MultiSwitch
SEARCH
MultiSwitch
Estimate where a child's weight or height falls compared to same-age, same-sex peers (ages 0–36 months).
A growth percentile compares a child's weight or height with other children of the same age and sex. The 50th percentile is the middle: half of children measure more and half less. A child on the 25th percentile for weight is heavier than 25% of their peers and lighter than 75%.
A percentile isn't a score. A healthy child can sit anywhere from roughly the 3rd to the 97th percentile. What health professionals watch most is the pattern over time: a child who tracks steadily along their own curve is usually growing as expected.
The calculator takes a reference mean and standard deviation for the child's age and sex (0–36 months), works out a z-score (how many standard deviations the measurement is from the mean), and converts that to a percentile using the normal distribution:
Clinical growth charts, such as those from the WHO used in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, use more detailed age-by-age curves, so this tool's result is an approximation.
One reading is rarely meaningful. Scales, clothing, nappies and a recent illness all shift measurements. A sustained crossing of two or more major percentile lines is worth raising with your doctor or Plunket/health visitor.
Not exactly, but they're usually in a similar range. A large gap, such as weight on the 90th and height on the 10th, is something a health professional may want to look at in context.
Growth references are built in age bands. This tool uses infant and toddler references, and older children are assessed against different charts that also consider BMI for age.
No. It's a general-purpose estimate for curiosity and context. Your child's own growth chart, measured and plotted by a health professional, is the reliable record.