Normal Growth
Dr. Jorge Alsina is a pediatrician practicing in Hialeah, Florida. Dr. Alsina is a doctor who specializes in the health care of children. As a pedicatrician, Dr. Alsina diagnoses and treats infections, injuries, diseases and other disorders in children. Pediatricians typically work with infants, children, teenagers and... more
As a pediatrician, a well child visit is an area that I really like and always get questions. Is my child growing well, how tall will he/she be? One way that we are able to answer is by letting parents know that with growth, genetics is very important. How tall a child's parents are, the nutrition they receive, and how active your child is will give an idea of their child's growth. I tell parents that his/her child will be plus 6 from his parents or minus 6 from her parents:
Boy: father height (cm)+mother height (cm) divided by 2 + 6
Girl: father height (cm)+mother height (cm) divided by 2 - 6
During the first year, a child will grow an average of 25 cm, and another 25 cm in the next three years. So, he/she will be on average 100 cm when they are 4 years old, after this, a child will grow an average of 5-6 cm per year until puberty. For girls growth stop 2-3 years after menstruation during this time they grow an average of 6 to 8 cm. Puberty for boys starts around thirteen and will reach their peak between 15 and 16 years old, growth spurts occur at this time.
We follow them using the CDC graphics that will allow us to see when a child needs a referral to an endocrinologist for a growth delay evaluation. It is important to have him/her evaluated earlier than later because treatment will be more effective when started early, and the patient will be evaluated for growth hormone deficiency. If the patient does not have growth hormone deficiency or a chronic disease that can be treated, then most likely they will have a height accordingly to his/her family height and their height is normal.
