Last updated on November 30, 2024
Question:
Hello,
I am 12 and a half years old. I recently got my period. My sister says that after you get periods you stop growing in height. I am just 5’2, my mom is 5’0 and my dad is 5’8. All my cousins on the paternal side are about 6 feet. Please can you try and predict my height?
I have fine pubic hair as well, and my breasts have just started to grow. It seems that the left one is slightly smaller than the right one. Is that normal? I took the Tanner stage test, and the result was 2.5. Please help me with my curiosity!
Answer
For height prediction, see: Predicting Your Adult Height.
Some girls get their first period during stage 2, others get it during stage 4. It is the latter group that leads to the idea that you stop growing after you have your menstrual period because the next stage is 5 when all growth stops. But this is not true in all cases. Since you are in stage 2, you will still have your major growth spurt (which happens in stage 3).
While we like to be perfectly symmetrical, we aren’t always. But especially during growth it is very common for one side to get ahead of the other side for a brief period of time. Don’t worry about your breasts. The other side will catch up soon.
Question:
Thanks a lot. All that did make me feel better. I have one small query, I just took the Predicting Your Adult Height? test, and the result was 5’5. Are the results 100% accurate? Can any particular exercise help increase my height? Does cycling, skipping, or basketball help increase your height? My mum says that if you sleep early, then your growth hormones will be activated, and you will grow taller; however, I don’t believe it. Is it true? I would like to at least reach 5’6, so what will help increase my height?
Answer:
One of the hard things about being mature is realizing that you are not in control of everything in your life. You can do the best that you can, but nothing guarantees that you will succeed. “I returned and saw under the sun that – the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Yes, a good runner tends to win races — but not always. A smart person tends to be wealthier — but not always. The fact is that there are many things completely out of our control.
The one thing we have control over is how we react to what happens to us. “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13). Paul is saying that knowing Jesus is behind him, he would hold up under whatever life dished out at him. He might not be able to control what happens to him, but he learned that he could be content through the good and the bad.
“And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?” (Luke 12:25-26). Your height is one of those things over which you have no control. Your potential height was fixed when your father’s sperm met your mother’s egg. If you ate poorly or were sick, you might not reach your potential height, but if you are healthy and eating well, you won’t grow beyond what your genetic code has set you up to become. You might daydream of being blond, but if your genes give you brown hair, then that is what you are. You can dye it to any shade you want, but when it grows, it will still be your own color. You can dream of being a certain height, but the reality is that you will be what you are intended to be.
Eat healthily and exercise because it is good for you and will help you enjoy life better. I hate to disagree with anyone’s mother, but in this case, she thought she found a convenient way of getting you to go to bed at a reasonable hour.
There are two tests in the Predicting Your Adult Height? test. The first one is accurate to within five inches, which is quite a spread. Even then, it is only accurate about 94% of the time. The second one is a bit more accurate (to within 1.5 inches), but it was based on American data. It might not be as accurate among other nationalities. It too is not 100% accurate, just accurate for most people.