Child Heart Rate Chart

A child’s heart rate is higher than an adult’s and decreases as the child grows: it goes from 70 to 190 bpm in a newborn to the adult range (60 to 100 bpm) by age 10. The smaller heart needs to beat more often to keep up with a growing body. The chart below gathers the normal resting values by age, as published by MedlinePlus.

Child heart rate chart (resting)

Age	Resting HR (bpm)
Newborn (0 to 1 month)	70 to 190
Infant (1 to 11 months)	80 to 160
1 to 2 years	80 to 130
3 to 4 years	80 to 120
5 to 6 years	75 to 115
7 to 9 years	70 to 110
10 years and older	60 to 100

Two things about this chart surprise parents. The newborn band is wide — 70 to 190 covers deep sleep at one end and crying at the other, which is why a single reading means little on its own. And the adult range arrives at 10, not in late adolescence: MedlinePlus does not publish a separate teenage band at all.

Reference ranges do vary between sources, and pediatric texts often print narrower newborn bands than this one. During crying, fever, play, or being startled, the rate rises and returns to normal afterward — that’s expected.

How to measure correctly

Measure with the child calm, ideally at rest or during sleep. Count the beats for one full minute (at the wrist, neck, or with an infant finger pulse oximeter), because a child’s rate varies quite a bit from one moment to the next. Avoid measuring right after running, crying, or eating.

Why the rate drops with growth

A newborn’s heart ejects little blood per beat and compensates by beating fast. As the child grows, the heart gets bigger and pumps more blood per contraction — so the required rate drops, until it reaches the adult range around age 10. It’s an expected physiological change.

When to see the pediatrician

Medical evaluation is worthwhile if the resting rate is well outside the age range, or if the change comes together with: fast or labored breathing, listlessness, excessive sleepiness, refusal to feed, paleness, bluish lips, high fever, or fainting. Persistently very fast or very slow beats, without a cause like fever or crying, also call for investigation. This content is informational and does not replace medical evaluation.

See newborn baby heart rate and the full heart rate by age chart.