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| |    What Does Normal Development Mean? by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. What does it mean when a doctor says that a particular behavior is normal? Usually, "normal" means the same thing as "healthy." It's normal for a six-week-old infant to cry for three or more hours a day, because we know that many healthy babies do just that. "Normal" also has a technical meaning, as in "within the normal range." The normal range refers to the range in which some large percentage, usually 90 percent, of children fall. For example, the normal range for height for a 10-year-old boy is between four feet eight inches and five feet two inches because 90 percent of 10-year-old boys will fall within that range. This can get a bit confusing, though, because it is possible to be normal in one sense but abnormal in another. For example, a 10-year-old boy who is shorter than 4-foot-8 falls outside the normal range for height, but assuming he is healthy, his height is normal for him. He's normally short. In fact, if the range of normal for any given measurement includes 90 percent of healthy people, by definition there will always be 10 percent of people who fall outside the range. Only a few of these people are abnormal in the sense of being unhealthy. The usual growth charts for height, weight, and head size are based on the statistical/technical sense of normal range. So are developmental tables that show average and normal ages for certain abilities, such as walking or saying "mama." The developmental charts and growth charts allow us to compare certain characteristics of a child to a large group of his peers. The charts do not tell whether or not a child is healthy. To make that decision, a doctor needs a lot more information about the child--from the medical and developmental history you provide, the physical examination, and the doctor's knowledge from previous visits of you, your child, and your family.
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