Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Stages

When do toddlers experience growth spurts?

Leslie Anderson
By

Watching toddlers explore the world around them is the ultimate experience. What’s equally amazing is how fast they grow during the first three years. In fact, by their first birthday, children will have tripled their birth weights and added 10 inches to their height.

During the toddler years, you’ll see many instances where your child experiences growth spurts or sudden periods of a rapid and intense increase in height. Read on to find out the ages in which your toddler will experience a growth spurt and how you can prepare for it.

Recommended Videos

What happens between the ages of 1 to 5?

Christian Bowen/Unsplash

One of the most noticeable growth spurts is during the early toddler stage when the child doubles or triples his or her weight and sprouts up in height by over 10 inches.

Related

However, when they get to be between 5 and 10 years old, their growth tends to slow down compared to the toddler stage, only to pick up during the years of puberty.

The following is a general overview of how much children grow during different phases of the toddler years:

  • First year: The child could add up to 5 inches in height and a half pound in weight, for every month.
  • Second year: Four to 5 inches in height; 4 to 5 pounds in weight.
  • Between 2 to 5 years: Two to 2.5 inches in height and about 6 pounds every year up to the age of 10.

As you can see, the increase in size occurs at a rapid pace, and you’ll definitely be able to pick up on growth spurts when they happen — perhaps in just enough time to find new pants and shoes that accommodate the inches that have added up.

Signs of a growth spurt

Likewise, between the ages of 2 and 5, you might notice other changes in appetite and sleep patterns. And yes, you’ve guessed correctly that these shifts in how they go about their everyday activities relate directly to their growth.

If your child is going through a growth spurt, here are a few signs in their behavior and habits to watch out for:

  • They tend to be excessively and constantly hungry.
  • They need to eat everything they see.
  • They are increasingly sleepy with more extended periods of rest.
  • They experience growing pains that mostly emerge as dull aches in their legs. These aches may wake up them at night.
  • All of your child’s clothes are suddenly too short.
  • They appear to have longer legs.

Along with these profound changes, you might notice their gait might be a “bit off,” or maybe they seem to trip over their own feet more often. There’s nothing to worry about because this is part of the process. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a toddler becomes far clumsier during their growth spurt due to rapid changes in their height and the increase in the length of their limbs. So it’s perfectly normal.

You might also notice other differences in your tot’s behavior and mood that include:

  • Sporadic changes in energy level
  • Becoming more restless
  • Becoming more prone to tantrums
  • Waking up early from naps

Additionally, younger toddlers (18 months to 2 years old) tend to be increasingly fussy due to their need for more sleep and the onset of growing pains.

How to prepare for growth spurts

David Veksler/Unsplash

In whatever manner or order these signs might appear, you can still ensure your child is ready to handle all of these physical changes by taking a few simple actions including:

  • Making sure the child is getting plenty of sleep. Ten hours at night is a great number to aim for. Also, include naps in the early afternoon.
  • Providing a healthy, nutritious, and balanced diets for your child complete with snacks of fruit, vegetables, and anything that has protein to help with energy levels and increased appetite.
  • Arranging for some outdoor play throughout the day. This helps your child with balance and gross motor skills that will help to prevent trips and falls.

As you can see, growth spurts are nothing to worry about, and there are many ways to prepare for the many changes that’ll occur in just a few short years.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Leslie Anderson
Leslie Anderson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Leslie Anderson is a freelance writer/writing coach from Roswell, N.M. She enjoys gardening, cooking, and helping students…
What age do boys stop growing?
Find out if boys actually stop growing once they reach the age of 18
Toddler standing against a growth chart on wall

Every child is different, and that means they will hit certain developmental milestones at different times, and this is one of the reasons parents will often ask, "At what age do boys stop growing?" Parents are used to charting their sons' growth as they grow from infancy to toddlerhood and beyond, but what happens when boys don't continue to follow those typical milestones?
Boys often fall behind girls when it comes to hitting those pre-teen growth spurts, which often leads to many wondering when their son will catch up. Although most boys tend to stop growing between the ages of 16 and 18, there's no definitive age when boys stop growing.

When do boys typically go through puberty?
As we mentioned earlier, every child is different, but according to Nemours, boys typically go through puberty between the ages of 9 and 14. It also notes that the majority of growth happens between the ages of 12 and 15, but that isn't the only change boys experience when they hit puberty. They may begin to develop facial hair and pubic hair, their penis and testicles will begin to grow, their voice may begin to change, and their raging hormones may make them almost unrecognizable to their parents.

Read more
Try these sunburn remedies for kids when things get too hot
Sometimes the sun beats the sunscreen. When it does, these sunburn remedies will help your child heal right up
A father putting sunscreen on his young child.

Sometimes we get a sunburn no matter how much sunscreen we apply, or how often. And children are much more sensitive to the sun's rays, so if you don't reapply to the second, their precious skin burns up on the spot. If the sunscreen didn't do all it could and your child comes home looking like a tomato, here's what to put on a sunburn to help them be more comfortable while they heal.
Cool things off

Cool bath or shower
Cool compresses on the burns

Read more
What is elimination communication, and does it work for potty training?
Find out if the elimination communication potty training method will let you ditch the diapers earlier
Toddler with stuffed bear on potty training seat

Potty training a toddler is an extremely stressful time for the entire family. Everyone has an opinion on how to do it, while everyone else's child seems to grasp the concept quicker than yours. In America, parents usually begin potty training their children around 2 years old. Other parts of the globe, though, begin the potty training process soon after birth, with toddlers being fully trained by the time their second birthday rolls around.

Is there some confidential potty training hack American parents aren't in on? Not really. The method isn't exactly classified, it's just outside of the norm here in the U.S. Elimination communication is the potty training method used in many Asian, African, Latin American, and Eastern European countries. What is this potty training method and is it a good option for your child? Keep reading to learn more.
What is elimination communication?
Elimination communication is a potty training method beginning shortly after a baby is born. The method uses a baby's body signals to identify when the child needs to pee or poop. Once the parents figure out what their child's elimination communication signals are, they can hold the child over the potty to go.

Read more