How to Keep Track of How You're Growing

Keeping a Growth Journal

Pick a special journal or notebook. Have a special place to record information about your growth. It’ll be a fun project, and you’ll always know where to look to see how much progress you’ve made.

Measure your height today. Have a parent or sibling help you measure yourself. Take off your shoes and stand with you back against the wall so you’re standing up straight. Use a tape measure to measure from your toes to the top of your head. Hair doesn’t count! Write down your height in your notebook in inches or centimeters.

Measure again every month. Pick a special day of the month – the 1st, the 15th, anything. Remeasure yourself the same way as the first time on that day and record your new height in your growth journal. You might not see a big difference from one month to the next. Look back over several months to really see how much taller you’re growing.

Keep track of your weight. Use your family scale to weigh yourself, and write down what you weigh today. If you don’t have a scale at home you can find one at your school’s gym or nurse’s office, your doctor, or probably your local YMCA. Measure once a month and write down your weights as they change. It’s really normal and healthy for both boys and girls to put on more weight as they get taller. Don’t be upset about your weight, but do make sure you’re at a healthy weight for your height. Your doctor can check this.

Record when you get new shoes. Every time you buy a new pair of shoes, write down what size they are in your growth journal. Your feet will definitely grow big along with the rest of you. Feet can grow fast! Make sure you check your size before buying shoes. You might have gone from a size 6 to a size 8!

Write down your clothing sizes. Whether it’s small to medium, size 4 to size 6, or going from shopping in the Junior’s section to the adult section, write down your new clothing size when you go shopping. Remember that sizes do vary between brands, but you can certainly watch for trends and focus on brands that you wear pretty consistently. Always try things on when you’re growing to make sure you don't buy the wrong sized clothes.

Check your bra size. Girls, you might notice that you need to start wearing a training bra, or that you can switch from a training bra to a bra with sizes like 32A. Picking the right bra can be challenging, so it’s okay to ask your mom or a sales lady at the store to help you measure and choose the correct size.

Try new things as you grow. Other than actually weighing and measuring, you can keep track of how you’re growing by trying to achieve new accomplishments as you get bigger and stronger. Try riding your bike without training wheels, reach for that highest kitchen cabinet you could never quite reach before without a stool, race your older sibling and see how much faster you've gotten. Keep a section in your notebook where you can record your accomplishments. Older boys and girls who play sports or lift weights can set new athletics goals. Can you run a mile faster now than a year ago? Can you do more pull ups or lift more weights? It’s not always a direct relationship between growth and strength, but it’s usually a good indicator. Just be careful with weights and exercise if it's new to you.

Noticing Changes in Your Body

Pay attention to growth spurts. Young adults go through puberty at slightly different times, but will all notice many changes in their bodies as they grow and develop. One big change is that you’ll have a “growth spurt,” or a time that you grow a lot in a short amount of time. Most girls have a growth spurt between ages 10 and 14. Most boys start growing faster between ages 12 and 15 and will keep growing until they’re about 16. Keep in mind that during growth spurts, you may experience an increase in hunger.

Be ready for body changes with puberty. When your hormones start to change during puberty you will notice changes in your body that mean you’re growing and developing. Seeing these changes can be strange at first, but know that it means you’re turning into a more mature teenager. Everyone goes through these changes. Girls will start to grow breasts, get pubic and underarm hair, and will start to “fill out” or get a little more fat in places like their legs, tummy, and chest as they get older. Boys will start to grow pubic, underarm, and facial hair. They will also notice their penis and testicles getting bigger, their Adam’s apple getting bigger, and their voice getting deeper. It’s normal for your voice to break or crack while it’s getting deeper. This happens to a lot of boys.

Prepare for your period, ladies. Most girls will get their period, or start menstruation, after their biggest growth spurt. The average age for girls to start menstruating is 12 1/2, but this can be different for everyone. Starting your period is a sign that your body is getting ready to be able to make babies, a big sign that you’re growing and maturing. Many schools will teach you and prepare you for your body to change with puberty, but some will not. It’s completely okay to ask your parent or doctor about these changes. You can say, "I haven't gotten my period yet. Is that okay?" or, "I think I need a different size bra, mom, could we go shopping together?" Let someone know you have questions and they will be happy to address any concerns you have.

Establishing a Healthy Lifestyle

Eat a healthy diet with three meals a day. Nutrition is very important while you're growing in order to reach your full potential for height, stay at a healthy weight, and have well-being overall. Eating well means eating a variety of foods so that you get as much protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, and minerals as you need for healthy growth. Fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy protein like chicken, fish, beans, egg, and tofu are great foods to help you grow. Teen athletes should eat a real meal between school and sports practice rather than lots of sugary, low-nutrient snacks. You will perform better, be stronger, and stay healthier with the nutrition from two dinners than from just snacking. Snacking throughout the day is normal when you're growing, but instead of potato chips and soda, snack on leftovers from last night's dinner, a smoothie, a sandwich on whole grain bread, hummus, eggs - foods high in protein and low in sugar.

Get enough vitamins and minerals. Iron, zinc and calcium are especially important for young men and women going through rapid growth phases, and dietary requirements for these increase when you're a teenager. Teens should get 1,200 milligrams a day of calcium, which is found mostly in dairy products. Low iron causes anemia which can make you feel tired and weak, and you need zinc to help you grow and develop sexually. Almost everyone should take a daily multivitamin in order to get all those other nutrients your body needs. If you're vegetarian you need to replace the nutrients in your diet that you're not getting from meat. Zinc and iron, for instance, are both found in meat, fish and poultry; however, beans, seeds, nuts, and leafy vegetables are good alternatives for vegetarians. Vegans might need vitamin supplements to get the nutrients they require. Getting enough iron is especially important for girls once you start to get your period, because the blood loss of menstruation can lower your body's iron supply. The recommended daily iron for girls ages 14 to 18 or who are menstruating increases to 15 mg/day. Because everyone has a different diet you should talk to your doctor about what you eat. They can help you determine if you need to change your diet, or take vitamin or mineral supplements.

Get lots of exercise. As your body grows and matures, doing enough physical activity will help you develop. Playing sports and being active will increase muscle strength, protect your joints from injury, and make your bones stronger. Being active now will also help you develop healthy exercise habits for when you're older. Strength training can be especially good for kids and teens, like doing push-ups and using light free-weights, but ask an adult to help you learn proper technique to stay safe and prevent injury. Growing kids and teens should exercise for at least one hour every day, if possible.

Get 8 to 11 hours of sleep. Kids ages 6 to 13 should ideally get between 9 and 11 hours of sleep every night, and teenagers need at least 8 to 10 hours. Getting enough sleep is necessary to function at your best - whether it's playing a sport or musical instrument, doing homework, or even getting along with friends and family. Make sure you get enough sleep by trying to have about the same sleep schedule every night, and making sleep a priority.

Don't drink alcohol or use drugs. Serious spurts of physical and mental growth happen in your adolescent and teenage years, and your brain is literally changing during this time. Drugs and alcohol can not only cause health problems and get you into trouble, they can inhibit your brain and body from growing properly at this important time. Drugs decrease your brain's ability to work well right now, and also prevent healthy growth and development for your adult years, affecting things like memory, perception and learning. Drinking alcohol can stunt your physical growth by delaying puberty, making your bones weaker, and even causing your arms, legs, and overall height to be shorter. You're more hard-wired to become addicted while your brain is growing so much, which can affect you for the rest of your life.