What do you think?

At the start of the Bridging the GAP project, a survey was conducted of people in the UK to find out what they thought about child growth and how it should be monitored. The survey was conducted by OMNIMAS in October 2005 and included 3,070 respondents aged 16 and over - 1,372 males and 1,698 females.

A question of height

• 13% of the parents surveyed had been concerned about the growth or height of a child within the family

Who is responsible for identifying problems with a child's growth?

• 46% of people thought that parents should be primarily responsible for identifying problems with a child’s growth or height - although 65% of households do not monitor the growth of their children
• 38% of people thought their GP should be primarily responsible for identifying problems with a child’s growth, even though GPs only see school children for vaccinations and not on a regular basis

How often should children be measured?

• 81% of people thought that children should be measured at least once a year
• 18% of people thought that children should be measured every term

Psychological impact

• 65% of people thought that a child's height or growth is important in terms of their psychological well being
• 64% of people felt that children who are not of average height are likely to encounter bullying
• 58% of people thought that not being of average height would damage children’s confidence
• Almost one tenth of people believed that not being of average height could cause problems with a child’s educational development
• 80% of people said they would consult their GP if they were concerned about their child’s growth Only 2% of people said they would consult the school nurse if they were concerned about their child’s growth

_{Back to top}

_{UK/XX/0610/0006 - Public site}