Your kid is standing against the wall, the book is flat on their head, and the line is drawn. Now there's a small blank space beside it. Most families write the date and move on, then look back years later and can't remember a thing about that spring.

Knowing what to write next to growth chart marks turns each line into a tiny time capsule instead of a row of numbers. Below you'll find 10 ideas with example wording, a shorthand key for tight spaces, what fits best at each age, and a short list of things worth leaving off.

Start with a date you can't misread

In short: write the month as a word, not a number (a short form like "Apr" is fine), and all four digits of the year.

Small numbers written on fabric blur over time, and a "1" can pass for a "7." All-number dates also cause mix-ups: "4/5/27" means April 5 to most Americans but May 4 to relatives in much of the rest of the world. "Apr 5, 2027" stays clear to anyone, even after the ink softens a little.

Two small habits make the date more useful:

• Pick a repeat day. A birthday, the first day of school or New Year's Day means the date doubles as a label, and marks are easy to compare year to year.
• Note anything unusual. If shoes stayed on or a baby was measured lying down, add "shoes on" or "lying." It keeps the line honest when you compare it later.

10 things to write next to growth chart marks

You don't need all ten on every line. Pick one or two per mark. Some families keep the same extras every year so they can watch one detail change; others rotate so each year gets its own flavor. Both work.

1. Exact age in years and months

"Age 3" covers a year of big changes. "3y 7m" tells you exactly where this mark sits, which matters most if you measure more than once a year. Under age 2, months alone read more naturally.

Try: "3y 7m" or "18 mo"

2. The occasion

The reason you measured that day is often the part you'll remember best. It also explains any mark that falls outside your usual schedule.

Try: "1st day of kindergarten," "Moving day," "Thanksgiving at Grandma's," "Night before baby brother came home"

3. Shoe size or clothing size

Shoe size is the number kids themselves care about, and it's fun to watch feet and height race each other. Clothing size shows the moment they jumped from one size to the next. Write the size the way the label does, since kids' shoes switch from child to youth sizing along the way.

Try: "Shoes 9C," "Shoes 2Y," "Wearing 4T"

4. Something they said that week

Height tells you how big they were. Their words tell you who they were. Start a note on your phone a week or two before measuring day and add anything that makes you laugh.

Keep it to about eight words so it fits beside the line. If you'd rather ask than wait, our birthday interview questions sorted by age are an easy way to get a quotable answer.

Try: "I'm almost as tall as the fridge handle." or "Dinosaurs don't need shoes."

5. A current favorite

Food, song, book, show, animal or color all work. Keeping the same category every year makes a fun thread: a "fav food" note that runs from plain noodles to spicy tacos tells a story on its own.

Try: "Fav: plain noodles," "Fav song: the car wash one," "Fav animal: sloths"

6. A new skill

Write down something they recently learned to do. Keep it about their own progress, not how they compare to anyone else, and leave anything clinical for the pediatrician's notes.

Try: "Rides a bike, no training wheels," "Can whistle (sort of)," "Tied shoes alone," "Reads chapter books"

7. Where you lived

A canvas chart can come down and move with you, so a line about the home adds a layer of history. A city, a street name or the family's nickname for the house is plenty.

Try: "Elm St apartment," "The blue house," "First month in Denver"

8. Who measured them

This one matters most for marks made away from home or by someone special. Years later, "measured by Grandpa" can mean more than the inches.

Try: "By Grandpa," "Aunt Jess held the book," "Cousins' lake weekend"

9. Their own initial or name

Once your child can hold a pen and wants to try, let them sign beside their mark. Over the years the signatures become a record of their own: a scribble one year, a wobbly letter the next, then a full name in careful print. Guide the pen as needed, then cap it and put it away as soon as they're done.

Try: a scribble, then "M," then "Maya"

10. A guess for next time

Ask your child how tall they think they'll be at the next measuring day, and write the guess as a number beside today's mark. Next time, they get to check. It turns measuring day into something they look forward to instead of something they have to stand still for.

Try: "Guess for next yr: 45 in"

A shorthand key for tight spaces

Space runs out faster than you'd think. After the toddler years, a full year of growth often adds only a couple of inches, so marks sit close together. Siblings who pass through the same heights crowd things even more.

Short codes keep each note to one line. Choose yours once and keep a copy of the key somewhere safe, like a baby book, a notebook or a note saved with your chart photos, so the codes still make sense 15 years from now.

Then settle on a fixed order, such as date, then age, then extras. When every line follows the same pattern, you can scan the whole chart in seconds. Three formats to copy:

Apr 5, 2027 · 3y 7m · Sh 9C

Sep 2, 2030 · 6y 0m · 1st day of 1st grade

Jun 14, 2029 · 5y 1m · by Grandpa · G: 46 in

If a note runs long, write the date and age on the line itself and tuck the extra just below it. That beats squeezing letters until no one can read them.

Sharing one chart between kids? Start each note with the child's initial, give each child their own ink color, and keep each one to a side of the chart where you can. Our guide to sibling heights on one growth chart covers labeling and how to read their marks side by side.

What to write at each age

The best notes follow whatever is changing fastest. Here's what tends to be worth recording at each stage.

For babies, a quick note on method. Babies can't stand against a wall yet, so their length is usually measured lying down and then transferred onto the chart. Mark those lines "lying" so you know why they sit where they do. Our guide on when to start tracking your baby's height walks through measuring accurately at each stage.

For kids 10 and up, hand over the pen. Some older kids feel self-conscious about being taller or shorter than their friends, so let them decide what goes beside their line, or whether anything does. A mark with just a date is still a mark.

What to leave off the chart

A growth chart hangs where everyone can see it, and it's meant to be read for years. A few things are better kept somewhere else.

• Weight and percentiles. Body-size numbers on a wall can sting later, and they aren't what the chart is for. Your pediatrician tracks those at checkups. If a mark ever worries you, bring it up at the next visit; HealthyChildren.org, the American Academy of Pediatrics' site for parents, is a reliable place to read in the meantime.
• Comparisons. "Shorter than Sam was" or "finally caught up" turns a keepsake into a scoreboard. Keep each note about that child on that day.
• Anything they'd hate a friend to read at 13. Potty-training stories and tantrum reports are funny now and mortifying later. A quick test: would they be fine with a sleepover guest reading it?
• Private details, if the chart shows up in photos. If you share pictures online, skip house numbers, and don't pair a full name with a full birth date.
• Paragraphs. If a moment needs more than a line, write it in a journal and add a short pointer on the chart, like "see journal."

Pens, ink and making notes last

In short: use fabric-safe ink, practice on paper first, and keep a backup of every note.

• Use a fabric-safe pen on canvas. It writes cleanly on the weave and won't erase, so plan before you write.
• Practice the note on scrap paper first. You'll see how much room it takes and catch spelling slips before they're permanent.
• Write small, not tiny. Aim for letters you can read while standing, not with your nose to the wall.
• Give each child one ink color if they share a chart, and use it every time.
• Cap the pen and put it up high right after. Pen caps are small enough to be a choking risk for babies and toddlers.
• Photograph each new mark and copy the note into a notebook. If the chart is ever damaged or lost in a move, the record survives.
• Keep the chart out of strong direct sun. Light fades both printed canvas and ink; our guide to keeping a canvas growth chart from fading covers wall choice and window light.

If you're still choosing a chart, it helps to pick one made for writing on. Both of our canvas growth charts are 100% cotton canvas, cost $44, and include a fabric-safe pen or marker, so the right ink is there from the first mark. Neither can be washed, which is one more reason to test your notes on paper first.

The Canvas Kids Growth Chart can be personalized with a name when you order, so the chart is clearly theirs from the first mark. Its product page also suggests adding a handprint or footprint in non-toxic paint beside the marks. For a baby who can't stand yet, a footprint next to the first line makes a good first note. An adult should hold the hand or foot, wipe it clean right away, and keep the paint out of reach.

Canvas Kids Growth Chart

$44.00

View the Canvas Kids Growth Chart

A 5-minute measuring-day routine

With a plan, adding notes takes about as long as the measuring itself. Run through this each time:

• ☐  In the weeks before, keep a running phone note of quotes, favorites and new skills.
• ☐  Shoes off, heels and back against the wall, eyes looking straight ahead.
• ☐  Lay a hardcover book flat on their head, get your eyes level with it, and draw the line where it meets the wall.
• ☐  Write the date with the month as a word, not a number (a short form like "Apr" is fine), and all four digits of the year.
• ☐  Add their age in years and months.
• ☐  Choose one or two extras from the list and write them in your usual order.
• ☐  Let them add their initial, if they're old enough and want to.
• ☐  Photograph the mark and copy the note into your notebook.
• ☐  Cap the pen and put it away up high.

You don't need a full system on day one. The date, their age and one detail you'd hate to forget is enough to start. Pick your two favorite ideas from the list, write them the same way every time, and in a few years the chart will tell you far more than how tall they were.

Frequently asked questions