Former Director Grade Scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
www.daylife.page
Most people stop growing in height around the age of 16 to 18, with girls typically reaching their final height earlier than boys, usually by around 14 or 15 years old; this happens when the growth plates in their bones fuse, effectively ending significant height gain. Girls typically have a growth spurt in the one to two years before puberty. Normally, when menstruation starts.
Puberty occurs between 8 and 13 years old in most girls and the growth spurt occurs between 10 and 14 years old. They grow, on average, 1 to 2 additional inches in the year or two after their first period.
Most girls reach their adult height by age 14 or 15. This age could be younger depending on when a girl first gets her period.
You may want to contact doctor if your daughter is 15 and hasn’t yet begun her periods and /or stop growing.
Genetics of height
Your height has a lot to do with how tall or short your parents are. Growth patterns tend to run in families.
When looking at the growth of children, pediatricians often ask parents about their own height, family height history, and growth patterns.
There are a couple of different ways to predict how tall a girl may grow. One of these methods is called the mid-parental method.
To use this method, add the height in inches of the mother and father, then divide that by two. Then, subtract 2 1/2 inches from that number. To determine the predicted height for a boy, you’d add 2 1/2 inches to the number.
For example, if a girl has a father who’s 72 inches tall and a mother who’s 66 inches tall, the predicted height for the girl would be found with the following calculations:
1. 72 + 66 = 138
2. 138 / 2 = 69
3. 69 – 2.5 = 66.5
So the predicted height for the girl is 66.5 inches or 5 foot 6.5 inches.
This number is a rough estimate, however. You may see a margin of error of up to 4 inches in either direction.
In general, the taller the parents are, the taller the child will be, and vice versa.
Symptoms of delayed growth
If your child is smaller than other children their age, they may have a growth problem. It’s typically considered a medical issue if they’re smaller than 95 percent of children their age, and their rate of growth is slow.
A growth delay may also be diagnosed in a child whose height is in the normal range, but whose rate of growth has slowed.
Depending on the underlying cause of their growth delay, they may have other symptoms:
If they have certain forms of dwarfism, the size of their arms or legs may be out of normal proportion to their torso.
If they have low levels of the hormone thyroxine, they may have a loss of energy, constipation, dry skin, dry hair, and trouble staying warm.
If they have low levels of growth hormone (GH), it can affect the growth of their face, causing them to look abnormally young.
If their delayed growth is caused by stomach or bowel disease, they may have blood in their stool, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, or nausea Causes of growth delays
Delayed growth can have a wide variety of causes. The most common causes include:
A family history of short stature
If parents or other family members have short stature, it’s common for a child to grow at a slower rate than their peers. Delayed growth due to family history isn’t an indication of an underlying problem. The child may be shorter than average simply because of genetics.
Constitutional growth delay
Children with this condition are shorter than average but grow at a normal rate. They usually have a delayed “bone age,” meaning their bones mature at a slower rate than their age. They also tend to reach puberty later than their peers. This leads to a below average height in early teenage years, but they tend to catch up with their peers in adulthood.
Growth hormone deficiency
Under normal circumstances, GH promotes the growth of body tissues. Children with a partial or complete GH deficiency won’t be able to sustain a healthy rate of growth.
Hypothyroidism
Babies or children with hypothyroidism have an underactive thyroid gland. The thyroid is responsible for releasing hormones that promote normal growth, so delayed growth is a possible sign of an underactive thyroid.
Turner syndrome
Turner syndrome (TS) is a genetic condition that affects females who are missing a part or all of one X chromosome. TS affects approximately 1 in 2,500 femalesTrusted Source. While children with TS produce normal amounts of GH, their bodies don’t use it effectively.
Other causes of delayed growth
Less common causes of delayed growth include:
Down syndrome, a genetic condition in which individuals have 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46
skeletal dysplasia, a group of conditions that cause problems with bone growth
certain types of anemia, such as sickle cell anemia
kidney, heart, digestive, or lung diseases
use of certain drugs by the birth mother during pregnancy
poor nutrition
severe stress
Growth delays in children can be caused by a number of factors, including genetics, poor nutrition, chronic illnesses, and hormonal disorders.
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