The delay in the growth of children
The delay in the growth of children It is due to genetic, hormonal or due to poor absorption of food. To assess the growth of a child, three parameters are essential: weight, height and speed of growth, which will confirm whether there is really a delay analyzing infant growth curves.
Causes of children's growth retardation
1. Low Family Size (TBF), which has a hereditary tendency, is typical of children with a normal development, which is still within the limits of family size expectations, although the height is below normal values and there is a delay in the pace of development. Their growth rate, bone age and pubertal growth are normal. Independently, these children have the potential to achieve a higher height than their parents.
2. Deficiency (GHD) or insufficiency (GHI) of growth hormone, caused by a problem with the pituitary gland (a small gland at the base of the brain), which secretes several hormones, including growth hormone.
3. The constitutive delay with late adolescence or late maturity. A child who tends to be shorter than the rest and who enters puberty later, but who has a normal growth rate. That is, he will stop growing later than the rest, so he will gradually reach almost the same height as his parents.
4. Precocious puberty, which is characterized by an early onset of adolescence, in which the child is too tall for his age in principle, but due to the rapid growth of bones, growth stops at an early age and may be low upon reaching maturity .
5. Endocrine diseases, as the lack of thyroid hormones, whose production is necessary for the normal growth of bones.
6. Turner's syndrome, which is a genetic disorder in girls, causing them to be lower than the rest and not to mature sexually as they reach adulthood. This syndrome affects one in 2,500 girls and they are caused by the lack of an X chromosome in each of the body's cells.
7 .. Various diseases that affect the whole body (systemic diseases).
8. Constant poor nutrition prevents children from reaching their full potential growth; A balanced diet usually prevents, or corrects, this disorder.
9. Intense stress.
10. The dream it is an essential part of children's growth. During this time two-thirds of the growth hormone is produced. The amount of necessary sleep changes as they grow. For example, newborns sleep approximately from 16 to 17 hours; up to 8/9 years they descend to 12 hours a day; and, later, they should sleep a minimum of 8'30 to 9 hours a day.
Size, height, rhythm of children's growth ... everything you need to know
The growth of children is an indicator to assess their health status, and any deviation from normal parameters is an alarm at the appearance of a disorder, whether congenital or acquired. If this happens to your child, and you suspect a delay in growth, consult the pediatrician to see which treatment is the most appropriate.
- Early diagnosis of the growth hormone deficiency is essential for its treatment to be effective.
- The importance of the dream. 2/3 of the daily production of growth hormone, by the pituitary gland, occurs during sleep. The child who sleeps well and the number of hours that the body asks, will be able to have a normal growth.
- The intense stress it also influences a growth retardation. See if your child is stressed for any reason: because it does not grow, because it costs him to eat and suffers anxiety, because they get into school with him or her because of his height, etc. Help him to calm down.
But remember your child that height is not the most important thing about a person. You must reinforce many other values that make you feel better, that help you raise your self-esteem. It may be shorter / shorter, but it may be better in drawing, in gymnastics, in football; It will surely be more fun or better companion.
Rhythm Growth Recommended Sleep Hours
First year: 25 cm. 14 hours
Second year: one cm./mes approx. 12 hours
School age: from 5 to 6 cm./year 11 a 12 hours
A greater increase in girls than in boys.
Adolescence: Accelerated growth. 9 hours
It starts around 9 years old in girls and at 11 - 12 years old in children.
Greater growth: 8'30 to 9 hours
two years after the start of adolescence.
9 cm./year in males and 8 cm./year in women.
Ana Aznar
