In life, most people will think that the height of the parents is higher, the height of the child will not be short; the height of the parents is not high, then the child is affected by genetics, and the height will most likely be similar to the parents. But nowadays, more and more teenagers like to measure their bone age and predict their future height.
Human growth and development can be expressed in terms of two "ages", namely actual age and bone age. The actual age is the one we are most familiar with, but what is the bone age? Bone age is the age at which our bones develop, which is the maturity of bones in the human body at all ages. Comparing the bone age with the actual age, you can see the speed of development, and even sometimes you can find the hidden dangers of the body through the bone age.
It is normal for a normal person's bone age to fluctuate up and down with their actual age within a year. For example, people who are actually 9 years old and have a bone age of 8.5 years will have a greater chance of being taller than their peers in the future. People whose actual age is 10 years old and whose bone age is already 11 years old have less potential for later height development.
It can be seen that people with a smaller bone age than their actual age have a larger space for growth. Some adolescents have late sexual development, his height is shorter than that of children of the same age in the early stage, but the bone age is later than the actual age, so his growth period will be longer, if you strengthen nutrition and exercise during adolescence, your height will increase by leaps and bounds, and eventually it will not be too short.
How to measure "bone age"
Measuring bone age can judge the growth potential of children according to joints and bone structure, and the hand is the most joint part of the human body, so the general bone age film is the clap of the hand.
By analyzing the degree of calcification of the bones on X-rays of the left wrist, it is possible to infer the age and development of adolescents and children. There is no difference between the left hand and the right hand in theory, and in order to facilitate the unified standard of interpretation, the joint film of the left hand is generally patted.
In addition, the hand belongs to the end of the limb, avoiding key parts such as the brain, thyroid and gonads, and the irradiation time of the bone age film is generally very short, and the damage of the radiation to the human body is negligible
There are three situations that can be considered to measure the bone age of the child!
Q1: Parents are not ideal in height
60% of the child's height is affected by genetics, parents' height is not ideal, more should pay attention to the child's growth from an early age, bone age testing can allow parents to grasp the dynamics of children's growth;
Q2: The height of the child is quite different from that of his peers
Bone age testing is needed to find the cause and intervene in a timely manner;
Q3: I want to predict my child's height potential
Based on the age of the child's bones, it is possible to predict the space in which the child is likely to grow taller, and predict the potential to grow taller.
When is bone age testing better?
The best age for a child to measure bone age – 3-15 years old.
Do a bone age test when your child is 3-10 years old:
1. Early detection and early treatment of growth and developmental diseases, and strive for more treatment and adjustment time;
2. Adjust the nutritional structure and living habits of the diet in a targeted manner, and intervene and adjust the height of the child.
Bone age testing into the pre-sexual development period (girls around 8 years old, boys around 10 years old) to do:
It helps the child to enter puberty at a normal level and rate of development, and ensures that the child's sexual development and height development can be started and accelerated in a normal state.
Common misconceptions about children's height
[Myth 1]: Parents are tall, children must be tall
Although height and heredity are closely related, the child is only passed on to a range of height, with a deviation of ± 6.5 centimeters. If the child's height is close to the upper limit of heredity, the child's height is ideal; if it is closer to the lower limit of heredity, the child's height is not optimistic.
[Myth 2]: Boys do not change their voices, girls do not menstruate, not yet developed, not in a hurry
Voice change and menstruation are characteristics that mark a child's entry into the post-developmental stages of puberty. At this stage, the child's bone growth area (epiphyseal) is close to closing, and the height begins to enter the countdown to stop length.
[Myth 3]: It doesn't matter if the child is not long now! Twenty-three also jumped
The growth and development of each child is different, and the late growth is also possible, but it is not judged by parents' imagination. Once you wait until you go to the hospital for examination when you are developing, you often miss the best time to intervene. The correct approach is to conduct regular testing and timely intervention under the guidance of a growth and development clinic doctor.
Summary Tips:
Factors that affect a child's height: diet, exercise, sleep, mood, bone age
Diet: ensure high-quality protein, promote more milk. 500ml of milk per day, 1 egg, 1 pair of lean meats.
Sleep: Fall asleep before 10 o'clock, growth hormone is generally between 11-3 o'clock at night, to ensure that the child has a deep sleep.
Sports: outdoors, swimming, jump rope, running, basketball, etc. are all good ways to exercise.
Emotions: Create a good family environment, cultivate children's optimistic personality, and parents should maintain the best mood in front of their children.
Bone age: For children aged 3-16, parents should take their children to a regular hospital every six months to do professional bone age testing.