Growing Up: How Rapid Changes Start All Over Again Once Girls Begin Puberty

Growth spurts appear to be a big deal especially when your child was a baby or toddler. Aside from making your child unusually fussy or grumpy, such growth also caused them to sleep poorly and become hungrier. In fact, growth spurts occur gradually as you might not have even noticed how much your kid was growing, per Healthline. Once your child starts puberty, the rapid changes begin all over again and they could easily grow at least four inches in one year.

Hence, when this happens, the main question for parents is when their child stops growing specifically their daughters. However, the age at which girls stop making both the leaps and bounds linked with puberty growth varies, hence, there are some benchmarks to keep an eye on. Further, girls grow and develop at a quick pace throughout infancy and childhood. Thus, when they reach puberty, growth dramatically increases.

Girls usually have a growth spurt in the 1-2 years before menstruation starts. Mostly, puberty occurs between 8 and 13 years old while the growth spurs happen between 10 and 14 years old. So, they only grow 1-2 additional inches in a year or two after actually having their first period. Thus, this is when they reach their adult height; Basically, girls stop growing and reach adult height when they become 14-15 years old or a couple of years after their menstruation begins.

Read Also: How Irregular Periods Can Affect the Woman's Ability to Get Pregnant?

The connection between puberty and breast development

Breast development is commonly the first sign of puberty in girls. They may start to develop 2 to 2 1/2 years before getting their period. This might be a slow process which usually begins with small breast buds and darkened areolas, eventually advancing to larger breast growth as well as protruding nipples.

Some tween girls may only notice breast buds a year after their first periods while others may not begin developing breasts for 3-4 years, even after having their menstruation; Karen Gill, M.D., added that breasts stop growing when puberty is entirely complete, about 1-2 years after girl's first menstruation. However, it's not unusual for breasts to continue slightly grow and eventually change in shape or contour up until the age of 18.

Dr. Gill reminds tweens that having different sizes of breasts is common and normal and is something not to worry about; On the other hand, the average age for a girl in the United States to get her first period or menstruation is 12.1. The sweet spot is usually right there in the middle around age 11, Very Well Family reported.

How may genetics impact a girl's height?

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the average or age-adjusted height for adult women ages 20 years old and up is 63.7 inches or basically under 5 foot 4 inches; Almost half of all American girls will become under 50.2 inches or 127.5 cm tall around 8 years old as it serves as the earliest start of puberty. This only means that massive growth happens during a short period of time.

According to data published on Healthline, growth patterns also run in families due to genes. Usually, when consulting with pediatricians regarding the growth of children, experts would often ask parents about their own height, growth patterns, and family height history. This is because genes may also affect the growth of your child.

Kids Health added that your tween girl's growth pattern is massively determined by genetics. Basically, shorter parents tend to have shorter children whereas taller parents are more likely to have taller kids.

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