A survey conducted in Shanghai in 2007 showed that 90% of children with short stature have low self-esteem, depression and other psychological disorders, and are not able to work normally as adults, facing heavy pressure in further education, employment and marriage.
More than half of parents do not know that they need to observe children’s height from 0-3 years old; 2. More than 1/3 of parents do not have the habit of measuring children’s height scientifically; 3. 30% of parents mistakenly believe that as long as nutrition keeps up, height can catch up; 4. After finding out that their children are short, they stick to the misconception of “late growth” and “twenty-three scampering” and wait blindly.
At present, the standard deviation method or percentile method is generally used to determine short stature, that is, if the child’s height is lower than 2 standard deviations or 3 percentile of the normal height of children of the same age, gender, region and race, then it can be diagnosed as dwarfism.
Parents are advised to measure their children’s height every three months. If they are always in the top three in class standing in line or are 5-10 cm shorter than children of the same age, parents should pay attention.
Research shows that the younger the child is, the more active the proliferation and differentiation of the cartilage layer of the epiphysis, the greater the potential and time space for bone growth in children, the more sensitive the response to treatment, and the better the growth effect. Moreover, the younger and lighter the child is, the smaller the dose of growth hormone medication used and the less costly it is.
This requires parents to pay close attention to their children’s growth and detect the signs of slow growth in time: 1. Children’s growth rate is less than 7 cm/year before the age of 3; 2. Less than 5 cm/year from the age of 3 to puberty; 3. Less than 6 cm/year during puberty.
After puberty, the bones mature and the epiphysis closes, the height stops growing and no more methods can make the child continue to grow taller. As the best time to treat the child is missed, many parents have to regret for life.
It is worth noting that if a child’s growth rate is higher than normal, he or she should also be alerted to the problem of precocious puberty. Parents should pay attention to their child’s growth and development, follow up with the growth and development clinic regularly, and consult a professional growth and development doctor about developmental issues.