The nurse is assessing a 5-year-old child who is being seen in the clinic for the first time. The child's height and weight are in the 20th percentile on the commonly used growth chart from the National Center for Health Statistics. When interpreting the data, the nurse recognizes

A. The 20th percentile does not indicate that the child’s growth is below normal limits. It simply means that the child is smaller than 80% of peers but still within a healthy range. B. Growth charts are standardized and account for various ethnicities. Therefore, this option is incorrect. C. A child whose height and weight fall within the 20th percentile is still within normal limits, as healthy growth can range from the 5th to 95th percentile. D. Growth charts can be used even on single measurements to assess whether a child is tracking along a normal growth curve, though more frequent measurements give a better picture over time.