Guides & tips

Height chart for kids: a childhood, line by line

Most families have a door frame somewhere with pencil lines on it: a name, a date, a little higher every year. It is one of the most loved marks in any home, and the one you leave behind when you move. A height chart keeps the ritual and lets it travel. On the wall it is a piece of art in its own right, and marked year after year, it becomes the story of a childhood. Here is how to choose one, what is worth writing beside the lines, and how to hang it so every number is true, which comes down to one small detail most people miss.

Height Chart - Moomin, a cream chart with Moomin characters along a centimetre scale, hanging from its oak hanger beside a row of wall pegs and a rattan bench — At the bottom, Moominmamma sows a seed. It grows with time, just like the child.

Close-up of the Moomin height chart: Moominpappa in his top hat beside the 100 cm mark, with a Moomin character among the flowers above — A centimetre scale runs up one edge, from 30 all the way to 140.

In short

118 x 21 cmthe size of every chart in the range
30–140 cmthe centimetre scale, with feet along the other edge
30 cmfrom the floor to the 30 line, and every number is true
22 cmoak hanger included with every chart

The story it tells

A height chart is measured in years rather than centimetres. The first line goes on the day they can stand still against the wall for long enough, and the rest follow at their own pace: birthdays, the first day of school, the summer of the big growth spurt.

Room for the little things. Beside every line there is space for a date and a few words: a new tooth, a first swim, the name of a best friend. You can write your own notes straight on the chart.

Room for more than one. A little brother or sister gets their own colour on the same chart, and the wall starts telling a family story.

It moves house with you. Pencil lines on a door frame stay with the house. A chart lifts off its hook and comes along, every line intact.

Years from now, it won’t be the numbers you read first. It will be the notes beside them.

How to hang it so every number is true

A height chart is only as accurate as the height it hangs at. Ours measures from 30 to 140 cm, so the 30 line has to sit exactly 30 cm above the floor. Then every other line is right too.

Measure to the line, not the edge. The chart hangs about 30 cm from the floor, but the 30 line sits a little above the bottom of the chart and its oak bar. For numbers you can trust, measure from the floor to the line itself.

Move the hook, not the chart. The chart hangs from its oak hanger on a cord, so the hook decides the height. Hang it, measure, and adjust the hook until the 30 line lands exactly where it should.

Check it once. Hold a tape measure beside the chart: the 100 line should be 100 cm from the floor. If it is, the whole scale is right.

Choose a clear spot. A strip of wall with no furniture or radiator in the way, where your child can stand with their back flat against it. Measure from the floor they will stand on, and move a thick rug aside.

The top of Height Chart - Pippi: the oak hanger on its cord above Pippi Longstocking lifting her spotted horse — The hook sets the height: the chart hangs from a cord.

Close-up of the bottom of the Pippi height chart: Pippi, Tommy and Annika on a yellow fence above the 30 and 40 cm marks and the oak bar — The 30 line sits just above the bottom bar. Measure to the line.

Hanging it, step by step

Mark 30 cm. Measure 30 cm up from the floor and make a small pencil mark on the wall.
Put up a hook roughly above the mark, allowing for the 118 cm chart and its cord, with a fixing that suits your wall. Our guide to hanging wall art has the details.
Hang and adjust. Check where the 30 line lands, and move the hook until the line sits on your mark.
Keep it straight with a spirit level, or a tape measure at both edges.
Double-check at 100. The 100 line should be exactly 100 cm from the floor.

What to mark, and how

Same time, every year. A birthday is the easiest date to remember. Add the first day of school or the start of every summer if you like a few more lines.

Shoes off, heels to the wall. Let them stand straight, with their back and heels against the wall and their eyes looking ahead. Lay a book flat on their head and draw a short line under it.

Write it down. The date and their age beside the line, and a word or two about that year. Pencil first, then go over it in a fine pen once you are sure.

One colour each. Siblings sharing a chart get a colour of their own, so the lines never get mixed up.

Build a little world around it

A height chart is tall and slim, so it rarely competes with the rest of the art on the wall. Hang it beside a poster from the same world, a rocket next to the rocket or sleepy animals next to the balloon animals, and the wall looks planned. Keep the frames simple, and give the chart a strip of wall of its own so there is room to stand.

Looking for the poster to go with it? Our guide to kids’ room wall art has ideas for every age, from calm first prints to alphabet posters.

Height Chart - Rocket Scientist, a rocket launching up a deep blue starry chart, hanging beside a window in a child’s bedroom — Lift-off at 30 cm.

Rocket Boy, a little astronaut beside a rocket on an orange planet against deep blue, in a yellow frame leaning on a red chair — Rocket Boy in a yellow frame keeps the mission going.

Nine charts, nine little worlds

Every chart is the same size, with the same scale and the same oak hanger. What changes is the story that grows alongside your child.

The classics. Moomin, where Moominmamma sows a seed at the bottom that grows with the child, and Pippi, with Pippi Longstocking and her friends.

For dreamers and explorers. Rocket Scientist launches a rocket into a starry sky, Planets climbs through a solar system of friendly faces, and Little Circus is full of acrobats, carousels and big tops.

Soft and sweet. Pink and Blue share the same watercolour animals floating up on balloons, in two colourways.

A little different. Cat vs. Boxes teaches words like above, on, in, beside and under with a ginger cat and a pile of boxes. Cherry Harvest, a graphic cherry pattern, would look just as good in a hallway or a kitchen.

All nine are in our height charts for kids.

Height Chart - Cat vs. Boxes, ginger cats and cardboard boxes on a blue-grey chart, hanging beside a child’s bed — A ginger cat, a pile of boxes and a new word on every level.

Close-up of the Cat vs. Boxes height chart: a ginger cat leaping over a box marked ABOVE, beside the 130 and 140 cm marks — Above, on, in: a few new words on the way up.

A gift for the very beginning

A height chart is a lovely gift for a new baby, a christening or naming day, or a first birthday: one of the few presents still in use long after the toys have been handed on.

Write the first line before you give it. Add the child’s name and date of birth, and their length at birth beside the right number. The scale starts at 30 cm, so even the very first measurement fits.

Choose the world they will grow into. Moomin or Pippi for families who grew up with them, Pink, Blue or Little Circus for a soft nursery, Rocket Scientist or Planets for a future astronaut.

Tie a pencil to the gift ribbon. The first mark is part of the gift. More ideas in our guide to giving art as a gift.

Height Chart - Pink, animals floating on balloons on a pale pink chart, hanging beside wall pegs with a child’s bag and dressing gown above a wooden stool — Soft pink for the nursery, with Blue as its twin.

Close-up of the pink height chart: a fox and a bunny floating up on balloons beside the 120 to 140 cm marks — A fox, a bunny and a sky full of balloons.

Frame or no frame?

No frame needed. Every chart comes with a matching oak hanger, 22 cm wide, that holds it at the top and the bottom and hangs from a cord. And since you will be writing on it, it is best left uncovered, within easy reach of a pencil.

Taking care of it

Hang it out of direct sunlight. Like our posters, the chart is printed on archival paper that does not yellow. Moving house? Lift it off the hook, roll it up loosely and take it with you, every line included.

How high should a height chart hang?

Hang it so the 30 line sits exactly 30 cm above the floor; the bottom of the chart then ends up a little lower. Check with a tape measure: the 100 line should be 100 cm up.

What size is the height chart?

118 x 21 cm, with a centimetre scale from 30 to 140 cm (about 1 ft to 4 ft 7 in). All nine charts are the same size.

Can you write on a height chart?

Yes. Mark each measurement with a short line and write the date, the age and a few words beside it. Siblings can share a chart, with a colour each.

Does a height chart need a frame?

No. It comes with a matching oak hanger, 22 cm wide, and hangs from a hook on its cord.

Do you have a Moomin height chart?

Yes: Height Chart - Moomin, where Moominmamma sows a seed that grows with the child. For another childhood classic, there is Height Chart - Pippi.

When can you start using a height chart?

From the very beginning. Write their length at birth on the chart on day one, and add the first standing measurement once they can stand tall against the wall. The scale goes all the way to 140 cm.

Height charts for kids