Pediatric experts on child height and growth potential

Pediatric experts indicate that genetics account for approximately 65% of a child's height, while the remaining 35% is determined by environmental factors such as nutrition, physical activity, and sleep. This means children can reach their maximum potential height even if their parents are short, provided they receive proper care.

Medical professionals warn that rapid growth in elementary school children may be a sign of early puberty, which can cause growth plates to close prematurely and result in shorter adult stature. Doctors use standard growth charts to identify stunting, defined as height being below -2SD for a child's age and gender.

It is also important to distinguish between late puberty, where bone age lags behind actual age but height increases steadily, and growth retardation, where bone age is advanced but height increases by less than 5 cm per year.