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Original poster

.. to tell my DD she’ll grow more?!

113 replies

Pleasegrowmore · 28/12/2022 08:19

DD (11) has just started her period. Year or so younger than her sister was.

main issue is she’s really upset because the sport she does and loves it really helps to be tall. She’s pretty tall for her age already but I (and she) have read online that once you get periods you either (depends on what you read) basically stop growing or at most a little more.

but Internet seems to vary about this and it’s all a bit old wives tale y.

anyone know any actual science on this

and mainly can anyone reassure me (and her!!) that she could still grow more???

OP posts:
Cwcwbird · 28/12/2022 08:22

I've never heard this and it sounds like bollocks to me. My daughters and nieces have certainly kept growing until around the age of 16 despite starting their periods much earlier than that.

I mean, these days many girls start their periods age 9 or 10. There'd be loads of tiny adult women around of they all stopped growing.

RampantIvy · 28/12/2022 08:24

DD grew another inch after starting university at 19.

Galarunner · 28/12/2022 08:24

My daughter started her periods at 14, she was about 5ft at that point She is now 18 and about 5.4. She actually grew about ab inch after she was 17.

smooththecat · 28/12/2022 08:25

This paper is old, but states that there’s still growing to do! www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1070801/

misspattycake · 28/12/2022 08:25

My period started when I was 10, I definitely grew after that - although I am only a little over 5ft now (my whole family is short though and I was always smaller than most other children so I wouldn't have expected to be tall)

jay55 · 28/12/2022 08:26

I started my periods at 10, only grew another inch.
It was quite normal for the tallest at 10/11 to be the shortest at 15.

TwoPointFourCatsAndDogs · 28/12/2022 08:26

I read those same articles and worried as my DD loves netball. DS started her period aged 13, that was 18 months ago and since then she has grown 4 inches. When DS started I asked a friend of mine about it as she has 2 daughters, she said both of hers grew about 4 inches after their periods started. There is hope!

StrawHatOnTheParcelShelf · 28/12/2022 08:27

I can't help with science, but with personal experience. I grew another couple of inches, periods started at 14 and didn't stop growing until I was 19.

Butwhichoneistheman · 28/12/2022 08:28

I definitely had my big growth spurt a year after.

Whataretheodds · 28/12/2022 08:28

She can't directly control how much she grows. She can control how she takes care of her body - nutritious food, injury good stretching habits and recovery hbits to prevent injury, and she can work on her skills.

astralpiano · 28/12/2022 08:29

There's no point reassuring her she'll grow more as she might not. Instead try and encourage her with her sport anyway.

Algor1thm · 28/12/2022 08:29

My sister started her period at 9 and she is now a 6ft tall woman. Needless to say she was not 6ft tall at 9 😂 What a load of crap.

Singleandproud · 28/12/2022 08:29

DD has grown 9 inches in the 3 years since starting her period and shows no sign of slowing down. She towers above and costs me a fortune in clothes but its super useful for rugby so its a win for her.

Quite often science that is taken as fact has been around for a long time and diets and general health has changed alot since then which both have an impact on height.

Jimboscott0115 · 28/12/2022 08:30

Genetically and biologically this is a load of rubbish. While hormones will change and affect growth patterns, the majority of people will continue to grow until their late teens. Of course some won't, it's a distribution curve but then some don't stop growing until they're 21 either.

Anecdotally my daughter started 2 years ago and had grown 3 inches between 12-14 and is looking like she'll continue (she's 5 6 now), my other daughter is almost 18 and appears to have stopped at 5ft 10) but grew significantly between 14-16 after her periods had started.

Crunchyb · 28/12/2022 08:31

Short stature is certainly a feature of precocious puberty. I’m not sure about typical puberty.

Kanaloa · 28/12/2022 08:31

Well I had my period at 9 and I’m definitely not 9 year old sized now. I’m not tall but I think that’s more to do with having a short mother and short father.

Original poster
Pleasegrowmore · 28/12/2022 08:33

RampantIvy · 28/12/2022 08:24

DD grew another inch after starting university at 19.

Amazing!!

OP posts:
Sirzy · 28/12/2022 08:33

you can’t say if she will grow more or not so based on that reassuring her she will do is wrong.

Original poster
Pleasegrowmore · 28/12/2022 08:35

astralpiano · 28/12/2022 08:29

There's no point reassuring her she'll grow more as she might not. Instead try and encourage her with her sport anyway.

Oh I do!! I just wanted to reassure her that not everything you read online is true (as many others have pointed out already - thank you) and that she might or might not but it’s not now set in stone!

OP posts:
Original poster
Pleasegrowmore · 28/12/2022 08:36

Sirzy · 28/12/2022 08:33

you can’t say if she will grow more or not so based on that reassuring her she will do is wrong.

I’m not telling her she WILL I’m seeking reassurance that she COULD

(appreciate I’ve not necessarily phrased title right)

OP posts:
Original poster
Pleasegrowmore · 28/12/2022 08:36

smooththecat · 28/12/2022 08:25

This paper is old, but states that there’s still growing to do! www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1070801/

This is really useful thank you!

OP posts:
inkworks273 · 28/12/2022 08:37

I was 5ft 4 when I started my period at 13. I'm now 5ft 8.

fatbottomgirl67 · 28/12/2022 08:37

My Dd's orthopaedic consultant said that, on average, once girls hit puberty they have a year of long bone growth left. After that they still grow but more from the waist upwards. This is why teenagers have such amazingly long legs. Seemed true in my Dd case

Crunchyb · 28/12/2022 08:38

With precocious puberty you get an early, dramatic growth spurt which stops suddenly and prematurely, rather than a more measured, sustained growth pattern. So girls who go through puberty particularly early do tend to end up short, if there is no intervention. I looked into this a little bit some time ago, whilst trying to process my own early puberty experience.

DrManhattan · 28/12/2022 08:39

Singleandproud · 28/12/2022 08:29

DD has grown 9 inches in the 3 years since starting her period and shows no sign of slowing down. She towers above and costs me a fortune in clothes but its super useful for rugby so its a win for her.

Quite often science that is taken as fact has been around for a long time and diets and general health has changed alot since then which both have an impact on height.

@Singleandproud 9 inches???