3 Why Do I Grow

WHY DO I GROW? WHY DO I?

How Tall Are You? Are you taller than your friend, but shorter than your brother? Do your fingernails always need a trim? Do they feel like they are not growing at all? Has your doctor ever measured how tall you are? Children's bodies grow every day. Your bones get bigger and your bodies get taller. Some children grow quickly, and some grow slowly. You stop growing taller as an adult.

Growing Up As we get older, we grow bigger and stronger. Growing is an important part of getting older. You might be small or short now, but one day you might be even taller than your teacher! People usually stop growing taller when they are around 18 to 21 years old. But their hair and nails usually keep growing longer, even when they become old.

What makes You Grow? Your body makes chemicals that allow you to grow. These chemicals are called hormones. Hormones carry information and instructions that tell different parts of your body to do certain things, such as grow. Hormones are carried around your body in your blood. Different hormones do different jobs. The main hormone that makes you grow is called growth hormone. Hormones are made by body parts called glands.

Glands and Growth There are glands in many places inside your body. The gland that helps you grow is in your brain. A hormone made in another part of the brain gives instructions to the pituitary gland. These instructions tell the pituitary gland when to send out growth hormone, and when to stop. The pituitary gland is a small gland in your brain. The pituitary gland creates growth hormone. Growth hormone tells our bodies to GROW.

Growing Differently Inches Centimeters Not everyone grows at the same pace. Some children might grow more quickly than other children who are the same age. Some children grow more slowly. The children in your class might all be the same age. But are they all the same height? The hormones in each person's body decide how fast or slow they grow.