Darshana at the age of ten constantly wondered why she was shorter than all of her friends. She simply hated craning her neck upwards to speak to people. One day at school, the teacher asked them to stand in size order. Little feet shuffled about and after hustling around for a bit, Darshana found herself in the front of the line. She was the shortest in her class. Her face scrunched up and tears started to role down her charlie brown cheeks. The parents were worried about Darshna and decided to consult a doctor.  Short stature could have an effect on many children. At the doctor's, Darshna's parents found out that a number of things could cause short stature and they wanted to understand those reasons and help Darshna in any way they could.
 

Why is your child short?

First of all there could be many medical problems that might cause your child to be short. He might have a growth hormone deficiency, hypothyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease, malnutrition, Turner syndrome and kidney problems. If your child does not suffer from any of these diseases, then your child is short because it is hereditary or because he has a delayed growth.
 

The So-Called Normal Growth Rate

In early infancy, which is from the time your child is born till he is a year old, he will grow at a rate of about 23-28 cm. Then from the ages of 1-3, your child will grow 7.5-13cm. From the ages of 6-18, your child will have some inconsistencies in his growth, but by the time he is 2 years of age, he will follow his growth curve and will continue to grow more or less on his curve till he is 18.  Of course, your child's growth pattern will heavily depend on how tall you are as parents. Do not think it is odd if your child does not grow when you are just as short. Although there are some rare occasions, when very short parents have very tall kids or vice-versa. 
 

The Growth Hormone Debate

There is a synthetic growth hormone that short children may take. This specific hormone has no side effects, but there is a huge debate whether children should take this hormone or not. Apparently this hormone should increase your child's height by two years. This is a personal decision that you as parent will have to take. The drug costs 20,000 dollars a year and while some insurance companies will pay for it, not all of them will. However, many parents do not like the idea of putting something unnatural in their children to make them grow and prefer to let Mother Nature take its course. 

Humans have no control over whether they will be short or tall. If the idea of being short disturbs your child, you must encourage him and make him feel good about being short.  Show him the advantages of being short. Most of all it is important for you and your child to remember that the inside of a person is far more important than the outside of a person. The beauty of the soul will always beat the beauty of the body and never forget that!!