Taller, Stronger, Sharper – Most parents like to see their children prosper in all three segments. Parents give all their love and care to nurture their child and help them grow. But every child is unique. Genes, living conditions, diet, and environment affect the growth of the child a lot.
Worrying about your child’s height gain is but natural. To help you, here are some facts and ideas that can help in their height gain.
From Birth to 6 months of age
An average baby weighs about 2.5 kilograms at the time of birth. The height of an average newborn baby is between 18 to 22 inches. A baby might grow half or one inch per month and gains around 200 grams of weight per month. You can expect your baby to double up in weight as and when they turn 5 months old.
From 6 months to 12 months
Babies grow slow from the age of 6 months to 12 months. You can expect them to grow on an average of 3/8 inch per month and gain about 150 grams per month. This is the time when their brain and body develops the most indulging into all sorts of activities. A relatively high-fat food and low fibre food can help boost their growth.
From Age 1 to 3
The toddler years are steady for the growth of height. This is actually when the babies indulge into a lot of activities and their height gain depends on their nutrition and activities. Babies who are fed healthy food, indulge into more outdoor games and are active gain better height than others. Three small balanced meals with regular nutritious snacks keeps their nutrition strong for healthier growth. At this age, the baby boys and girls reach up to 37 inches of height.
From Age 4 to 9
During this time the baby boys and girls gain about 2-3 inch of height per year. A slight spurt in height is seen in kids who start hitting the age of puberty a little early. This is also the time when kids should get into playing games like basketball, football and even swimming to increase height at a faster rate.
From Age 10 to 14+
This is the age promises the most height gain for the kids. They start hitting the age of puberty and thus the height gain is accelerated too. By the time they reach the age of 16, girls and boys attain their adult height. It is now that activities like swimming, rope jumping, basketball or running can help the kids gain height better.
Sometimes the puberty height spurt can come early or after the age of 16 depending upon the growth of the child.
A child’s height is influenced by their genes, activities they indulge into, their growth, development, nutrition levels and more. While they should match the average height growth, making them active in sporting activities helps!