📏 Growth Tracker
Enter your child's age, sex, weight, and length or height to see where each measurement sits on the chart CDC recommends for that age: WHO under 2 years, CDC from 2, up to 36 months.
Informational only: not medical advice. Growth is assessed over time by your child's doctor.
📐 Find the Percentile
📏 Where this measurement sits on the chart
A percentile is a position, not a grade: the 30th percentile means about 30 in 100 children of this age and sex measure less. One measurement is one point; your child's doctor looks at the trend across visits, measured the same way each time. This tool does not say whether a number is good or bad.
What is a Growth Tracker?
It places one home measurement on the growth chart CDC recommends for your child's age, computed from the chart's published LMS parameters: the WHO growth standards from birth to 23 months, and the CDC growth charts from 24 to 36 months.
Use it for curiosity between checkups, and bring the numbers to the next visit. It is not a trend line and not a verdict: a percentile says where a measurement sits, nothing more, and your child's doctor reads the curve across visits.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What does a percentile mean?
It is a position on the chart: the 30th percentile means about 30 in 100 children of the same age and sex measure less. It is not a grade and this tool never labels a number good or bad. Your child's doctor reads the trend across visits, not a single point.
Which chart does the tool use?
The one CDC recommends for the age. CDC recommends that clinicians in the United States use the 2006 WHO international growth charts for children under 24 months, and the CDC growth charts from age 2. The tool uses the LMS parameters CDC publishes for both: WHO for 0 to 23 completed months (length lying down) and CDC for 24 to 36 months (height standing), one row for every month.
Why did my number change from the old version of this tool?
The old version modelled each percentile from a simplified median and an assumed spread, read every age against the nearest of nine listed ages, and stopped at 24 months. It put a 2.55 kg newborn boy below the 3rd percentile; on the WHO standard he is about the 4th. It now uses the published chart for every month.
Can I check head circumference?
Not with this tool any more: the old head-circumference bands came from the same simplified model. Your child's doctor measures and plots head circumference at well visits.
What should I do if a number worries me?
Talk with your child's doctor. CDC's own answer to the question of a child at a low percentile is: if you are concerned about your child's growth, talk with your child's health care provider. Home measurements vary, so bring the numbers and how you took them.