Your little baby has all of a sudden become a toddler, and it seems out of nowhere! The last year has been a blur of health visits, doctors and vaccinations! Over the last year you have probably been good at keeping up with your baby’s growth, but you may be wondering if you child is where you would expect them to be for their age.

As a reference, from 1 to 3 years of age, children grow at a rate of about 9 to 13 cm per year.

Your little one may be attending nursery or school, and you may have started noticing some signs that perhaps your child is not growing as they should. Have you started to notice that perhaps your child is not as tall as other children of the same age? Are they shorter than a younger sibling, or a sibling when they were the same age?

As a reference, from 3 years of age to puberty, their growth slows to about 5 to 6 cm per year.

Moving from childhood to teenage years is tricky for the whole family! Puberty is a time for major growth spurts. However, you should keep an eye out to see if they are shorter than classmates, wearing out clothes before outgrowing them, or being mistaken for being much younger. At this age they may be more independent as such, understanding and sensitivity around the subject of height can really help.

As a reference, it is estimated that around 20–25% of a final adult height will be reached by puberty. 

During puberty, there is a major growth spurt, and by the end of puberty most would have reached physical maturity. For girls, puberty usually starts between 8–13 years old; and for boys, puberty starts between 10–15 years old.