At What Age Do Girls Stop Growing Taller?

Parents often notice their daughter shooting up in fifth or sixth grade — suddenly outpacing classmates, needing new shoes every few months — and then, a few years later, the growth seems to simply stop. The biology behind this pattern is well-mapped, and understanding it makes the normal variation much less mysterious. Boys follow a later but similar trajectory — when do boys stop growing covers the full male timeline.

The Female Growth Timeline

Girls' linear growth follows a predictable hormonal sequence, albeit with wide individual variation:

Source: Tanner stages; Rogol et al., Annals of Human Biology

The key driver of the adolescent growth spurt in girls is oestrogen, released in increasing quantities as puberty progresses. Oestrogen works alongside growth hormone to accelerate growth velocity — but then, at higher levels, it also drives the closure of growth plates (epiphyseal fusion), ending growth.

This dual role of oestrogen is why girls have a faster but shorter growth spurt than boys: oestrogen triggers growth plate fusion sooner, ending linear height gain earlier.

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The Role of Pubertal Timing

The age a girl stops growing is tightly linked to when her puberty started. Girls who enter puberty earlier (thelarche — breast development — before age 9) will:

• Hit peak height velocity earlier (perhaps at age 10–11)
• Experience growth plate fusion earlier (perhaps at 13–14)
• Stop growing 1–2 years earlier than average

Girls with later puberty follow the reverse pattern. A girl with constitutional growth delay who starts breast development at 13 may still be growing at 17, with her growth plates fusing later than her peers.

The relationship is reliable but not deterministic — bone age (not pubertal stage alone) is the best predictor of remaining growth potential. A bone age X-ray showing open growth plates indicates more height to come; fused plates indicate growth is complete.

After Menarche: Minimal Growth Remains

One of the most useful pieces of information about female growth: the onset of menstrual periods signals that most height has already been gained.

By the time the first period arrives, approximately 95% of adult height is already achieved. The remaining growth — typically 2–7 cm — occurs over the following 1–2 years before growth plates fuse.

What Normal Height Gain Looks Like at Each Age

Because the female growth spurt peaks around 11–12 and then decelerates, the expected annual height gain changes substantially through the teenage years:

Can Adult Height Be Predicted?

The most widely used clinical method is the mid-parental height (MPH) formula:

For girls: Target height = (Father's height + Mother's height − 13 cm) ÷ 2

Add ±8.5 cm for the typical expected range. A girl with a father of 178 cm and a mother of 162 cm has a target height of: (178 + 162 − 13) ÷ 2 = 163.5 cm, with a range of approximately 155–172 cm.

Bone age X-ray provides additional precision: at any given height and bone age, there are published height prediction tables (Bayley-Pinneau tables) that estimate remaining growth potential.

When to Talk to Your Daughter's Doctor

Discuss at the next visit if:

• Growth velocity has been below 4 cm/year in a girl under 12 who hasn't yet started puberty
• Your daughter seems significantly shorter than predicted by family height history
• Signs of precocious puberty (breast development before age 8, pubic hair before age 8)

Request a referral if:

• No breast development by age 13 (delayed puberty threshold)
• Significant height loss or plateau after established normal growth
• Height more than 8–10 cm below mid-parental height target without explanation

A Note on Tall Girls

If your daughter is tracking at the 97th percentile or above for height, consider:

• Is this consistent with family height? (Father and mother are tall?)
• Is growth velocity normal for pubertal stage?
• Any signs of precocious puberty that might indicate early growth plate fusion (which would limit eventual height)?

Tall stature in girls is, in most cases, the result of tall parents and adequate nutrition. It requires investigation only when height is significantly above the family genetic target or when growth velocity is unusually rapid.