Entry FeedI just read a blog by another mommy blogger, and it annoyed me. Does anyone understand math? There is no such thing as 100th percentile!!!!!
What really annoyed is that this is the blog of a mother on Today's Parent's website, and she used to be an editor. I assume some level of intelligence there, so let's just hope it was a mommy brain moment.
Let me explain percentiles.
If your child is in the 99th percentile for height, for example, it means that out of 100 children the same age, your child is taller than 99 of them, or the tallest. If you try to say that your child is in the 100th percentile, or even 110th percentile (as one really dumb mother once told me), you would be incorrect. Trying to say that out of 100 children, your child is taller than all of them, including themselves, is not correct. Even worse is to claim that out of a sample of 100 children, your child in taller than 110 including himself.
Technically your child cannot be greater than the 99th percentile. If your doctor tells you that your child is in the 100th percentile, I would ask him or her to explain how that is possible. I would hope that you doctor has stronger math skills than that.
It seems like every parent, especially mothers of boys, are really into bragging how "off the charts" tall their children are. Please lets forget about comparing height! It is one thing that our children really can't control (assuming that they are eating enough!) and if they are short, it is probably because you and your spouse are short.
If, on the other side of the spectrum, your child has fallen off the chart for being small, I would say that is a cause for concern. Especially if they used to be on the chart. Doctors like to see kids stay fairly consistent in their growth pattern. A 50th percentile child stay close to the 50th, or 25th close to the 25th.
Daughter is the only one whose percentiles have raised a flag. She was born on the 75th percentile, and stayed there more or less through her first year. Her second year saw her drop down first to the 50th, then the 25th. The weird part was that through this decline, she was actually the best eater of the kids! She is now three years old, and at every visit the doctor reminds me to keep her on all full fat products and not to limit any food, even junk, to ensure that she is eating enough.
Look, I am not saying to ignore the growth charts. They have been used by doctors for a long time and they are an important tool in helping to determine the health of our children. Some interesting information? The human growth hormone is produced in bursts during the day, but released mostly during sleep - so make sure your kids are sleeping enough. Also, kids tend to grow fastest in the summer, and slowest in the fall (lucky as it is easier to get away with shorter shorts!)
What more can I say? Love your kids! And take those percentiles with a grain of salt. They are not true measure of your child, just a measurement.
The problem with those charts it that they are based on some town in Ohio in the mid 1970's, so, according to those facts (and yes... not very bright...) it is possible for children in 2009 to be taller than 100 of the kids in 1977 (I think that is the year).
You're right.. it doesn't make a lot of sense, but in the effort to try and find common ground it does work. But, given better nutrition for this current generation, I'm sure for the next generation it will make no sense since 50 kids will be above that 100th percentile.
My daughter is one of those kids. I am 5'9" (tall for my generation) and my husband is 6'9" (yes.. he is that tall). And she is in grade 3 and taller than everyone in her grade and the grade 4 class with the exception of two brothers. She is taller than some of the grade 5's and just marginally shorter than her brother (grade5) who sits in the 98th percentile.
Just a measurement.. I love my children whether they are 98th or 105th..
Good post!!