.
Weight is also a notable factor when a child is 5 years old. If a boy’s weight is less than 14.1kg or more than 24.2kg, or a girl’s weight is less than 13.7kg or more than 24.9kg, parents should pay more attention to their child’s diet and exercise to maintain a healthy weight for the child. Remember that both underweight and overweight can hinder a child’s height development.
Benefits of regularly monitoring a child’s height and weight
Regularly monitoring a child’s height and weight is the best way to ensure continuous body development by detecting and reducing the risk of illness, while helping parents have a scientific plan to maximize their child’s growth.
Ensuring continuous development for the child
Height and weight reflect the child’s health status. By tracking the growth process, parents can easily see if their child is developing well or not through the difference in growth over time.
Early detection of health factors
If a child’s height increases too quickly or too slowly compared to the standard, the cause may be related to their health. By monitoring these indicators, parents can detect potential risk factors and take measures to improve their child’s health.
Adjusting a scientific growth plan for the child
From the age of 5 onwards, children need to have more of their nutritional needs met and maintain a balanced lifestyle, including physical activities, to maximize their potential. By monitoring the standard height and weight of their child, parents can easily adjust their nutrition and schedule to help their child grow to their fullest potential.
What are the reasons that cause slow height growth in children?
According to health experts, there are various reasons that can cause slow height growth in children such as congenital anomalies, rickets, malnutrition, endocrine disorders, etc. Below are some more detailed analyses of the reasons that can cause slow height growth in children that parents need to be aware of.
Slow height growth due to congenital anomalies:
- Noonan syndrome: Caused by changes in dominant genes on autosomes.
- Russell-Silver syndrome (RSS): Children with this syndrome are often underweight and physically underdeveloped compared to their peers.
- Achondroplasia: This is a disorder of bone development that leads to short stature and short limbs.
Slow height growth due to endocrine imbalances:
- Hypothyroidism: Low serum concentration of thyroid hormones that affect a child’s growth.
- Cushing syndrome: Children with this syndrome tend to gain weight rapidly and may experience early puberty, affecting their height growth.
- Growth hormone deficiency: This condition can occur at any age, but it is very rare, about 1/4000. When a child has growth hormone deficiency, their height growth will be significantly slower and may stop early, even though they are still within the developmental age range.
Children with slow height growth may be affected by chronic diseases.
Chronic diseases related to the kidneys, heart, lungs, or digestive system can also slow down a child’s height growth.
Children with slow height growth may be affected by bone diseases.
- Osteogenesis imperfecta: The child’s bones will be very brittle and prone to fracture even with mild impact. This condition may be inherited.
- Osteoporosis: Overactive or underactive thyroid or insufficient calcium can cause problems with the child’s bone formation, leading to an increased risk of osteoporosis.
- Bone necrosis in infants: Children with this disease have thick bones but are weak and prone to fractures. However, this is a very rare condition.
Children with slow height growth may be affected by their mother’s health during pregnancy.
During pregnancy, if the mother’s body lacks proper nutrition and engages in bad habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol, staying up late, the child may also experience slow height growth.
Children with slow height growth may be affected by malnutrition.
A lack of vitamin D can make a child’s bones thin and prone to fracture due to ineffective absorption of calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D deficiency can also lead to rickets, a condition that causes bowed legs.
An unbalanced diet: The body metabolizes the nutrients in the bones for growth. However, an unbalanced diet cannot provide the necessary nutrients.
Along with an imbalanced diet, lack of physical activity and staying up late can also slow down a child’s height growth.
Effective ways to increase the height of a 5-year-old child quickly
Parents can implement the following height-increasing methods for their 5-year-old child:
Balanced and healthy diet
A balanced and healthy diet is crucial as the vitamins, minerals, and protein from food will help effectively increase height. Parents should spend time cooking nutritious meals for their child instead of letting them eat fast food and drink carbonated beverages. In addition to protein and carbohydrates, supplement the child’s daily diet with vitamin D, calcium, and zinc.
- Protein is abundant in eggs, milk, and dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, meat such as beef, poultry, fish, nuts, and avocado.
- Calcium and vitamin D are plentiful in milk and dairy products, fish, and mushrooms (vitamin D), leafy greens (especially cabbage).
- Healthy fats are also an essential part of the diet, including butter, olive oil, and olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish.
- Iron is also important in the growth process, especially in girls. Iron can be supplemented from dark green vegetables, dark meat, raisins, soybeans,…
Establishing a Scientific Meal for Children
Balanced nutrition in each meal is necessary, but it is not enough. A scientific eating habit is also essential. Parents should prepare 5 meals a day for their children, including 3 main meals and 2 snacks to provide enough energy for all activities throughout the day. During puberty, children need to eat more. The important thing is that parents should not let their children skip a meal every day, especially breakfast.
Using milk and dairy products reasonably
Milk provides abundant nutrients for the development of 5-year-old children. It contains a large amount of Calcium that helps bones become strong and grow taller. Milk and dairy products also contain a lot of Vitamin A and protein. However, milk still contains a significant amount of fat, so parents need to pay attention and give their children only an adequate amount of milk each day.
Using products that support height growth
There are many height growth products available on the market today. These products contain essential nutrients for bone development such as Calcium, Collagen type 2, Zinc, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, etc. The important thing is that parents need to choose high-quality products combined with a scientific eating habit, exercise, and early bedtime to help their children grow taller effectively.
Ensuring children drink enough water
To help children reach their maximum height, parents should make sure that they drink at least 2-3 liters of water each day. Water directly impacts height growth by improving the metabolic process and eliminating toxins from the body. Children can also provide their bodies with water by eating lots of fresh fruits such as cucumbers, watermelons, etc.
Prevent children from being exposed to stimulants.
According to researchers, children who are directly or indirectly exposed to nicotine tend to have a shorter height development compared to those who are not exposed. Therefore, parents or family members should limit smoking. In addition, parents should also avoid exposing children to alcohol too early, which can affect both height development and cognitive development.
Ensure children get enough sleep and go to bed early.
Sleep is an essential factor for height growth, even for children who are 5 years old or older. Studies have shown that getting 8-11 hours of sleep is necessary for healthy development. Create a good sleeping environment for your child by avoiding noise, gentle lighting, and clean bedding. Additionally, taking a warm bath, drinking chamomile tea, or warm milk can also improve sleep quality.
Encourage proper posture habits.
Poor posture while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down can cause spinal curvature, affecting both height development and healthy growth of the child. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage proper posture habits for children from an early age. This habit can definitely help children look taller and healthier
Encourage children to exercise and engage in physical activity
If you want to help your child grow taller quickly and effectively, encourage them to exercise and engage in physical activity instead of sitting still using their phone. A scientifically designed training regimen with sufficient levels of physical activity can promote a child’s development.
- Low-intensity exercise: walking, running, jumping, climbing stairs, etc.
- Moderate-intensity exercise: stretching, yoga, cycling, etc.
- High-intensity exercise: swimming, soccer, volleyball, jump rope, badminton, etc.
Help children maintain a healthy weight
To continuously grow in height, children need to have a suitable weight, as each bone frame can only support a certain amount of weight. Excessive weight can hamper a child’s development due to an unbalanced diet and a tendency towards a sedentary lifestyle. To help children maintain a healthy weight, parents should avoid the following:
- Do not allow children to consume too many empty calories from fast food, carbonated drinks, fatty foods, etc.
- Encourage children to exercise every day with activities ranging from low to high intensity.
- Getting enough sleep is also a way to reduce the rate of obesity in children.
At the age of 5, children need to establish a solid foundation for their exceptional growth during their puberty stage. Several studies have shown that poor growth during puberty can affect subsequent stages, leading to children’s inability to achieve their full height potential as adults. Therefore, in addition to developing a height growth plan for children, don’t forget to monitor their growth process regularly.
