By the time parents come around to ask this question, most are already at least a little worried—and often emotional.
It usually follows months or years of watching classmates grow taller, hearing reassurance from others, and quietly wondering whether time is slipping away.
That concern is understandable. Growth is not just about height. It is about timing.
Growth happens within a window
Children grow in height because of special areas at the ends of their bones called growth plates. As long as these growth plates are open, growth is possible. Once they close, height growth stops permanently.
A helpful way to picture this is to imagine a window that opens and then closes over time.
During childhood, the window is open and growth is slow and steady—like a light breeze.
With puberty, the breeze becomes stronger and growth speeds up.
As puberty progresses, the window slowly begins to close.
Once it closes fully, growth is no longer negotiable.
At that stage, the child has become a fully grown adult in terms of height, and families can finally put growth concerns behind them and focus on other aspects of health—or simply on staying healthy.
Why puberty matters so much
Puberty is a major turning point in growth. It does two things at the same time:
- It causes the pubertal growth spurt
- It starts the process that leads to closure of the growth plates
This is why growth may look dramatic for a short period and then slow down sooner than parents expect. Once puberty is well advanced, the remaining time to grow may be much shorter—even if some height gain is still happening.
When does growth usually finish?
Parents often want specific ages, but growth does not end based on birthdays. It ends when growth plates close, and this timing varies from child to child.
In general:
- Girls usually complete almost all their height growth by the mid-teen years, around 13-15 years, as growth plates close toward the later stages of puberty.
- Boys tend to grow for longer, with growth plates closing later in puberty than in girls, around 15-17 years on average.
What matters most is not the child’s age, but where they are in puberty and how mature their bones are.
Once growth plates are fully closed, any remaining height gain is usually very small—often around a centimetre or less, and sometimes none at all.
This is why two children of the same age can have very different amounts of growth time left.
Why timing matters more than current height
Parents understandably focus on how short a child looks today. Clinically, a more important question is often how much growth time remains.
Many children are naturally small and healthy. In those cases, reassurance and careful monitoring are all that is needed.
Problems arise when a genuine growth-related condition is recognised late, after much of the growth window has already closed.
When concerns are explored early, there is time to understand what is happening and, if necessary, to act while growth plates are still open. When concerns are addressed late, options may be limited—not because help would not have worked, but because the opportunity has passed.
Lost growth time usually cannot be recovered.
What parents should remember
Most children who are growing steadily are doing just fine—even if they are smaller than others.
But growth is time-sensitive, and time cannot be paused or reclaimed. If you find yourself wondering how much time your child has left to grow, asking that question early is reasonable. In many cases, the answer is reassuring. And when it is not, recognising it while the window is still open can make a meaningful difference.