As a pediatrician, we are often asked by many parents about the problems of children’s growth and development. During the communication, we feel that some parents are very anxious, and some are very worried about the normal development, which even affects their working life; some children with problems miss the best treatment time and regret their life due to the lack of relevant knowledge or listening to the unscientific so-called experience. Combined with the common problems often encountered in the clinic. General knowledge about children’s growth and development: 1. Children’s height problems, including dwarfism, familial dwarfism, etc. 2. Children’s sexual development, including precocious puberty, delayed sexual development, etc. 3. Obesity, childhood diabetes, etc. 4. Children’s thyroid-related diseases Dwarfism refers to children whose height is less than two standard deviations from the average height of children of the same sex, age and race, and whose growth rate is less than 5 cm per year. Simply put, if parents find that their child is among the top 3 children of the same gender in the class, standing in line, sitting in the first two rows of the classroom, or having an annual growth height of less than 5 cm, they should consider that their child may have a growth disorder. Don’t wait blindly when your child is short in stature. Generally speaking, children grow fastest in the first year of life and can grow 25 cm in height. From age 2 to pre-puberty (about 10 years old for girls and 12 years old for boys) is a period of steady growth, with height growth of 5 to 7 cm per year. Parents should pay close attention to changes in their children’s height. If you find that your child is growing at an abnormal rate, is consistently lower than his or her peers, or has a sudden and unusually large increase in height, it is best to take your child to the doctor as soon as possible. Children with the following conditions should come to the hospital for consultation: 1. Children’s growth rate before the age of 3 is less than 7 cm/year 2. Less than 5 cm/year from the age of 3 to puberty 3. Less than 6 cm/year during puberty Parents themselves can make a height record for their children, measuring it at least 4 to 6 times a year, and then they can draw a growth curve chart. You can also mark out the standard growth curve chart and connect the lines to see where you are and the growth trend. If it is below -2SD, make sure to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Causes of short stature in children 1. Short stature can occur when there is a lack of or insufficient secretion of growth hormone. This is the most common cause of short stature (growth hormone deficiency is commonly referred to as dwarfism), and without timely intervention, the child’s height as an adult may be only about 1.35 meters. 2. Genetic factors. Genetic factors play a role in 70% of a child’s height, while only 30% is due to external causes. When parents are taller, the child’s height is usually taller as well. In addition, there are somatic puberty delay, familial dwarfism, and other endocrine diseases. 3. Intrauterine growth retardation. Intrauterine growth retardation refers to newborns whose birth weight is below the 10th percentile of the average weight for the same gestational age. Nearly one-third of children with intrauterine growth retardation continue to grow after birth, resulting in short stature in adulthood. The children present with growth lag and growth hormone deficiency, and the cognitive development of these children will be affected if they are not treated in time. 4. Precocious puberty leads to short height of children. In the early stage of precocious puberty, due to the early secretion of sex hormones, the growth rate is significantly faster than that of children of the same age and gender, and the height increases significantly, and the bone age is earlier than the actual age. However, due to the stimulation of sex hormones, the epiphysis closes early and the normal growth time of the child is greatly shortened, resulting in short stature in adulthood, and the early physiological period has an impact on the child’s psychology and physiology.