Does Growth Stop With Onset Of Menstruation
There is a formula that we use in pediatrics to estimate the size one expects a child to be, based solely on the parents heights. This is called the mid-parental height. It does not give an accurate prediction of a child s ultimate height, but does give a range, based on genetic factors. If either of the parents had health problems as a child, then this estimate may not be accurate.
The way that this formula works is that if the child is a girl, you subtract five inches from the father s height, and then average the result with the mother s height. This average is the mid-parental height, and you would expect the child to be within a few inches of this height as an adult. For a boy, you add five inches to the mother s height and then average it with the dad s.
Based on your parents heights, your mid-parental height is 5′ 1-1/2″ give or take 3 inches, so we would expect your height to be in a range from about 4′ 10″ to 5′ 4″. In other words, you should not expect to be a lot taller than you already are, but you may grow a few more inches.
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Atypical Heights And When To See A Doctor
A chart like the CDCs is a great way to see if theres any atypical development going onwhether that might mean being taller or being shorter than expected.
As we mentioned above, its also important to keep in mind the development of the breasts, puberty, and the first menstrual cycle.
If puberty for a girl happens before the age of 8, this is considered atypical and its recommended to see a pediatrician. Likewise, it is also considered atypical if a girl has not developed breasts by the age of 13 and/or not begun her menstrual cycle by the time shes 15 or 16.
Similarly, its best to see a doctor if a girl begins showing signs of puberty too early, at 6 or 7 years old. Whatever extreme the girl is at, its best to have a doctor take a look because such development may be a sign of medical problems or some kind of hormonal imbalances.
One of the many tools that pediatricians can use to determine health problems is an X-ray. By checking out the bones of a child, they can determine if theyre on track to reach their expected height. Blood tests might also be taken to determine if there are any diseases that might be affecting growth and development.
Are There Other Changes I Can Expect
- More sweat. Since sweat can cause body odour, it helps to take a bath or shower every day.
- Some girls develop acne . Washing your face in the morning and at night with regular, fragrance-free soap and water is important. If you do get pimples, acne lotions, creams and special soaps may help. If they dont work, talk to your doctor about other treatments.
- Attractions. Many people start to be romantically and sexually attracted to others during this time.
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When To Expect Growth Spurts
Most girls have a major puberty-related growth spurt around the age of 11, although the exact age can be pretty variable. Hitting puberty before the age of 8 is out of the ordinary, as is not experiencing any puberty changes by age 15 or 16.
The sweet spot is right there in the middle around age 11. Girls typically start puberty a year or two before they get their first period, and the average age for a girl in the U.S. to get her first period is 12.
Here’s what typically happens in this first growth spurt:
After this initial growth spurt, a second smaller one usually happens after girls start menstruating. They may grow another one to three inches, but that typically signals the end of their physical growth .
Breasts can stop growing at this point, too. Or they may continue growing slightly for another few years.
Will I Feel Different
Not only do hormones cause physical changes in your body, they can also affect how you feel. Emotions during puberty may feel a bit like a roller coaster. You may:
- Be afraid of the changes in your body one minute and excited about them the next.
- Feel awkward or confused.
- Laugh one moment and cry the next.
- Get along and fight with good friends all in the same day.
- Feel angry at times.
- Feel grown up one day and like a child the next.
Sometimes, these changes can be overwhelming. Youre not alone. Like other teens, youre going through a period of transition in your life. It can be both scary and exciting at the same time.
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Causes & Risk Factors
When do girls start having menstrual periods?
On average, girls have their first menstrual period between the ages of 12 and 13. However, like all changes in puberty, every girls body changes at a different rate. Some girls may start menstruating as early as age 10, others not until 15. Most girls should have started their menstrual periods by age 16.
As a general rule of thumb, a girls first period usually occurs about two years after her breasts begin to develop.
Can Stretching Make You Taller
Hanging and stretching can reverse the compression, making you slightly taller until your spine compresses again. Spinal compression can reduce your height temporarily by 1%. In tall people this can be as much as a half inch. Stretching and hanging and lying down can restore this 1%, but wont make you taller .
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Myth: Menarche Means The End Of Growth Is Near
The reality is that the average gain in height after menarche is about 7 cm , and it is even greater for girls who menstruate on the early side of normal. Follow-up data from the Fels Longitudinal Study show that girls who start menstruating at age 10 grow, on average, 10 cm , while those in whom menarche is delayed until age 15 grow, on average, 5 cm .7 Additional reassurance is provided by data suggesting that earlier thelarche is associated with a increased interval before menarche: for example, an 8- or 9-year-old girl who has just started developing breasts will have an average time to menarche that is closer to 3 years than 2.8 The combination of a longer time before menarche and greater height gain after the start of menstruation may explain why girls who start puberty at about 6 to 8 years old do not end up short as adults. Conversely, the lesser gain in height after menarche and shorter interval between thelarche and menarche in girls with pubertal delay may explain why the pharmacologic delay of puberty has inconsistent and limited effects on increasing their final height.9
What Causes Missed Periods
- A teen girl may be fine and just a little late with regulating her periods.
- She may have a hormone imbalance called polycystic ovary syndrome and needs to be checked for high cholesterol and diabetes.
- She may have an ovary or thyroid problem and need hormones.
- She may have low estrogen levels from excessive exercise or low weight, and she may be at risk for low bone mass.
Without enough estrogen, not only do menstrual cycles stop, but the body does not absorb enough calcium to build strong bones. This can result in low bone mass. Since very little bone mass is added after women are 20 years old, the teen years are very important for building the right amount of bone for a lifetime.
Everyone, teen girls especially, needs the right balance of exercise, body weight, calcium intake, vitamin D, and estrogen levels to have healthy bones.
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Myth: Pubic Hair Signals The Onset Of Puberty
The reality is that without breast or testicular enlargement, pubic hair and body odor indicate increasing adrenal secretion of weak androgens rather than activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal unit . Before 1997, premature adrenarche was defined as pubic hair developing in girls younger than 8 years old and boys younger than 9 years. However, the results of a large, cross-sectional study suggest that the development of pubic hair may be normal in white girls as young as 7 years and in African American girls as young as 6 years.1
Although the definition of normal puberty, as compared with premature, remains in flux, unquestionably early pubarche is likely to be benign if it meets the criteria in the box. If these criteria are met, then for most children a diagnostic workup can be limited to continued observation. Some physicians order an x-ray film to check that the skeletal age of the child is no more than 2.5 standard deviations above the chronologic age. An abdominal ultrasound scan or blood tests for dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, and testosterone are rarely needed.
Changes To Your Body Throughout Puberty
Firstly, you will experience a little swelling under your nipples, which signals the growth of your breasts. To reach your full adult breast size, it will take a few years. Your weight gain throughout puberty is completely healthy and normal and you should not worry too much about this. Besides, your thighs and hips will get wider and your body grows more curves.
You will also start to grow hair on your legs, under your arms, and in your pubic area. Another significant change to your body is a sudden growth in height, also known as the growth spurt. This growth spurt, however, happens really quickly. Girls gain about 3 inches or 8 centimeters in height a year on average during their growth spurt.
There are other changes you should expect such as acne or more sweat. It is better to take good care of your hygiene in this phase as sweat may cause body odor. If you develop acne or pimples, you should wash your face in the morning and at night with fragrance-free soap and water. Acne creams, lotions, and other special soaps might help as well. In addition, during this time, many people will begin to be sexually and romantically attracted to others.
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Are Male And Female Growth Rates Different
At the beginning of puberty, the female average height by age is higher.
This is because female puberty usually starts earlier, usually around age ten. Male puberty usually doesnt start until 12 or 13.
Once puberty kicks in, the male growth rate starts to increase. The average male adult height is 70 inches, compared to an average female adult height of 64 inches. Most people reach their adult height by 16.
Though genetics is the biggest factor in determining someones height, there are plenty of others. Heres a list of factors that could cause a slower growth rate.
- Genetic conditions
Many genetic conditions can affect adult height. For instance, people with Down syndrome or Turner syndrome tend to be shorter than average.
Eating a healthy diet full of nutrients speeds up the rate of growth, and a lack of nutrients slows it down. Focusing on a balanced diet during puberty can help make sure growth isnt stunted.
- Hormone imbalances
Human growth hormone and thyroid hormone control growth during puberty. Some people naturally have less of these hormones, and they will be shorter than average.
- Long-term illness
Illnesses like cancer, celiac disease, various kidney diseases, and cystic fibrosis slow down the rate of growth. People with one of these conditions may end up shorter than average.
Puberty And Mental Health In Girls
Puberty is a time of major transition in a childs life, and they may experience a rollercoaster of emotions. It can sometimes be difficult to know whether these changes are normal, or a sign of conditions such as anxiety and depression.
When thinking about how to support a teen during puberty, the National Alliance on Mental Health suggests considering questions such as:
- Does the child have at least one good friend they can talk with?
- Does the child have at least one adult in their life they can talk with? Examples can include a family member or a teacher.
- Does the child have a hobby, sport, activity, or area of interest that they are engaged with?
- Does the child appear happy, at least some of the time? If a child never expresses contentment or happiness, this may be cause for concern.
- Is the childs well-being at risk due to substance use, self-harm, or other risky or destructive behaviors?
If a child seems moody or irritable, but they have solid supports in place, then they may be experiencing normal puberty-related changes.
If a child appears to be struggling and lacks support, or if there are concerns about a childs wellbeing, talking with a doctor is a good place to start to get help.
If there is an immediate risk to a childs safety, get emergency help.
According to NAMI, parents and caregivers of teens can support their mental health by:
- listening without judgment
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Height Prediction Methods For Girls
While there’s no precise way to accurately determine how tall girls will be once they start growing, there are two common methods pediatricians use to predict adult height for girls.
Most doctors use what’s known as a “mid-parental height calculator” to predict adult height, though Dr. Kono says he isn’t a fan of the method because “it’s still very inaccurate.” For this calculation, you take your child’s biological’s father’s height and subtract 5 inches, then add that number to the child’s biological mother’s height and divide that sum by 2. The resulting number, plus or minus 3.35 inches, is the predicted range of height the child should reach.
“For example, if dad is 5’10” and mom is 5’5″, you would take 5’10” minus 5 inches, that’s 5’5″, add it to mom’s height and average the two, which is 5’5″that’s a prediction that their should grow to be 5’5″, give or take about 3 inches,” explains Dr. Kono.
Dr. Zoltan Antal, chief of pediatric endocrinology at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine, uses a different method. For a child who’s already going through puberty, he recommends finding their height percentile on a growth chart and following the corresponding curve.
Using the Centers for Disease Control growth chart, for example, a 10-year-old female who stands 54 inches tall is in the 50th percentile for their age. Following that growth curve out, they should reach a height just over 5’4″ no later than age 18.
Normal Development In Girls
As a pediatric dietitian, Ive seen a wide range of normal growth and development among girls. My own three daughters started and ended puberty at different times. I, myself, was what many would call a late bloomer.
Puberty is defined by sexual organ development, at the end of which, complete adult maturation is achieved.
Puberty begins between ages 8 and 13 years in girls, and 9 and 14 years in boys.
The Tanner Scale includes a female puberty chart and is used to determine the normal progression of puberty. Your pediatrician uses this to document and track the developing characteristics of sexual maturation, such as the presence and size of breasts.
In girls, pubertal development marches on with breast buds appearing first, followed by pubic and underarm hair growth. Then a growth spurt, followed by the start of menses .
As a parent, you may not notice the subtle details of your girls development. It may seem like its all happening at once!
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Tips For Parents Concerned About Their Daughters Height
- Help instill a sense of pride and self-confidence in your daughter, no matter what size and shape her body maybe.
- Remember that normal growth rates for girls are dependent upon when she enters puberty. There is a broad range of normal ages and growth rates for girls.
- Parents should focus on helping their daughter maintain healthy eating habits and to maintain routine doctor visits.
- Talk to your childs doctor about any concerns you may have about her height.
Can Anything Prevent Or Delay Puberty
A well-balanced diet and regular physical activity will support growth and healthy development.
However, puberty and subsequent growth can be delayed for a variety of reasons. Constitutional delay, or being a late bloomer, describes a pattern of later development that runs in families and is nothing to worry about. These teenagers will fully develop, just later than their peers.
Children with long-term conditions, such as diabetes, cystic fibrosis, or kidney disease, may also experience delayed puberty. This may be less likely if the condition is well-controlled, with limited complications.
Conditions affecting the pituitary or thyroid glands, which produce the hormones the body needs to grow and develop, can also delay puberty. Likewise, some genetic conditions can interfere with the process.
Intensive training and restrictive eating may delay the onset of puberty in young female athletes. In contrast, obesity is with an earlier start to puberty. These variations may be due to changes in hormone levels associated with activity levels and body composition.
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Puberty Support For Parents And Carers
- The Royal College of Psychiatrists website gives advice for parents and carers on what to expect when children hit adolescence, including why theyre likely to become sulky, suddenly start dieting, have crushes on friends, and crave excitement.
- The FPA has a range of online leaflets that give advice on talking to your children about growing up, sex and relationships.
Page last reviewed: 16 November 2018 Next review due: 16 November 2021