For the first 2 decades of life, children and young adults grow steadily. But no one grows at a perfect pace; there are weeks or months of slower growth interspersed with mini growth spurts.

The period of fastest growth is during the first year of life. Infants can sprout 10 inches in length—nearly tripling their birth weight. During these growth spurts, babies may eat, sleep, and fuss more than usual. After the first year, babies develop at a slower rate; by age 2, children tend to grow 2 to 3 inches a year until adolescence.

That’s when they hit their second-most-prominent growth spurt. Between the ages of 8 and 15, children reach puberty. At that time, the pituitary, a pea-size gland near the base of the brain, releases chemicals that step up the production of sex hormones, which results in maturational body changes. The pituitary gland also pumps out growth hormone, which stimulates cells to reproduce. A child becomes taller when bone cells divide and grow, widening and lengthening the bone. Because girls tend to undergo puberty a few years before boys, they hit their growth spurts at an earlier age. Although growth tends to cease after puberty (around age 16 or 17), young adults can continue to grow well into their twenties.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. The tallest man to live, Robert Wadlow (1918–1940), grew to be 8 feet 11 inches. By the age of 8, he was already 6 feet tall.
  2. Children tend to grow faster in the spring.