I was always the shortest kid in school and the shortest in my family, until I had my daughter. Having a little person made me feel, well, not so little. That worked for about a decade, and has completely backfired on me now that she’s taller than I am. The tween growth spurt hit.
That made me wonder about the tween growth spurt and I’m at Chicago Parent sharing what I learned. Below are three of my favorite facts about adolescent growth spurts:
1. Growth in puberty accounts for approximately 20 percent of final adult height, according to Georgetown University.
2. The term “peak height velocity” is an actual medical term that describes what happens when a tween’s growth spurt goes into overdrive. That’s exactly what happened with my tween over this summer. The look on my husband’s face when I announced that she had achieved “peak height velocity” was pretty good. I think he was worried I was talking about her getting her drivers license.
On average, girls reach peak height velocity at 11 and a half years old. In boys, that occurs at around age 13 and a half.
3. Wondering when you’ll finally be able to stop buy pants every few months? I’m afraid you have a bit of a wait as growth in adolescence lasts for a while. Most girls reach their adult height between 14 and 15 years old and boys stop at approximately age 16, although muscle development continues past that.
Thank goodness I have a young niece who keeps me from being the shortest member of the family, but I have a feeling I’ll be relegated back to that role sooner rather than later. I’ll stick with the idea that I’m not short, I’m just fun-sized.
If you are looking for more facts about growth in adolescence, check out the full article here. You can find my other pieces for Chicago Parent here.
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