Some interesting, random head size information

mommycat · Mar 25, 2010

I was looking for something else and ended up on a tangent.

http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec19/ch269/ch269b.html

Head circumference: Head circumference reflects brain size and is routinely measured up to 2 yr. At birth, the brain is 25% of adult size, and head circumference averages 35 cm. Head circumference increases an average 1 cm/mo during the 1st yr; growth is more rapid in the 1st 8 mo, and by 12 mo, the brain has completed half its postnatal growth and is 75% of adult size. Head circumference increases 3.5 cm over the next 2 yr; the brain is 80% of adult size by age 3 yr and 90% by age 7 yr.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_weight_of_an_adult_human_head

An adult human cadaver head cut off around vertebra C3, with no hair, weighs on average somewhere between 4.5 and 5 kg, typically constituting around 8% of the body mass.

(~10lbs)

http://www.securatot.co.uk/why-rear-facing-is-safer

A child’s proportions are different from that of an adult. A child’s head weighs 25% of their total body weight compared to an adult, which is 6%.

http://www.idrawdigital.com/2009/01/drawing-the-human-form-proportions-from-child-to-adult/

xursusmaritimusx · Mar 25, 2010

i have read this before but i found it interseting again...
i was interested in this because my daughter has a huge head lol

christineka · Mar 25, 2010

And my dd has a teeny weeny head.

Andie · Mar 25, 2010

Very interesting. So if I'm reading this right, if adults were proportioned like kids, a 200lb person would have a 50lb head?

Kat_Momof3 · Mar 25, 2010

I've seen all that before... great info... and glad it was posted again... because this is one of the obvious reasons why rearfacing and harnessing are more necessary for younger kids... as the head is PROPORTIONALLY smaller AND the spine solidifies, the logistics and dynamics of the body and what will happen in a crash change and the risks lower for moving up in seats.

Yoshi · Mar 25, 2010

christineka said:
And my dd has a teeny weeny head.

Mine does too. Her brother was the opposite (different dad). I looked at a picture of DH's sister recently and noticed she also has a small head.

Yoshi · Mar 25, 2010

Kat_Momof3 said:
I've seen all that before... great info... and glad it was posted again... because this is one of the obvious reasons why rearfacing and harnessing are more necessary for younger kids... as the head is PROPORTIONALLY smaller AND the spine solidifies, the logistics and dynamics of the body and what will happen in a crash change and the risks lower for moving up in seats.

Bolding mine. Do you mean Proportionally larger?

disbugsmomma · Mar 26, 2010

I think she means as the head GETS proportionally smaller, compared to the body. :thumbsup:

Kat_Momof3 · Mar 26, 2010

disbugsmomma said:
I think she means as the head GETS proportionally smaller, compared to the body. :thumbsup:

this exactly... I put proportionally in all caps to make sure no one thought I was nuts and saying that a kid's head shrinks.

but yes, as a child gets older and larger, proportionally, the head is smaller compared to the body... and thereby, along with the spine getting more solid, you're less likely to have internal decapitation (or less severe but still pretty bad types of trauma to the neck and spine) from being forward facing or in a booster.

AtTheSouthDam · Mar 26, 2010

There is my proof that my child with the 8.5" head, 17" inseam and a 13.5 (12.5 sitting down

) torso is all out of whack. She has a big head and LONG legs, lol

Some interesting, random head size information

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