Have you ever wondered how old children grow up? At certain ages, it is common that we must buy clothes for them year after year. The size changes in just a couple of months. At times, it seems that children are little giants who do not stop growing. And so, some shoes that we bought at the beginning of the year do not even reach the month of May. Does this race against time have an end point?
Today we deal with the growth of the little ones, in order to know until what age children grow. I invite you to continue reading to learn more about this topic that many parents will be eager to learn about.
growth in the early years
El babies development during their first year of life is truly extraordinary. If a newborn can hardly open his eyes and sleeps for many hours a day, after a couple of months we see that he can smile and look attentively. Around four months of life he already raises his head, at six he manages to sit down and around 8 months it is the stage of crawling. Finally, towards the year he is encouraged to take his first steps. During this year, the growth is overwhelming. The kids grow up by leaps and bounds, especially during the first years of life.
Regardless of age, all children have their own specific timeline tied to both physical development and overall growth. That is why we speak of a growth curve, a standard measurement that measures how each child is growing. The pediatrician keeps track of the child's growth from year to year in order to establish the curve and a parameter. Under normal conditions, the curve should remain without major alterations with the exception of some specific moments in which the so-called growth jumps could occur.
growth in children
The children begin to grow from what they are born so it is difficult to know until what age children grow. In the first years the growth is very fast, going from being babies to children in just two years. The process continues and stabilizes for a period of time until, at the onset of puberty, development speeds up ferociously again.
This is because growth is closely related to hormonal development. During puberty, there is an increase in hormones that leads to a growth spurt. In girls it happens a little earlier than in boys. Thus, around 10 or 11 years of age, the body of a girl begins to stop having childish shapes to round and acquire more curves, the development of breasts and pubic hair occurs. Although in the case of children, this happens a little later, the changes are also very noticeable, with the appearance of hair all over the body, growth in height and in the body in general, and the change of voice.
The end of growth
¿Up to what age do children grow so? This accelerated development that begins at puberty is estimated to take about 4 years. This indicates that by the age of 16 the adolescent's body has completed or nearly completed its growth. In some cases, the process may take longer or start later so growth can continue until the age of 18. Although some other changes may occur later, most young people slow down in growth around this age.
If you are wondering why growth stops in children, it is all due to cartilage. It has cells called chondrocytes, which are found at the end of long bones. They duplicate and eventually become bone cells as they accumulate. This process allows the bones to lengthen and thus growth occurs. When all the supporting cartilage has been replaced by bone tissue, the growth of the long bones is complete and they then reach their final size. Scientists find in the completion of this process the arrest of growth. However, they have not been able to answer the reason why the ossification process stops, which is why it is still a mystery.