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Asked by anon-249884 on 24 Mar 2020.
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Robyn Kiy answered on 24 Mar 2020:
This isn’t an area of biology I know a lot about, so to be honest I’m not sure – hopefully another scientist will be of more help! I know growth spurts are common as children approach puberty, due to changes in the body’s hormone levels.
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Ioana Grigoras answered on 25 Mar 2020:
Hi! I’m not a paediatrician, so other people here, like Sarah Clarke who is a children’s doctor, will definitely know more than I do about this!
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As far as I know, infants and toddlers grow the fastest until they are about 2 years old. After that, the rate at which they grow gradually decreases until puberty (age 14-16), when a growth spurt occurs. I am not aware of a sudden growth spurt to occur at age 4-5, but that information might have just slipped past me.
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Growing is mainly controlled by the secretion of the growth hormone. This growth hormone is released from a small gland in your brain, called the pituitary gland, into the blood. It stimulates the growth of your bones (they get longer, so you get taller), as well as proteins being created (so you can build up muscle) and it also makes the organs in the body get bigger. I though it was really cool when I found out that about half of this hormone’s secretion happens during sleep!
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I hope this answers your question! -
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Sophie Arthur answered on 25 Mar 2020:
Great question! Unfortunately I am not much help on this one either. I would agree that it is most likely due to hormone levels and the events that their changing levels trigger in the body – which could include telling the bones to grow a little bit longer. But I really don’t know. Sorry.
Comments
anon-249884 commented on :
Thanks for all your efforts ! I ask this question because my niece is turning 4 tomorrow and i feel like 4-5 is the age of development from a “toddler” to a “small child” where they start school , there speech clears and become alot more aware of things. This is common in alot of smaller children I’ve known in my life, including all the reception classes i saw in my time in primary school and the small children I’ve known due to family and close family friends 🙂
Robyn commented on :
Happy birthday to your niece! 😊
It’s a really interesting observation, hopefully someone will be able to help with the answer. I would expect that transitioning into school has a big impact on the development of a child, with regards to their speech and awareness, but again this is just speculation from me!