Last updated on October 24, 2020
Question:
I have read on many web sites that girls stop growing two years after menarche. Is it true? My daughter got her first period at an early age, when she was 10. Is it normal?
I have also heard that girls get mid-parental height. Can they get more than mid-parental height?
Answer:
Some girls get their first period during stage 2, others get it by stage 4. It is about a 50/50 split. It is the latter group that leads to the idea that you stop growing after you have your menstrual periods because the next stage is 5 when all growth stops. But this is not true in all cases. Your daughter sounds like she is in the first group.
It has been long noted that if you take the average of a child’s parents’ height, then girls tend to grow between six inches below that height up to the midpoint height. Boys tend to grow to be between the midpoint height and six inches above it. This the typical growth pattern, but there are exceptions.