Regular monitoring helps detect early signs of poor growth or nutritional deficiencies, such as undernutrition or stunting. Early detection allows timely interventions—like dietary improvements or medical treatment—to support healthy growth and prevent future complications.

While the exact schedule varies by age and health needs, growth monitoring is often more frequent in infancy and early childhood. Growth checks may occur at routine pediatric appointments to track progress and adjust nutritional guidance as required.

The main physical measurements include height (or length), weight, and BMI. These are plotted on standardized growth charts to compare your child’s development against expected norms for age and sex, identifying if growth trends are on track.

If growth monitoring reveals that a child is not growing as expected—such as too slow weight gain or too short stature for age—the pediatrician may recommend dietary changes, nutrition counseling, further medical evaluation, or referrals to specialists to investigate underlying causes.