Your friend Lafon has a newborn son named Lamar. Lamar was a healthy full-term infant who weighed

Question

7 pounds 6 ounces at birth.

While you and Lafon are shopping for clothes for Lamar in a very expensive children's store, you notice that Lafon is loading her cart with lots of zero to three month size clothes. You ask Lafon if she thinks it's a good idea to spend so much money on clothes that Lamar will outgrow very quickly. What can you tell Lafon about physical growth during the first year of life that may change her mind about these clothes?
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A good answer will be similar to the following:
The first year of life is a time of very rapid physical growth. The average baby will grow 10 inches and will gain 15 pounds during the first year of life. So, on Lamar's first birthday, he will weigh approximately 22 pounds. If Lafon buys clothes that fit Lamar perfectly now, he probably won't be able to fit in them in a few short weeks. After telling these facts to Lafon, you might want to ask her if she will get her money's worth out of these expensive, little outfits. Fortunately, this rapid growth does taper off and Lafon might want to buy more expensive clothes when Lamar is older and is not growing so quickly.