How tall can your baby grow? After reading this, you will understand everything

What scientific and professional height evaluation methods can help us detect children’s growth disorders in time? After reading this, you are now a semi-expert! Spring is warm and flowers are blooming, and it’s time for children to “grow like crazy” again. This period of rapid growth will last until early summer, with the average speed being 2-2.5 times faster than in autumn and winter. Have you tried every means to help your child grow faster during this critical period? Recently, the \”Qianjiang Evening News\” reported that Wang Chunlin, deputy director of pediatrics at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, received a 15-year-old boy, Xiao Xiao, who was 158cm tall, about 11cm shorter than the average height of children of the same age. Xiao Xiao\’s mother looked anxious, \”He grew a lot in the past two years, and he was still sitting in the back rows in the class. Why has he not grown at all in the past year, and now he sits in the front row.\” From the child\’s bone age film, Director Wang found that Xiao Xiao\’s epiphysis had healed and it would be impossible for him to grow taller in the future. The culprit turned out to be the stewed rooster that Xiao Xiao\’s mother often made (for a whole year, she stewed two or three roosters every week). Director Wang said: \”Little roosters, panax notoginseng, and sea cucumbers can indeed increase nutrition to promote bone growth and promote growth and development. However, if you always eat these \”big tonic\” foods, the gonadal axis will start in advance and precocious puberty will occur in a short period of time. The height may have jumped up, but the overall time to grow taller has been compressed.\” Xiao Xiao\’s mother\’s approach is too radical, but it really reflects the state of mind of us parents. Who doesn’t want his son to be 180cm tall and his daughter to be over 16cm tall? To be tall, handsome and rich, to be tall, handsome and rich, you must first have a certain height. No one wants their child to be classified as \”short\”. But we also know that the determining role of genes cannot be changed. All we can do is to provide a good environment for children to grow taller as much as possible; discover problems and hidden dangers in the process of growing taller in time, and correct and eliminate them in time. Here comes the problem. How tall is normal for a child to grow? Or conversely, to what extent does shortness require intervention? What should be done? First of all, you must know that the standard value of a child\’s height is usually evaluated using the standard deviation method and the percentile method. The reference standard is our common numerical table. 1. Standard deviation method The \”China Reference Standards for Growth and Development of Children Under 7 Years Old\” issued by the Department of Women and Social Affairs of the Ministry of Health in 2009 uses the standard deviation method. Standard height values ​​for boys under 7 years old (cm) Standard height values ​​for girls under 7 years old (cm) For those over 7 years old, please refer to the percentile table below. 2. Percentile method In the table below, 3rd, 25th, 50th, 90th, and 97th represent the 3rd percentile, 25th percentile, 50th percentile (middle number), and 90th percentile respectively. position, 97th percentile. For example: 100 children are lined up in order of height from lowest to highest. The third one is the 3rd percentile, and the 50th one is the 50th percentile. The two tables above are the basis. How to use them specifically? There are many and complex methods. I first drew a summary diagram to illustrate the relationship between these methods that will be introduced. First of all, you can directly look at the two tables above to see where your baby\’s height is. It is generally believed that when a child’s heightWhen the stature is 2 standard deviations (-2SD) or the 3rd percentile below the median of children of the same age and sex, it can be judged as short stature. Take Ogawa as an example. He is now 5 and a half years old and 122cm tall. He is roughly 2 standard deviations above the median of children of the same age and gender, and between the 90th and 97th percentiles. He is judged to be on the high side. one type. However, although this method is simple, it does not take into account other factors, such as the influence of parents\’ height, such as the influence of precocious puberty, etc. So, let\’s look down. Considering the height of parents, the only judgment dimensions in the target height evaluation method and age rating method are gender and age. But we know that children of the same age and gender will have different height baselines due to differences in their parents’ genes. Therefore, when judging whether a child\’s height is normal, genetic factors should be taken into consideration, and it is recommended to use the target height evaluation method. First, calculate the target height of the child at 18 years old based on the height of the parents (calculation formula developed by the Mayo Clinic in the United States, please note that there is a floating space of 7cm up and down), unit cm: boy = (sum of parents’ height + 13) / 2 girl = (Sum of parents’ height – 13)/2 Still taking Xiaochuan as an example, I am 163cm tall, and Chuan’s dad is 177cm. Xiaochuan’s target height at 18 years old is about 176.5cm (Sichuan’s dad has always said that I have the possibility of lowering the height of his family) . Then find out the percentile level of the target height at the age of 18, and then compare it with the percentile level of the child\’s current height. If the percentile of the current height the percentile of target height, it means that the environmental factors are favorable and the child is likely to eat well, sleep well, and exercise Good; indicating that environmental factors are favorable and go beyond the level determined by genetic genes. Like Ogawa, his current height is between the 90th and 97th percentiles, while his target height is between the 50th and 75th percentiles. The former is greater than the latter, indicating that the environmental factors are favorable, and fortunately we have raised him well. ~~ If a child grows too fast, he may mature prematurely. It also depends on the bone age and the current height exceeds the target height. Is this necessarily a good thing? Not necessarily. Think about Xiao Xiao’s story in the news. Didn’t he also rise very fast for a while? Therefore, when the current height exceeds the target height, the possibility of advanced bone age must be ruled out. There are three types of age related to height evaluation: living age, judged by date of birth; height age, the height corresponding to the median age of a certain age; bone age, the age of the bones, which reflects the actual development level of the child\’s bones. Generally, go to the hospital. Take an anteroposterior radiograph of the left hand to confirm; if the height and age are < living age, but the bone age is not behind, most of them are familial short stature; if the height and age are < living age and the bone age is behind, it indicates that the environment is unfavorable, the child\'s growth is delayed, and the child may be malnourished; if the height and age are Advanced life age and bone age may indicate that the epiphysis will close prematurely, there is a possibility of precocious puberty, loss of future growth potential, and low adult height, such as Xiao Xiao in the news. The most popular in the world: Make a height curve chart for your child. The above evaluation methods are all static methods, and only intercept the child\’s height data at a specific time point as the basis for evaluation. But growth is a dynamic process. Each child has different potential and living environment, and they may be on different growth trajectories. If we record and describe the process of a child\’s height growth over a longer period of time, we can more accurately reflect his unique growth trajectory and cover considerations of genetics, environment and other factors. In foreign countries, especially in European and American countries, percentile tables are often converted into graphs, that is, growth curves, to reflect changes in children\’s height and weight. No matter what the child\’s development level is, as long as he grows along the same percentile, or the standard deviation value of each age and the median is equal, we can judge that the child grows at a normal rate and has a normal height. The above is the height (weight) percentile curve chart of boys and girls of different ages produced by the Capital Children\’s Research Institute. We only need to mark the child\’s height value for each age group on the graph with \”points\”, and then connect the points into a line to clearly see the change trajectory of the child\’s height. One thing that needs to be reminded here is that measuring height is a technical job, and many factors will affect the results, such as standing posture, whether you are wearing socks, etc. It is best to teach professionals and use professional equipment to measure; it is best to measure at the same time every day, usually 1~2cm higher in the morning than in the afternoon. From birth to now, Ogawa\’s height has always been between the 75th and 97th percentiles. Preliminary results show that his height changes are normal and there are no abnormal highs and lows. (Finally finished all the methods) Is there a way to make children grow taller? When Ogawa was over 1 year old, we were asked why he didn’t go to kindergarten. Nowadays, I am often asked, what grade are you in elementary school? When we tell Xiaochuan\’s true age, we will be asked again: \”How did your child grow so tall?\” (especially after looking at me three times and asking Chuan\’s father\’s height). After thinking about it, I really haven\’t used any special method. At most, it\’s just a balanced and healthy diet. Later, I checked a lot of information, and the suggestions from various experts were similar. For example, Dr. Wang Chunlin’s advice to parents mentioned in the news: balanced nutrition. It is necessary to mix meat and vegetables, including animal and plant protein, animal and vegetable fat, refined grains and coarse grains, so that they can absorb enough high-quality protein and essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. In addition, pay attention to the intake of special nutrients – DHA, which is an essential substance for growth and development and mainly comes from fish food. exercise more. Regular participation in physical activities can promote blood circulation, accelerate metabolism, and increase blood supply to bone tissue. Do more outdoor longitudinal exercises and body stretching exercises: such as rope skipping, touch height, shooting, hanging rings, pull-ups, swimming, badminton, basketball, etc. Do more outdoor activities so that children can be exposed to sunlight for a longer period of time, which promotes the production of vitamin D in the body, is beneficial to the absorption of calcium, and can also promote height growth. Sleep more and go to bed early. Can sleepIt can relax the brain nerves and muscles and relieve body fatigue; on the other hand, after a child sleeps deeply, the body\’s growth hormone secretion is strong, and sufficient sleep is conducive to the child\’s growth. It seems that the old saying that you will not grow taller if you don’t sleep is true. Treat diseases promptly. There are hundreds of diseases that affect children\’s growth, some of which can be treated, such as growth hormone deficiency, thyroid hormone deficiency, etc. The height can be improved through hormone replacement supplementation, such as asthma, congenital heart disease and other primary diseases can be cured and the height can be improved. There will also be catch-up growth; some genetic diseases currently have no good treatments. Short children need to be examined by experienced specialists to find the cause and treat the cause symptomatically. Be in good spirits. It is beneficial to promote the growth of children, and mental depression can inhibit the secretion of growth hormone. Parents should strive to create a peaceful environment for their children so that they can grow up happily.