Pediatric Vital Signs: A Guide For New Parents

As a new parent, it is obvious to be bothered about the health of your child and new parents should be very anxious about how to take proper care of their children. The first step to taking proper care of your child is to know that the physiology of a child or a toddler is completely different from the functioning systems and physiology of an adult body. So, children require more intense and proper care to have good health. For new parents, the most important thing to consider is that they should be able to give proper care to their children whenever they require them. Moreover, children do not possess a strong immune system just like adults, so they are more prone to catching infections and developing chronic diseases faster than other individuals.

In some cases, it has often been found that new parents are quite worried about how to know and be sure whether their children are having some health issues or not. There are chances of children getting a fever, stomach, or abdominal ache, or in extreme cases, high pulse rate, high blood pressure, and so on, which might become matters of great concern to the parents. So, as a new parent, it is extremely necessary to have a clear idea about how you can take good care of your child’s overall health, which vaccines are to be jabbed at your children, and when, and how to detect diseases in children, and so on. Knowing all the methods of pediatric vital signs thoroughly, it will be much easier for you to handle any emergency or health issue of your child quite efficiently and as new parents, you will no longer be worried or nervous while handling such situations.

The Vital Pediatric Signs

There are certain aspects in children that should be thoroughly taken care of. Some of those signs are as follows:

• blood pressure and pulse rate
• rate of respiration or the rate of breathing in children
• body temperature.

Ways To Note Vital Signs In Children:

It is extremely important to note the vital signs of your children by the parents. This is because the signs that are visible in your children can be the potential symptoms of certain hidden diseases in your children. It is crucial to note the signs and to take your children to physicians and discuss with the health care experts the signs to detect and treat the disease as soon as possible. The factors on which the vital pediatric signs vary are as follows:

• the child’s age
• sex
• their height and weight.

Vital Pediatric Signs In Infants:

Infants are yet to grow and develop more and their body systems are entirely different. For instance, infants are known to have greater heart rates compared to adults because the muscles and tissues in their heart have not yet developed fully and so, the heart needs to pump faster to support the proper supply of oxygen through blood for breathing. But there is nothing to worry about because in infants the heart rate is usually faster than normal and can also be irregular at times. But if you find that the heart rate of your infant is lower than the increased one, then there might be some underlying issues, and one such can be bradycardia, a disease in infants, characterized by a lack of proper supply of oxygen, low body temperature, and other related problems in their heart.

But there are often cases when children (both infants and children older than them) might have higher levels of blood pressure than normal. The possible reasons behind the increase in blood pressure levels are as follows:

• bronchopulmonary dysplasia
• aortal coarctation
• disorders in the kidney, such as renal artery stenosis
• chronic diseases such as Wilms tumor

The most significant heart-related vital signs for infants are as follows:

• for newborn to 1-month-old babies, heart rate should be: 85 to 190 when awake
• for infants who are 1 month to 1 year old, heart rate should be: 90 to 180 when awake
• respiratory rate: 30 to 60 times per minute
• overall body temperature: 98.6 degrees F

For blood pressure: there are two different types of readings that are noted while measuring the blood pressure levels of an individual. Those are:

• Systolic: the upper or the initial reading of blood pressure

• Diastolic: the lower or the second number of a blood pressure reading

The methods of measuring heart rates in your infants are as follows:

• Neonates, that is the infants who are 96 hours (about 4 days) or 1 month old should have a systolic blood pressure of 67 to 84 and a diastolic pressure of 31 to 45
• Infants who are 1 to 12 months old should have systolic blood pressure and a diastolic pressure of 72 to 104.

Vital Signs In Toddlers:

When an infant turns into a toddler, there occur certain physiological and functional changes in their bodies. Certain vital signs for adults are as follows:

• The average heart rate of toddlers should be approximately 98 to 140 beats per minute
• The average rate of respiration should be 22 to 37 breaths per minute
• Toddlers should have an average systolic blood pressure of 86 to 106, and a diastolic pressure of 42 to 63
• The average body temperature should be within 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit

Vital Signs Among Pre-School Kids

Children who are considered pre-school kids are in the age group of 3 to 5 years. Their bodies are undergoing immense growth and development and there are certain vital pediatric signs for pre-school kids that should be noted by the new parents. Some such vital signs are listed below:

• On average, the heart rate of pre-school kids should be approximately 80 to 120 beats per minute.
• The average rate of respiration should be 20 to 28 breaths per minute.
• The average systolic blood pressure of pre-school kids should be 89 to 112, and the diastolic blood pressure should be 46 to 72.
• The average body temperature should be around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Vital Signs For Kids In The Age Group Of 6 To 11 Years

When children belong to the age group of 6 to 11, they have grown quite a bit and they are yet to grow and develop more. They have undergone immense physiological changes by this age. The vital signs of health for the children belonging to the age group of 6 to 11 are listed here as follows:

• Their average heart rate should be approximately 75 to 118 beats per minute
• The average rate of respiration must be 18 to 25 breaths per minute
• The average systolic blood pressure of these children must be 97 to 120 systolic pressure and 57 to 80 in diastolic reading
• Their average body temperature should be around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Vital Pediatric Signs For Adolescents

When children reach the stage of puberty, they are precisely in the age of adolescence. The age of adolescence or commonly termed ‘teen age’ begins at the age of 13 and continues till the age of 19. During the age of adolescence children or young teens undergo rapid physical, physiological, and hormonal changes. Their body systems are becoming more complex as they are gradually heading toward adulthood. The vital signs that should be noted among adolescents are listed here as follows:

• The average heart rate of adolescents should be approximately 60 to 100 beats per minute
• The average rate of respiration must be 12 to 20 breaths per minute
• The average systolic blood pressure of adolescents should be 110 to 131 and the diastolic pressure should be 64 to 83
• Their average body temperature should be around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperature In Children: A Vital Sign

In common cases, young children and infants are found to develop fever, when their body temperature increases from the average level and an infection starts to develop inside the body. Fever in children can be easily treated both at home and through the recommendations and prescriptions of health care experts, along with the medications they suggest, if only the signs of fever in children are correctly detected among children. But there is nothing to worry about because there are some easy techniques to identify the symptoms of fever in children. Some such signs of fever in children are as follows:

• The feeling of shivering and heavy chills
• Mild to severe pains in the muscles throughout the body
• Swelling and soreness of the throat
• Rashes in the skin
• headache
• lack of appetite
• Excessive tiredness, fatigue, and exhaustion
• chances of getting dehydrated easily.

Measure the child’s body temperature at least two times to confirm the fever. If the sign becomes severe ask for the doctor’s help as soon as possible.