Since your last birthday, a lot of things have changed. For one, you're much smarter
than you were last year. That's obvious.
But there might have been some other changes — ones that you weren't ready
for. Perhaps you've sprouted several inches above everyone else in class. Or maybe
they all did the sprouting and you feel too short.
Maybe you haven't gained a pound and you feel like a feather on the seesaw, or
maybe you can't fit into your favorite pair of jeans. And now you're looking in the
mirror, thinking only one thing: Am I normal?
Everybody's Different
First of all, what's normal? There's no one type of normal. Otherwise,
the world would be full of a lot of abnormal people! The next time you go to the mall,
take a look around. You'll see tall people, short people, and people with broad shoulders,
little feet, big stomachs, long fingers, stubby legs, and skinny arms ... you get
the idea.
You can change your hairstyle or put on a new hat, but the way you look isn't entirely
under your control. Your looks were largely determined by your parents. When your
parents created you, they passed on their genes
— a kind of special code — and those genes helped to decide your size
and shape, your eye color and hair texture, even whether you have freckles.
Small or Tall
Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes decide. In fact, because
you have two parents, your genes act like a referee, giving you a height that usually
lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall,
then most likely you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're
going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you figure it out.
But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet
can keep you from growing to your full potential. Getting plenty of sleep,
enough exercise,
and nutrients will help you grow just like you should.
No doubt you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect
or right amount. On average, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between
age 3 and when they start puberty
(when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).
Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters
here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how
you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going
through.