Vital signs of every human being are unique and very important as it determines the health quotient of an individual. The same goes even for kids. The foremost parameter of your child’s health is its vital signs. You must have noticed that pediatricians measure children’s vital signs during their routine check-ups or whenever you visit a doctor to check their health.

Now if you are wondering what are vital signs, then childcare experts from reputed Preschool Whittier, CA are here to help you out.

Vital signs are the clinical measurement of basic body functions to determine how the whole body is functioning. The four main vital signs that medical professionals measure are – blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature. Measuring vital signs is imperative as they share important information about the overall health of an individual and are used to monitor or detect medical problems of a human being.

Please be aware that children’s vital signs depend on their age and are different from adults. Continue reading this blog post if you want to learn more about the vital signs of children.

Vital Signs for Infants :

Some of the normal infant vitals are different from older children and adults as the normal heart rate for infants and respiratory rate is higher than an adult’s heart rate and respiratory rate. This mainly happens as the muscles of infants are not properly developed yet. As the infant grows older, their heart muscles develop so they can stretch and contract more and their heart does not need to pump blood faster and their heart rate comes down. But sometimes children may have a slow heart rate due to lack of enough oxygen in their body, or low body temperature, or a congenital heart problem.

Although there can be variations in vital signs in different infants depending on their overall conditions, the average pediatric vital signs chart for infants are :

• Heart rate – (newborn to 1 year old) – 85-190 when the infant is awake.
• Respiratory rate – 30 to 60 breaths in one minute.
• Body temperature – 98.6˚ F

Vital Signs for Preschoolers :

As per the teachers of Preschool a kid is between 3 and 5 years old, his/her muscles get developed and the vital signs chart is more similar to a normal adult’s vital chart. The average vital signs of a preschooler are as follows :

• Heart rate – 80-120 beats per minute
• Respiratory rate – 20-28 breaths per minute
• Body temperature – 98.6˚ F
• Blood pressure – 89-112 systolic and 46-72 diastolic

Vital signs for kids (6-years and up)-:

For kids of age 6 years and above the average vital signs are:

• Heart rate – 75-118 beats per minute
• Respiratory rate – 18-25 breaths per minute
• Body temperature - 98.6˚ F
• Blood pressure – 97-120 systolic and 57-80 diastolic

As parents, you can get anxious for your children’s health whenever you see them agitated or dull. You can check their vital signs and if they differ significantly from the normal signs, consult a pediatrician without wasting time.