The ideal weight for kids depends on their sex, their height, and how they have been growing throughout life. There are no hard and fast ideal numbers, since all kids grow at their own pace. Pediatricians and parents should focus on a child's Body Mass Index and growth pattern instead of relying solely on weight.
Body Mass Index
Rather than focusing on an ideal weight for children, pediatricians measure Body Mass Index, or BMI, which is calculated from a child's weight and height. According to the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for most kids and teens. After a doctor calculates a child's BMI, he plots it on the CDC BMI-for-age growth charts to get a percentile ranking. This ranking compares your child's BMI among kids of the same sex and age. Children who rank in the bottom 5 percent are considered underweight, and those between the 5th and 85th percentile are of healthy weight. Kids in the 85th to 95th percentile are considered overweight, and those who rank higher than 95 percent are obese. You can measure your child's BMI using the CDC's Child and Teen BMI Calculator.
Growth Charts
While adults have more specific ranges of healthy weight, there is a wide range of healthy shapes and sizes among children, depending on height, genes, and overall health. Doctors don't focus on how much a child weighs, but how she is growing. In addition to BMI, they use growth charts to determine how a child is growing compared with other kids of the same sex and age. Doctors are most concerned with a child's pattern of height and weight gain over time and whether she is developing proportionately, according to kidshealth.org.
Percentiles
As with BMI, doctors use percentiles to show how a child compares with others by plotting lines in curved patterns on a growth chart. The higher the percentile number, the bigger the child is compared with other kids of the same age and sex; the lower the percentile, the smaller he is. But being in a high or low percentile doesn't necessarily mean that a kid is underweight or overweight, according to kidshealth.org. If his percentiles for height and weight are similar, then he is growing proportionately, which usually means he is healthy. Another sign of health is consistent percentiles over time. If a child measures in the 95th percentile on the growth chart consistently from birth to age 5, then he isn't overweight; he's just bigger than most other boys his age. If his weight percentile changes drastically from his normal pattern, however, there could be a problem.
The Numbers
Healthy weight for kids ranges, but to give an idea of what the average child weighs, here's a look at the 50th percentile weight-for-age for various ages, according to the CDC. For girls, an average 2-year-old weighs around 26 lbs., a 5-year-old weighs about 40 lbs., an 8-year-old weighs about 56 lbs., a 12-year-old weighs about 92 lbs., and a 15-year-old weighs around 114 lbs. For boys, an average 2-year-old weighs about 28 lbs., a 5-year-old weighs around 40 lbs., an 8-year-old weighs about 56 lbs., a 12-year-old weighs about 90 lbs., and a 15-year-old weighs around 124 lbs.
Tips for Keeping Your Child's Weight Under Control
Children, especially those under 5, should never "diet." Making a big deal about your child's weight can set her up for lifelong body image struggles. It is important, though, to make sure that your child eats healthy, meaning lots of vegetables, fruits, lean meats and dairy, and whole grains, and not a lot of fast food, sweets and junk food. Exercise is also key. Kids need at least an hour of active play each day, whether it's playing on the playground, participating in sports, or just dancing around the living room. Limit TV time, video games, computers and other sedentary activities.
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