- Average weight at 2 years: girls 25 lb 5 oz (11.5 kg), boys 26 lb 13 oz (12.1 kg), the WHO median or 50th percentile.
- The usual range (3rd to 97th percentile) is 20 lb 3 oz to 32 lb 3 oz for girls and 21 lb 10 oz to 33 lb 3 oz for boys.
- The curve matters more than the number. A baby who keeps following roughly the same line is growing well, wherever that line is.
- Born early? Use the corrected age until 2 years.
What percentile is my 2-year-old?
Type your baby's weight and we'll open the growth percentile calculator set to 2 years, with your baby's percentile, curve and a plain-words verdict. Add the real birth date there for an exact result.
2-year-old girls: weight, length and head percentiles (WHO)
| 3rd | 15th | 50th (average) | 85th | 97th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 20 lb 3 oz 9.2 kg | 22 lb 5 oz 10.1 kg | 25 lb 5 oz 11.5 kg | 28 lb 13 oz 13.1 kg | 32 lb 3 oz 14.6 kg |
| Length (lying down) | 31¾ in 80.3 cm | 32¾ in 83.1 cm | 34 in 86.4 cm | 35¼ in 89.7 cm | 36½ in 92.5 cm |
| Head | 17½ in 44.6 cm | 18 in 45.7 cm | 18½ in 47.2 cm | 19¼ in 48.6 cm | 19½ in 49.8 cm |
2-year-old boys: weight, length and head percentiles (WHO)
| 3rd | 15th | 50th (average) | 85th | 97th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 21 lb 10 oz 9.8 kg | 23 lb 13 oz 10.8 kg | 26 lb 13 oz 12.1 kg | 30 lb 2 oz 13.7 kg | 33 lb 3 oz 15.1 kg |
| Length (lying down) | 32¼ in 82.1 cm | 33¼ in 84.6 cm | 34½ in 87.8 cm | 35¾ in 91.0 cm | 36¾ in 93.5 cm |
| Head | 18 in 45.7 cm | 18½ in 46.8 cm | 19 in 48.2 cm | 19½ in 49.7 cm | 20 in 50.8 cm |
WHO Child Growth Standards 2006, at exactly 2 years (day 730; one month = 30.4375 days). Length is measured lying down until 2 years. The bold column is the median; the 15th to 85th percentiles hold the middle 70% of babies. Measured standing, a 2-year-old is about ¼ in (0.7 cm) shorter.
What's typical at this age
At 2 years a typical child weighs about 3.5 (girls) to 3.6 (boys) times their birth weight. This is also the age when two things change at the checkup: height is measured standing instead of lying down (about ¼ in, 0.7 cm, less), and US pediatricians switch from the WHO charts to the CDC charts. So a small jump in the percentile at the 2-year visit is often the chart, not the child. Corrected age for preemies is usually no longer used from now on.
- Weight gain: about 1¾ oz (50 g) a week at this stage (WHO median).
- Since birth: 3.5 times the birth weight for girls and 3.6 for boys, and about 14¾ in (37 cm) to 15 in (38 cm) longer.
- Checkups: this is the age of the 2-year checkup; the next one is the 30-month checkup.
- Sleep: usually 1 nap, with 5 to 6½ hours awake in between. The nap planner turns that into a day.
How to read the table
A percentile compares your baby with 100 healthy babies of the same age and sex. The 15th percentile for weight means your baby is heavier than 15 of them and lighter than the other 85. It is not a grade: the 50th is the middle of the crowd, not the goal. Look at weight, length and head together; a baby on the 20th for weight and the 20th for length is simply a smaller baby in proportion.
Crossing two or more of the main lines over time, especially downward, is what pediatricians like to look into. The growth calculator tracks that for you: add each checkup and it draws the curve and tells you how many bands it has moved.
Born early?
Pediatricians compare a premature baby with babies of the same corrected age, counted from the due date, until about 2 years. By the second birthday most preemies have caught up, so from here the real age is used. The corrected age calculator works it out, and the growth calculator uses it when you add the due date.
Questions
Is 20 lb 3 oz too small for a 2-year-old girl?
That is the 3rd percentile for girls at 2 years: 3 in every 100 healthy girls weigh that or less. It isn't a diagnosis on its own. Your pediatrician looks at whether your baby has followed that line over time, how they are feeding and the parents' sizes; a curve that is falling across lines matters more than a low but steady one. For boys the 3rd percentile is 21 lb 10 oz (9.8 kg).
Why did the percentile change at the 2-year checkup?
Two reasons, usually. From age 2 height is measured standing instead of lying down, which gives about ¼ in (0.7 cm) less. And US pediatricians switch from the WHO charts to the CDC charts at 2. A change of a few percentiles at this visit is often the chart, not your child.
How big is the difference between boys and girls at 2 years?
On the WHO medians a boy is about 1 lb 8 oz (670 g) heavier and ½ in (1.4 cm) longer than a girl. That is why the charts are separate: a girl on the 30th percentile and a boy on the 30th weigh different amounts.
Sources
- World Health Organization, WHO Child Growth Standards (2006): the weight-for-age, length-for-age and head-circumference-for-age tables. The numbers on this page come from the LMS tables in the WHO anthro package.
- CDC, Recommended growth charts (WHO charts from birth to 2, CDC charts from 2).
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Bright Futures periodicity schedule (checkup ages and screenings).
- Paruthi S. et al., Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations, American Academy of Sleep Medicine consensus, endorsed by the AAP (J Clin Sleep Med, 2016).
Spotted a mistake or an outdated figure? Write to [email protected].