Misconceptions about Growth and Development in Children

From the moment their children are born, all parents are concerned about doing the right thing about the parenting process. Moreover, during this period, grandmothers, neighbors, and even acquaintances share their own experiences and advise on raising children. Yeditepe University Kozyatağı Hospital Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology Specialist reminded us that experiences are of course important in child development, but it is important to remember that every child is different. Stating that there may be some wrong information that comes with all the information acquired, explained the information about child development that is thought to be correct...

“It Is The Fault Of The Parents If The Child Is Short In Height..."

Stating that the factors that make up the height of the child consist of multiple factors defined as multifactorial and therefore genetics cannot be the only factor, our specialist stated, "Nutrition, sleep, sports, environmental factors, are as important as genetic predisposition. In addition, the child's birth week, birth weight, and growth in the first two years of life also seriously affect the growth of the child."

"Growth and Developmental Disorders also Affects Children's Intelligence"

Stating that this information is correct in a sense, Yeditepe University Kozyatağı Hospital Pediatrics Specialist clarified the issue as follows: "When we define growth, we are talking about the child's body weight and height, while when we define development, we are evaluating the child's motor functions, intellectual development, and behaviors according to age. Therefore, growth and development are usually used together. However, growth is partly more physical and at this point, head circumference in young children is as important a marker as height and weight. When assessing growth, we also look at the child's body weight and head circumference. For example, deviations from the normal head circumference, i.e., excessive size or excessive smallness, may be a sign that may cause mental retardation in the child. Likewise, a disease affecting the motor functions of the child may cause a developmental delay along with mental retardation. In other words, the child may have both mental retardation and diseases leading to retardation in motor functions. In addition to growth and development retardation, the child's different appearance may be a clue to some syndromic diseases. Some of these are also associated with mental retardation. Therefore, although growth and development disorder does not directly affect the intelligence of the child, growth, and development problems can be observed together in children in the mental development stage."

Girls Grow up until the Age of 18, Boys until the Age of 21

Explaining that it would not be correct to generalize this information, our expert explained the following about the accelerations in growth:

"Human beings experience two major growth spurts in their lifetime. One of these is the growth spurt at birth. At the age of one, the child makes a very serious growth spurt and completes a year by adding three times the birth weight and half the birth height. A similar growth spurt occurs in adolescents. During puberty, girls and boys grow about 20-25 cm taller. Girls continue to grow for two years after they start menstruating. Of course, we should not forget the role of environmental and genetic factors in reaching the final height. Growth is completed around the age of 18."

"Tall Parents Have Tall Children, Short Parents Have Short Children"

Reminding that the factors affecting the final height of children include genetics, environmental conditions, nutrition of the child and even nutrition in the womb, and infections in the womb, our specialist stated that for this reason, parents alone are not effective in the final height of the child. "Therefore, although genetic factors are important, tall parents will not always have tall children, and short parents will not always have short children,".

“Milk Increases Height..."

Stating that this information is also a common misconception among parents, our expert provided the following information on the subject: "Among the factors that increase height, nutrition and of course protein foods have an important contribution. The most well-known and perhaps the most commonly used one is milk. However, the characteristic of milk is that it is protein and height cannot be increased only by eating a milk-based diet. Daily regular protein intake in an amount appropriate for the age of the child helps to increase height. Balanced nutrition is especially important. It is not right to give children large amounts of protein foods, because proteins are not stored in the body; what we need is used and the rest is excreted without being spent. Balanced nutrition and exercise can contribute to height growth.

"Weight Is the Indicator of Growth and Development in Children"

Stating that the idea that overweight children grow and develop healthily is also a common thought, our expert pointed out that although this information is partially true, the weight alone is not a sufficient indicator of growth:

The first measurements examined are the child's height and weight. Both are measured together, and a decision is made about the growth of the child by looking at the percentile values according to age. The child's height is more important than weight. Again, it is significant that the height and weight are close to each other when looking at the percentile values or that the child's height and weight are always balanced in long-term follow-ups. Since obesity may develop in children whose weight percentile is higher than the height percentile, it is necessary to treat with caution and take the necessary precautions."

"If the Child is Healthy, There is No Need For a Visit to the Doctor"

Stating that babies should see a doctor regularly from the moment they are born, our specialist reminded us that regular medical check-ups are also very important in healthy child monitoring. "Children go to the doctor quite frequently, once a month in the first year. After the sixth month, if there is no disease condition, a follow-up every two or three months will be appropriate. After the age of one year, it is usually followed up every 3-6 months. It is absolutely necessary to observe the growth and development of children without any disease in the Healthy Child Polyclinic. Because certain parameters should be followed at every age. Firstly, the child's height and weight are checked, neurological development is taken into consideration and it is checked whether the child's development is appropriate for his/her age.

The Brain is Fully Developed at Birth

Brain development is completed towards the end of puberty. Development is quite rapid in the early years but continues until after puberty. Development is the progressive change of the individual in physical, mental, language, emotional, and social aspects (with the interaction of growth, maturation, and learning). Brain development begins in the womb and continues after birth with the effects of nutrition and stimuli from the environment. A child can climb a tree when its nervous system, the muscular and skeletal system reaches sufficient maturity. By the way, the reason why we cannot give a precise time (month) for the age at which each child completes the developmental steps is that this may occur in certain periods from person to person. It takes roughly a certain number of months for children to be able to perform certain functions such as walking, speaking, urinating, and defecating. For example, two healthy children can walk at 10 and 14 months of age, and both are normal. The variability in these normal conditions is influenced by various factors such as factors in the womb, genetic characteristics, social environment, and stimuli. While motor development is faster and dominant in the first years, mental, social, and cognitive development continues as the child grows. In regular controls, in addition to height and weight, development specific to each age group is evaluated by physicians and in cases of abnormalities, the child is directed to the necessary departments.