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Parent perception of healthy infant and toddler growth

Kelly A Laraway1, Leann L Birch, Michele L Shaffer

  • 1Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, 17033, USA.

Clinical Pediatrics
|September 12, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Parents prefer higher infant weight percentiles and avoid lower ones. Many parents perceive low infant weight as "too low," while favoring higher percentiles, a concerning trend amid the childhood obesity epidemic.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Child Health
  • Growth Monitoring

Background:

  • Parental perceptions of infant growth are crucial for health outcomes.
  • Understanding parental preferences regarding infant weight percentiles is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate parental preferences and aversions concerning infant weight percentiles.
  • To assess parental views on infant growth trajectories.

Main Methods:

  • Survey of 279 parents regarding their infant's weight percentile.
  • Presentation of hypothetical infant growth charts for health assessment.
  • Analysis of parental preferences for weight growth patterns.

Main Results:

  • Only 10% of parents desired their child in the lowest weight quartile.
  • 57% of parents with infants in the lowest quartile felt their child was "too low."
  • 66% of parents with infants in the top quartile preferred that weight; 47% deemed 10th percentile growth "least healthy."

Conclusions:

  • Parents exhibit aversion to lower infant weight percentiles.
  • Parents are more accepting of higher infant weight percentiles.
  • These parental perceptions may exacerbate childhood obesity concerns.

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