The Growing Child

Growth not only involves length and weight of a body, but also includes internal growth and development. A child's brain will grow the most during the first 5 years of life, reaching 90 percent of its final size. Growth also affects different parts of the body at different rates; the head reaches almost its entire size by age 1. Throughout childhood, a child's body becomes more proportional to other parts of his/her body. Growth is complete between the ages of 16 and 18, at which time the growing ends of bones fuse.

Listed in the directory below you will find additional information regarding growth at different ages and stages of a child's life, for which we have provided a brief overview.

If you cannot find the information in which you are interested, please visit the Growth and Development Online Resources page in this Web site for an Internet/World Wide Web address that may contain additional information on that topic.