Pediatricians monitor vital signs to detect abnormalities in children’s health. Normal vital signs change as children age, with blood pressure, breathing rates, and heart rates varying depending on the child’s age. Other vital signs, such as height, weight, and body temperature, are also important indicators of a child’s health.
Pediatricians routinely measure their patients’ vital signs for indications that something might be wrong. As a child ages from infancy to adolescence, the definition changes for what are considered normal pediatric vital signs. For a baby, many doctors agree that a waking heart rate should be between 80 and 110 beats per minute, respiratory rate should be between 24 and 40 breaths per minute, and systolic blood pressure should be 90 out of about 105. Doctors will have slightly different expectations for infants or older school-age children.
Blood pressure, measured on children’s right arm in front of the heart, is one of the most important pediatric vital signs for measuring well-being. For younger children—infants, infants, and toddlers—systolic blood pressure is pretty much the same: 70 of 100, 87 of 105, and 90 of 105, respectively. These rates change as children experience their biggest growth spurts, with school-age children at around 97 out of 112 and teenagers at 112 out of 128.
Breathing rates are typically measured first during an exam, as a baby cannot cry. Although normal rates may increase with fever or stress, the trend is that fewer breaths are needed as children get older. Newborns should breathe between 30 and 60 times a minute. By age 1, babies should breathe 20 to 40 times per minute, a trend that continues through first grade. School-age children are typically in the range of 18 to 30 breaths per minute, with teenagers only needing 12 to 16 breaths per minute, while resting.
Heart rates are closely related to breathing rates, also increasing with the addition of stress or fever. These pediatric vital signs are generally considered normal for children when the pulse is between 100 and 160 beats per minute while awake or between 75 and 160 beats per minute while asleep. From infant to preschooler, maximum heart rates should not exceed 110 beats per minute, while sleeping heart rates should be between 60 and 90 beats per minute. After puberty, however, the heart rate while awake drops to between 60 and 90 beats per minute and between 50 and 90 while asleep.
Other pediatric vital signs are important to clinicians, such as height, weight, and body temperature. Together, these indications give a picture of whether a child is developing as expected and whether medical conditions may be present. An abnormal temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate, or blood pressure could prompt a doctor to run tests to identify the cause of the disruption.
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