Making growth visible in the community

Parents have always been concerned with the growth of their children. Over the last half century health workers have also become intimately concerned with growth, but have unfortunately mystified this and made it difficult for parents and the community to understand. Asking the mother to keep the home based record has done relatively little to increase her understanding, perhaps because she does not understand the methods of weighing used, much less the reason and rational for it. New methods of weighing and measuring children are described in this article which may lead to greater community understanding and concern for the growth of their children. Eventually their introduction may lead to increased numerical literacy by parents and communities. Just as maternal literacy has been shown to be related to improved child survival, so it is proposed that the introduction of greater numerical literacy will also have a significant effect in improving the growth and survival of children and furthering community development.