Your Growth Spurt
Every teenager
will experience a period of getting taller and gaining weight.
Girls usually start this spurt at age 10 or 11, but sometimes
earlier or later. Since girls start their growth spurt earlier
than boys, it's not unusual for many girls in your class to be
taller than most of the boys.
For some, this spurt may
be a steady period of growth. Others may grow rapidly and seem to
stop growing, only to start up again months down the road. When
you start your growth spurt and how long it lasts depends on your
genes
(when your parents, especially your mother, started her growth
spurt), your racial and ethnic background, and your overall
health. At the end of your growth spurt, you'll be your adult
height.
You may be developing at a rate
different from your friends, but try not to get upset about your
body doing what it's supposed to do - GROW and CHANGE! Eat well,
exercise regularly, and get lots of sleep to help your body reach
its adult form.
While you're busy growing, what's
happening with the boys?
Boys usually start their growth
around age 12 or 13, a year or two after the girls. But most boys
grow faster than girls and can easily make up for starting later
by growing 3 or 4 inches a year! You'll also notice your male
friends' voices getting deeper and their bodies getting more
muscular. Boys in puberty also start getting hair on their upper
lips and chin.
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