Section #1

Exercises That Maximize Your Child’s HGH Levels

In part 1, we talked about how HGH is essential for making your child’s bones grow longer.

And luckily for your child, she can do exercises to increase her HGH for faster growth.

So what types of exercise can maximize your child’s HGH levels?

High-intensity exercises [1, 2].

Doing high-intensity exercises can also burn fat, which is important for increasing your child’s HGH levels even further [3].

And in this section, I’ll show you the most effective and fun exercises your child can do to maximize her HGH levels.

Is Your Child Ready to Do High-Intensity Workouts?

Before I explain what a high-intensity workouts look like, I need to make a few important points:

High-Intensity Workouts Are For Teenagers (13 Years or Older)

Studies have shown that high-intensity workouts only elevate HGH levels in teenagers going through puberty, but not younger children. [4]

But if your child is 12 years old or younger, no worries.

As long as your child stays active regularly, she’ll keep her HGH levels high for maximum growth.

(If your child is 12 years old or younger, click here to skip to the next section)

Make Sure Your Child is In a Healthy Condition

High-intensity workouts are exactly like what they sound:

They’re INTENSE AF!

So if you’re child is injured or isn’t in a healthy condition, it may not be safe for her to do them.

(Later in this chapter, I’ll show you the exact steps your child can take to minimize her risk of getting injured)

A Qualified Supervisor is MANDATORY

Your child should always be supervised when doing any form of exercises (high-intensity or not).

But since high-intensity workouts can be even more risky if not done correctly, it’s important to have a qualified supervisor watch over what she’s doing.

So make sure to hire a qualified supervisor who is an expert at their sport, and condition your child so that she is fully ready to take on whatever exercise she’s going to perform.

What Does a High-Intensity Workout Look Like?

With the safety steps out of the way, here is exactly how to perform a high-intensity workout [5, 6, 7]:

Now, here is the cool part about high-intensity workouts:

It can be done through literally ANY exercise, sport, or activity.

So get your child to brainstorm her favorite list of activities.

And afterwards, get her to take part in those activities in the form of a high-intensity workout (by following the model above).

But if she can’t think of any activity, no worries.

Here are some of the best activities that your child can do, using the high-intensity workout model [6, 8]:

Best High-Intensity Activities (for Maximum HGH Production)

100 m sprints

Stationary bikes (pedal as hard as possible)

Rapid squat jumps

Burpees

Pushups

Jumping ropes

Rope exercises

Remember: Doing ANY Exercise is Better Than Not Exercising at All

If your child isn’t motivated to follow this high-intensity workout model, or you don’t feel that it’s right for your child, no worries.

Remember at the end of the day, as long as your child is active regularly, her natural HGH levels will stay high, which will help her bones grow even more.

Exercising regularly will also help keep her weight down, while simultaneously strengthening her bones [3, 9].

With that, let’s move onto the next section:

Section #2

Exercises and Stretches For Maintaining Good Posture

In Chapter 6, you learned how fixing your child’s posture can:

Make her taller (instantly), and

Help her develop a strong and stable body structure.

And while Chapter 6 was all about fixing her posture, this section is all about maintaining her posture much more easily.

The 3 Deadly Posture Killers

Today, our sedentary lifestyle causes our posture to go out of alignment.

Specifically, we have the tendency to develop what I call the “3 Deadly Posture Killers”:

The nerd neck

Rounded shoulders, and

Anterior pelvic tilt

And in this section, I’m going to briefly explain what each of these posture looks like, how they develop, and what exercises your child can do to counteract them.

Posture Killer #1: Nerd Neck

You probably guessed what this one looks like from the name.

The nerd neck develops from looking at your screen for too long without taking breaks.

(That’s why so many people look like giraffes today)

Posture Killer #2: Rounded Shoulders

Just like the Nerd Neck, the Rounded Shoulders develop from sitting for too long.

As you see in the image, the Nerd Neck and Rounded Shoulders usually come together as a combo.

Posture Killer #3: Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Simply put: Anterior Pelvic Tilt is when your butt sticks out noticeably.

Just like the other two posture kills, this posture develops from too much sitting and lack of activity.

9 Posture Healers to the Rescue

The good thing about the 3 Posture Killers is that they’re all interconnected.

This means that if you correct just one of the Posture Killers, it will reduce (or entirely fix) the other 2 Posture Killers as well.

And luckily for you, I’ve gathered 9 of the best exercises your child can do to combat these Posture Killers.

I call these the 9 Posture Healers.

Posture Healer #1: Doorway Stretch

The Doorway Stretch will stretch out your child’s chest muscles, which get very tight from sitting for a long time.

This exercise is great, because all you literally need is a doorway.

Steps:

1. Find a doorway that both of your elbows can reach at once. If you can’t find a doorway, just find a wall corner, and do the following steps separately for your left and right side.

2. Stand in the doorway with one foot in front of the other.

3. Place both hands and elbows on the door frame, with your elbows at a 90° angle.

4. Bend your forward knee until you feel a nice stretch in your chest and shoulders.

5. Hold it for 30 to 60 seconds.

6. Repeat 3 to 5 times.

Video Demonstration:

Posture Healer #2: Wall Angels

Wall angels will correct your child’s posture from her neck, all the way down to her hips.

In other words, this exercises can combat ALL 3 Posture Killers at once!

Steps:

1. Get your child to stand in front of a wall, facing away from the wall, with her feet shoulder width apart.

2. Her glutes (butt), lower back, shoulders, and the back of her head should ALL be touching the wall, while the back of her feet is slightly away from the wall. Her lower back should be as close to the wall as possible.

3. Get her to bring her arms up at her sides, with her upper arm parallel to the floor, and her forearms bent at 90°. Her elbow should be touching the wall as well.

4. When she feels comfortable, she can slowly raise her arms as high as possible, and bring them back down.

5. Repeat this movement as many times as she comfortable. (Her glutes, shoulders, elbows, and head should all be against the wall during this movement).

Video Demonstration:

Posture Healer #3: Standing Rows

Standing Rows will bring her shoulders back, which will mainly help her counteract the rounded shoulders.

Steps:

1. Get a long elastic band, and wrap it around a doorknob, pole, or any other part of the house.

2. Get your child to grab each side of the elastic band. Her posture should be straight, with her chin tucked in.

3. Get your child to gently pull on each side of the elastic band with both hands, until her hands reach the sides of her tummy. When she pulls the band towards her body, she should feel a nice contraction in her back muscles.

4. Repeat this movement 15 times.

5. Repeat this exercise 3 times.

Video Demonstration:

Posture Healer #4: Shoulder Rotations

This Posture Healer is great for combatting Rounded Shoulders.

By doing this exercise, your child can rotate her shoulder outwards, which will help to bring her shoulders back even further.

Steps:

1. Get a long elastic band, and tie it around a doorknob, pole, or any other part of the house.

2. Place a pillow or a thin towel between your child’s arm and her body (right beneath her armpit).

3. With the hand of the same arm, get your child to grab the elastic band. At this point, her hand that’s grabbing the band should be pointing to the opposite side of her arm. Her posture should be straight, with her chin tucked in.

4. Your child can slowly pull the elastic band towards the side of her arm that’s pulling the band.

5. Get her to pull the band as much as her shoulder allows, and gently bring the elastic band back to its original position.

6. Repeat the movements in steps 4 and 5 about 15 times.

Video Demonstration:

Posture Healer #5: Thoracic Stretch

To perform this Posture Healer, you’re going to need a foam roller.

If you don’t have one, no worries.

Your child can just double down on the Doorway Stretch, since it basically does the same thing as this exercise:

Stretch out the chest muscles.

Steps:

1. Get your child to lay on the foam roller, with her upper back against it.

2. Get her to cross her arms, and lift her butt of the ground.

3. She can slowly roll the foam roller up and down her spine. She should feel a nice stretch in her front muscles at this point. Make sure that the foam roller does NOT go down to her lower back.

4. Do this for about 30 seconds, and repeat this set 3 or 4 times.

Video Demonstration:

Posture Healer #6: Hip Flexor Stretch

This Posture Healer is effective for combatting Anterior Pelvic Tilt.

Since one of the main causes of this posture is tight hip flexors, it’s important to stretch it out.

And this exercise helps you do just that.

Steps:

1. Get your child to stand in a lunge position, with her left knee on the ground, and her right feet in front of her.

2. Get her to raise her left arm towards the ceiling, while she places her right hand on her lower back.

3. Get her to lean her torso slightly towards the right, and rotate her torso counterclockwise to face her left side.

4. Hold this position for 15 seconds.

5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for her opposite side.

6. Repeat this stretch 2 more times for both sides.

Video Demonstration:

Posture Healer #7: Glute Bridge

This Posture Healer will also combat the Anterior Pelvic Tilt.

But instead of stretching the hip flexor, this exercise will strengthen your child’s glutes.

And since the Anterior Pelvic Tilt happens when your glutes are weak, the Glute Bridge will compat this posture by strengthening your glutes.

Steps:

1. Get your child to lie down on a mat, with her back against the floor. Her lower back should be flat on the ground (not arched).

2. Next, she should bend her knees so that her feet is closer to her glutes.

3. When her back is flat on the ground, she can now lift off her butt by flexing her glute muscles. After her butt comes off the mat, she can then lift off her lower back (make sure that her back doesn’t come off before her butt does).

4. She can slowly bring her lower back down to the floor, and afterwards, place her glues back on the floor. Once again, her lower back needs to come to the floor first.

5. Repeat movements in steps 3 and 4 about 15 times.

6. Repeat this set 2 more times.

Video Demonstration:

Posture Healer #8: Plank

You’re probably familiar with this one.

And that’s because it’s a very good for your posture and overall health!

This Posture Healer strengthens your core muscles, which is important for combatting ALL 3 Posture Killers.

Steps:

1. Get a mat

2. Get your child to put her elbows and hands on the mat, with her hands right below her face

3. Next, she should place her feet down on the mat, so that her entire torso and legs form a straight line

4. Get her to hold the plank position as long as she can

Video Demonstration:

Posture Healer #9: Superman

This Posture Healer is also effective for combatting all 3 Posture Killers.

It does so by strengthening the core muscles of her back.

Steps:

1. Get your child to lie down on a mat, with her stomach facing down, and her arms extended above her head.

2. Next, she should take off her hands and feet at the same time, making the superman pose. She should feel a strong contraction in her glutes and lower back.

3. Get her to hold this position for about 2 seconds before bring her hands and feet back down.

4. Repeat the movements in steps 2 and 3 about 12 to 15 times.

5. Repeat this exercises 2 more times.

Now this is probably the hardest Posture Healer to perform.

If your child has a hard time doing it, she can start with easier versions of the Superman exercise.

The video down below will show you how she can do so.

Video Demonstration:

3 Bonus Resources for More Posture Healers

For more exercises to correct your child’s posture, here are some bonus resources you can check out:

6 Exercises to Counteract Slouching (by Brett from Art of Manliness):

Perfect Posture in 5 Steps (by Jeff Cavaliere from ATHLEAN-X):

13 Best Postural Exercises for Forward Head Posture (by Dr. Alan Mandell):

Remember: Balance is Key

For your child, these 9 Posture Healers will be very effective for restoring her normal posture.

However, make sure that your child doesn’t overdo any exercise.

While each exercise will help to combat the Posture Killers, doing them too much will also bring her spine out of proper alignment.

Also, it’s important to remember that your child needs to perform exercises that feel right for her, since she has a unique body structure and lifestyle to everyone else.

(For example, if she doesn’t suffer from the Anterior Pelvic Tilt, it may not be necessary for her to do the Glute Bridge)

So if you want to assess her posture with 100% accuracy, make sure to bring your child to a chiropractor who can prescribe the right exercises for her unique posture.

And remember:

NEVER force your child to exercise through pain.

Which brings me to the last section of this chapter:

Section #3

What Types of Activities Should Your Child Avoid?

Before you even ask, I’ll give you the answer right away:

Weight lifting will NOT stunt your child’s growth.

(More on this later)

If so, what can actually stunt or slow down growth?

There are only 3 enemies that can disrupt your child’s growth:

1. Lack of HGH in her body

2. Severe conditions or diseases

3. Injuries to her growth plates

In Part 1 of this guide, we discussed several ways to maintain high HGH levels.

And later in this guide, we’ll dive deep into severe conditions and diseases your child needs to watch out for.

So let’s tackle the 3rd item on the list:

Why Are Growth Plates Important? And How Can Your Child Protect Them?

To simplify: Your growth plate is the part of your bone that lengthens itself [10].

It contain cells that use different nutrients to lengthen and thicken your bones.

That’s why it’s important that your child protects herself from growth plate injuries at all costs.

Now, the good news is that 80% of growth plate injuries don’t negatively affect bone growth, and can be cured without any surgery [11].

However, since the other 20% of growth plate injuries CAN disrupt bone growth, it’s worth learning how to prevent them [11].

Here is a 3-step guide on how to protect your child from growth plate injuries:

➊

Know The Main Causes of Growth Plate Injuries

Growth plate injuries can happen from any sport, exercise, or activity.

So rather than focusing on which activities are the riskiest, it’s much more important to know HOW these injuries actually happen.

Here are the common causes of growth plate injuries [12, 13, 14, 15, 16]:

Not warming up properly before the activity

Improper exercise form / technique

Lifting too much weight

Imbalances of growth and strength (from not training muscle groups evenly)

Too many repetitive movements without rest (in baseball, gymnastics, long-distance running)

Falling (from bicycles, skateboards, playground)

Collisions (in football, hockey, soccer)

Poor training equipment

Training under too much fatigue

Training for too long

Lack of recovery time (in between sets, training sessions, and games)

Now, before we get into how we can prevent growth plate injuries, there is one more thing to keep in mind:

Growth plate injuries occur more often during growth spurt.

When your child’s bones grow faster, they’re less dense, since their density can’t catch up to their rate of growth [11, 14].

So it’s important to take steps to prevent growth plate injuries ESPECIALLY when they’re going through a growth spurt.

➋

Take Steps to Prevent Growth Plate Injuries

Below are steps you can take to prevent growth plate injuries [12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18].

(Many of these steps are basically the opposite of what causes the injuries)

Most Important: Get proper supervision from a qualified adult trainer

Wear equipment and gears that fit properly (footwear, protective gears, etc)

Warm up joints and muscles before the activity (by stretching and moving the body in the required range of motion)

Get your child to focus on whatever she is doing

Prioritize skill development (over competition)

Train muscle groups evenly

Get enough rest in-between sets, training sessions, games, and competitions

Avoid burnouts

Don’t EVER force your child to get active when she doesn’t feel like it

Don’t EVER preach “no pain, no gain” (if your child feels pain, she should stop the activity altogether)

Now, it’s possible that your child may already be suffering from a growth plate injury.

Which brings us to the next part:

➌

Check If Your Child Is Injured

It is much easier to spot severe injuries (such as bone displacement or deformity) when they happen.

But minor injuries may be harder to detect.

Here are the most common symptoms of growth plate injuries [19]:

Tenderness near the area

Swelling and warm around the joint

Limited range of motion

Pain when lifting or applying pressure

As I mentioned before, up to 80% growth plate injuries don’t affect bone growth, and can be cured without any surgery [11].

But since the other 20% of injuries DO affect growth, it’s very crucial to diagnose and treat them as soon as they happen.

For more information on how you can do so reliably, I recommend you check out the following resources:

Healthline: Salter-Harris Fracture

Pubmed: Fracture, Salter-Harris

Growth Stunt Myth #1: Caffeine Can Stunt Your Growth

This is flat-out false.

BUT you’re still going to want your child to stay away from all forms of caffeine, including:

Soda

Tea, or

Coffee

Remember in Chapter 5, I said that your child needs to get enough sleep to maximize her HGH levels, which is important for growing taller.

And as you already know, caffeine does the OPPOSITE:

Caffeine disrupts your child’s sleep.

So then, can your child drink soda first thing in the morning?

I don’t recommend it.

Studies have shown that caffeine can affect your child’s sleep, EVEN IF she consumes it first thing in the morning [20].

So to summarize: more caffeine → less sleep → less HGH → less bone growth

But once again, there’s no way that caffeine will fully stunt your child’s growth.

Truth: Drinks with caffeine can disrupt your child’s sleep. Less sleep leads to less HGH production, which can decrease bone growth (but not stunt it completely).

Growth Stunt Myth #2: Junk Foods Can Stunt Your Growth

You probably already know that this is another myth.

(Next time you see a tall person, ask if they ever snacked on junk food as a kid, and they’ll say yes)

But here’s the catch:

Junk foods contain LOTS of sugar.

And as I explained in Chapter 4, sugar increases insulin in your child’s body, which can decrease her HGH levels [21].

So in summary: more sugar → less HGH → less bone growth

Truth: Consuming too much sugar increases insulin, which decreases HGH, which can decrease bone growth (but not stunt it).

Growth Stunt Myth #3: Alcohol Can Stunt Your Growth

We all know how harmful alcohol is to our health. (I don’t even need to cite this one)

But can it stunt your child’s growth?

You probably already know the answer:

Nope.

But like sodas and junk food, alcohol is ALSO something your child will want to limit.

Studies have shown that alcohol decreases the amount of HGH your body produces during sleep [22].

So: more alcohol → less HGH → less bone growth

But just like caffeine and sugar, alcohol can’t fully stunt your child’s growth.

Truth: Alcohol can decrease HGH production during sleep, which can lead to less bone growth (but not stunt it).

Growth Stunt Myth #4: Marijuana Can Stunt Your Growth

Yup, you guessed it again.

Marijuana won’t stunt your child’s growth.

BUT… just like caffeine, sugar, and alcohol, she should stay away from it if she’s still growing.

Because THC (which is one of the main compounds in marijuana) can decrease your child’s HGH levels [23, 24].

So bottom line: more marijuana → less HGH → less bone growth

Truth: Marijuana decreases HGH production, which can decrease bone growth (but not stunt it).

Growth Stunt Myth #5: Weight Lifting Can Stunt Your Growth

There is one commonality between the 4 myths that we covered so far:

Caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and weed can ALL negatively impact your child’s growth (but won’t completely stunt it).

So what makes weight-lifting different from these 4 things?

Weight-lifting has NO negative impact on your child’s growth [12, 25, 26, 27].

In fact, weight-lifting can actually make your child’s bones stronger, by increasing their density [28].

So then, what’s the REAL risk behind weight lifting?

If your child gets injured from lifting weights, she can injure her growth plates, which can disrupt her growth.

But here’s the reality:

Your child can injure her growth plates from doing ANY sport, exercise, or recreational activity known to man.

So if you want your child to avoid injuring her growth plates, she must train under 3 circumstances:

1. She knows proper lifting techniques

2. She lifts weights that she feels comfortable with, and

3. She is supervised by a qualified professional

(To review how to protect your child from growth plate injuries, click here)

Truth: Weight-lifting does NOT stunt growth, but a severe growth plate injury can disrupt or stunt your child’s growth.

Remember: Allow Your Child to Be Human

It may be tempting to restrict her from all of these habits completely.

But remember: your child is human like you and me.

So in reality, it’s unlikely that she is going to follow these tips 100%.

However, as a wise man has once said: You are your habits.

So as long as she doesn’t drink coffee every day, or snack on junk food every night, she’ll be fine.

Just show her this guide, and she’ll learn to do what’s best for her over time.

(Stay tuned, because the last Chapter is ALL about how to motivate your child to take the right actions)

How to Screen Your Child for Height Stunting Conditions

In this chapter, I’m going to cover a TON of different conditions that can negatively impact your child’s height.

But remember: You don’t have to memorize ANY of these conditions!
Instead, here are practical steps you can take to protect your child from these conditions:

With that, let’s dive right into these conditions.

6 Types of Conditions That Can Hinder Your Child’s Growth

In this chapter, we’re going to focus on conditions that can do one (or a combination) of these 6 things:

➊ Lower HGH levels

➋ Hinder bones from absorbing proper nutrients

➌ Damage growth plates

➍ Weaken bones (which can cause height loss as an adult)

➎ Cause bone misalignment

➏ Genetic conditions that hinder growth

Part 1

Conditions That Can Lower HGH Levels

I probably don’t need to repeat how important HGH is for your child’s growth.

Here are 3 conditions that can decrease HGH in your child’s body:

1. GHD (Growth Hormone Deficiency)

2. Hypothyroidism, and

3. Cushing’s Syndrome

I call these the HGH Robbers.

HGH Robber #1: GHD (Growth Hormone Deficiency)

As you can probably guess, Growth Hormone Deficiency simply means your child has low levels of HGH in his body.

But before we talk about how this condition is caused, let’s rewind a bit.

HGH is produced in your pituitary gland inside your brain.

And your pituitary gland is controlled by another region called the hypothalamus [29].

So if your child damages his pituitary gland or hypothalamus, your child will produce less HGH in his body, which will disrupt his growth.

(In other words, damaging his pituitary gland OR hypothalamus can cause GHD)

GHD – Overview

Here are the key points for GHD [30, 31, 32]:

To learn about how your child can combat GHD, check out this article written by Dr. Daniel J. Toft:

Growth Hormone Deficiency Basics (by Daniel J. Toft MD, PhD)

HGH Robber #2: Hypothyroidism

In your throat, there is a region called the thyroid gland.

And as you can guess, it produces thyroid hormones (duh…)

But what’s so important about these hormones?

Because not only do thyroids regulate HGH levels in your child’s body, but they also affect his bone growth directly [33, 34].

So if your child isn’t producing enough thyroids, he will not reach his full potential height.

(This condition is known as Hypothyroidism)

Hypothyroidism – Overview

Here are the key points for Hypothyroidism [35]:

To learn more about Hypothyroidism, check out the full guide (on Healthline):

Everything You Need to Know About Hypothyroidism

HGH Robber #3: Cushing Syndrome

Cushing Syndrome is a disease that occurs from having too much cortisol in your body.

Now, maintaining healthy levels of cortisol in your child’s body is actually important for his growth [36].

BUT, producing too much cortisol can actually hinder his growth [37, 38].

In most cases, your child can prevent Cushing syndrome by keeping his cortisol levels in healthy ranges.

Cushing Syndrome – Overview

Here are the key points for Cushing Syndrome [37]:

To learn more about Cushing Syndrome, check out the full guide (on Healthline.com):

Cushing Syndrome: Causes and Symptoms

Part 2

Conditions That Steal Height Growth Nutrients

In Chapter 4, we talked about the 5 nutrients your child needs to consume to reach his full potential height.

But here’s where it can get tricky:

Even if your child eats EVERYTHING he needs to eat to fuel his bones for maximum growth, his bones may still not grow to their fullest length.

Why?

Because he may suffer from diseases that stop his bones from absorbing those nutrients properly.

So in this section, I’m going to show you a few “nutrient-robbers” you need to watch out for your child.

(These nutrient-robbers can also disrupt HGH levels in your child’s body, which can further hinder his growth)

Here is an overview of these nutrient-robbers:

1. Inflammatory Bowel Disease

2. Celiac Disease

3. Congenital Heart Disease

4. Anemia, and

5. Chronic Kidney Disease

Let’s take a peak at each.

Nutrient Robber #1: Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Your intestines are important, since they absorb nutrients that your body needs.

So if your child’s intestines become inflamed, his bones will receive less nutrients, which will lead to less bone growth [39].

People refer to this disorder as an Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

And if your child develops this disease, he can also suffer from HGH Resistance [40], which means his body won’t be able to make use of HGH properly, even if there is enough HGH floating around.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Overview

Here are the key points for Inflammatory Bowel Disease [41, 42]:

To learn more about Inflammatory Bowel Disease, check out the full guide (at Mayo Clinic):

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Nutrient Robber #2: Celiac Disease

If your child reacts badly to gluten, he likely suffers from Celiac Disease.

If your child has Celiac Disease, and he consumes gluten, he can damage his intestines, which can hinder his bones from receiving all the nutrients it needs for proper growth [43].

But if he starts eating a gluten-free diet, he can go back to growing normally [44].

(That’s why it’s important to catch this disease early, before he becomes an adult)

Celiac Disease – Overview

Here are the key points for Celiac Disease [45, 46]:

To learn how your child can eat a gluten-free diet, check out a full guide on gluten-free diets (written by Ryan Raman from Healthline):

The Gluten-Free Diet: A Beginner’s Guide With Meal Plan

To learn more about Celiac Disease, check out the full guide (on Mayo Clinic):

Celiac Disease

Nutrient Robber #3: Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital Heart Disease describes a heart abnormality that can be seen at your child’s birth [47].

Not only can this condition prevent your child from absorbing nutrients properly, but they will need more nutrients to stay healthy, since their body uses up more energy [48].

As a result, this condition can interfere with your child’s growth, since his bones will not receive enough nutrients that are required for optimal growth.

But fortunately, Growth Hormone treatment can restore proper growth for children with this Congenital Heart Disease [49].

Congenital Heart Disease – Overview

Here are the key points for Congenital Heart Disease [50]:

To learn more about Congenital Heart Disease, check out the full guide (on Healthline):

Congenital Heart Disease

Nutrient Robber #4: Anemia

Anemia happens when your child doesn’t have enough red blood cells in his blood.

Since red blood cells deliver Oxygen to every cell in your body, less red blood cells means less Oxygen for every cell.

And if your child’s bones don’t receive proper amounts of oxygen, it can hinder his bones from developing properly, which is why Anemia can disrupt his growth [51].

Anemia is mainly caused by iron deficiencies, but there are some genetic conditions that can cause this as well [52].

If your child treat Anemia early enough, he can restore normal growth patterns [51].

Anemia – Overview

Here are the key points for Anemia [52, 53, 54]:

To learn more about Anemia, check out these 2 guides:

Healthline: What Causes Anemia?

Mayo Clinic: Anemia

Nutrient Robber #5: Chronic Kidney Disease

Kidneys play an important role in regulating nutrients that are important for bone growth (like Calcium) [55].

That’s why kidney failures can prevent these essential nutrients from reaching your child’s bones, which can cause his bones to grow less, and also become weaker [56].

Chronic Kidney Disease also reduces your child’s HGH levels drastically, which can further disrupt your child’s growth [57].

The good news?

As long as it’s detected early on, your child can restore his normal growth patterns, and reach his full potential height as an adult [58].

Chronic Kidney Disease – Overview

Here are the key points for Chronic Kidney Disease [59, 60]:

To learn more about Chronic Kidney Diseases, check out the full guide (at Mayo Clinic):

Chronic Kidney Disease

Part 3

The Condition That Can Damage Growth Plates

In Chapter 7, we went over ways to prevent your child from injuring his growth plates.

But when it comes to conditions, there is only one condition that can directly damage your child’s growth plates:

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (referred to as JIA)

Arthritis refers to inflamed joints.

And JIA is the most common type of arthritis among children who are 16 or younger [61].

JIA can cause joint pain, swelling, fever, and many other problems for your child.

But most importantly: It can cause growth problems [62, 63].

When a joint is affected by JIA, it can either:

Slow down the growth of affected bones, or

Speed up the growth, causing limbs to become uneven.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis – Overview

Here are the key points for JIA [61, 64, 65, 66, 67]:

To learn more about JIA, check out this full guide found on Arthritis Foundation:

What is Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis?

Part 4

The Condition That Can Weaken Bones

If you want your child to be strong and healthy as an adult, his bones must be dense and well nourished.

And although his bone strength doesn’t directly make him taller, having strong bones can prevent him from losing height as he ages.

Here is the most common bone condition that can weaken your child’s bones (you might’ve heard of this already):

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis describes bones that are less dense than what’s considered to be healthy.

So if your child suffers from osteoporosis, his bones would be much more fragile, which makes him weaker and much more likely to get injured.

The good news is that this condition won’t actually make him grow less, but osteoporosis can shorten your child’s height later as an adult [68, 69].

But whether or not this condition affects your child’s height in the future, it can cause health problems for your child, so it’s important to know how your child can prevent it at all costs.

Osteoporosis – Overview

Here are the key points for Osteoporosis [70, 71]:

For more information about Osteoporosis, check out the following resources:

National Institutes of Health: Osteoporosis Overview

National Osteoporosis Foundation: What is Osteoporosis and What Causes It?

Conditions That Are Similar to Osteoporosis

Here are 2 bone disorders that are very similar to Osteoporosis [72]:

1. Osteopenia – “Milder” version of Osteoporosis

2. Osteomalacia – Mainly caused by a lack of Vitamin D

Now, Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease your child needs to watch out for.

(About 54 million Americans suffer from Osteoporosis!) [73]

But there are many other bone diseases that are much more rare, but you still may want keep your head up on them.

To learn more about these conditions, check out the the full list (on National Institutes of Health):

Muscle and Bone Diseases

Part 5

Conditions That Can Misalign Bones

In Chapter 6, we talked about how keeping a proper posture can make your child become taller, and help his bones grow in the proper direction.

You probably also remember the analogy I gave of the two jenga towers:

So if you want your child to not only become taller, but stand up strong, his bones need to be aligned properly.

Now, there are a few conditions that can cause his bones to grow in weird directions.

I call these the bone twisters.

Bone Twister #1: Spine Curvature Disorders

If you can recall, a healthy spine naturally has curves:

But if these curves become too extreme, your child can develop a spine curvature disorder.

There are 3 ways that your child’s spine can become abnormally curved.

(From left to right, these abnormal curvatures are called: Kyphosis, Lordosis, and Scoliosis)

Now, it’s common for many children to develop minor forms of these abnormal curves.

If that happens to your child, you don’t have to worry about it affecting his height [74].

But if the curve becomes too extreme, that’s when it can actually make your child shorter [74].

Spine Curvature Disorders – Overview

Here are the key points for Spine Curvature Disorders [75, 76, 77]:

For more information on spine curvature disorders, check out the following guides:

WebMD: Types of Spine Curvature Disorders

Medical News Today: Everything You Need to Know About Scoliosis

For a comprehensive list of exercises to manage your child’s scoliosis, check out this guide:

Hudson Valley Scoliosis: Scoliosis Exercises

Abnormal Looking Legs

The next 2 conditions have to do with your child’s legs.

Here’s a preview of what they look like:

Let’s take a look at each condition:

Bone Twister #2: Bowlegs (Knees Pointing Outward)

Bowlegs (A.K.A. genu varum) is a condition where your child’s knees are pointing outwards.

This condition is common at a very early age, since your infant is in a cramped position in the womb

And the good news is that it typically goes away by the age of 2.

But if it doesn’t, you should see a doctor.

Bowlegs – Overview

Here are the key points for Bowlegs [78]:

To learn more about Bowlegs, check out the full guide (on Healthline.com):

What Causes Bow Legged?

Bone Twister #3: Knock Knees (Knees Pointing Inward)

Knock Knees (A.K.A. genu valgum) is the opposite of Bowlegs:

It describes legs with knees pointing inward.

But just like Bowlegs, your child will likely grow out of Knock Knees if he has them.

(20% of 3-year-olds have knock knees, but that number decreases to 1% for 7-year-olds) [79]

Knock Knees – Overview

Here are the key points for Knock Knees [79]:

To learn more about Knock Knees, check out the full guide (on Medical News Today):

What Causes Knock Knees?

Part 6

Genetic Conditions That Can Hinder Growth

Until now, we looked at conditions that be caused by both genetic or environmental factors.

But in this section, we’re going to look at conditions that can only be caused by genetics.

Many of these conditions can actually cause the conditions that we looked at so far.

So without further ado, let’s go through the last section of this chapter.

Genetic Condition #1: Down Syndrome

If your child has Down Syndrome, he will grow less than the average child [80].

But thankfully, there are growth charts that are made exclusively for children with Down Syndrome.

If your child has down syndrome AND is 0 to 36 months old, here are the growth charts you want to use:

Boys Growth Chart (Ages 0 to 36 Months)

Girls Growth Chart (Ages 0 to 36 Months)

And if your child has down syndrome AND is 2 to 20 years old, you’ll want to use these:

Boys Growth Chart (Ages 2 to 20 Years)

Girls Growth Chart (Ages 2 to 20 Years)

If you want to see other Growth Charts (for weight and head circumference), check out the full list of charts here:

CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): Growth Charts for Children with Down Syndrome

If you want to learn more about Down Syndrome, check out the full guide here:

WebMD: What is Down Syndrome?

Genetic Condition #2: Noonan Syndrome

Noonan Syndrome is a genetic condition that results in 3 common characteristics [81]:

1. Short height

2. Unusual facial features, or

3. Congenital heart disease (at birth)

It’s also common to see low levels of HGH, and delayed growth in children with Noonan Syndrome [82].

If your child has Noonan Syndrome, HGH therapy can help to improve his height, but the doctor must continually monitor his heart function after the therapy [83].

To learn more about Noonan Syndrome, check out the the full guide here:

Mayo Clinic: Noonan Syndrome

Genetic Condition #3: Turner Syndrome

Turner Syndrome can only happen to girls, and it affects 1 out of every 2,000 baby girls [84].

Almost all girls with Turner Syndrome show 2 symptoms:

1. Shorter height, and

2. Lack of monthly periods, resulting in infertility

Since their short height starts getting noticeable when they’re 5 years old, it’s easy to detect this condition early on [85].

And just like Noonan Syndrome, girls with Turner Syndrome can safely go through HGH therapy to reach a normal adult height [86].

Along with HGH, other hormone therapies can help them develop sexually, and reach puberty faster [87].

To learn more about Turner Syndrome, check out the full guide here:

Healthline: Turner Syndrome

Other Genetic Conditions That Hinder Growth

There are a few other genetic conditions that can interfere with growth.

Here are 3 of them + resources for more info:

Medical News Today: Prader-Willi Syndrome (affects 1 of 10,000~30,000 births)

NORD: Aarskog Syndrome (affects 1 of 25,000 births)

Healthline: Achondroplasia (affects in 1 of 25,000 births)

Gigantism: The Condition That Can Make Your Child Too Tall

As you can tell by the name, Gigantism is a condition that makes your child grow abnormally tall.

Gigantism occurs when your child’s pituitary produces too much HGH, causing her bones to grow longer and thicker than the average child.

This excess HGH can cause many other health problems as well (which we’ll discuss in this section).

Fortunately, there are a few ways to slow down your child’s growth if she has this condition, but you must catch this condition early in her life.

In this section, we’ll go over how you can spot this condition, and several ways to treat it.

What Causes Gigantism?

When pituitary gland develops a tumor, it produces too much HGH, which causes Gigantism.

This is the root cause of Gigantism for most children.

In rarer cases, Gigantism is caused by genetic disorders [88].

What Are Some Signs of Gigantism?

The most obvious sign of Gigantism is if your child is much taller (or growing much faster) than other peers of her age group.

To know if she’s growing at a normal pace, you can use the Growth Chart to track her growth (refer to Chapter 2 for more details).

Physical Deformities Caused by Gigantism

Other than being unusually tall, here are common signs of Gigantism [89]:

Very large hands and feet

Thick toes and fingers

Large heads

Facial features that are unusually large or unproportional (flat nose, and thick lips and tongue)

Below is a 22-year-old patient who was diagnosed with Gigantism, standing on the left side of his identical twin!

Other Signs of Gigantism

Besides the physical deformities, here are some other common symptoms to look out for:

Insomnia and other sleep problems

Excessive sweating

Weakness

Headaches

Delayed puberty

Irregular menstrual periods (for girls)

Deafness

How Can You Check for Gigantism?

If you detect any unusual physical symptoms that may indicate that your child has Gigantism, take her to the doctor or pediatrician.

He may recommend one or more of the following tests (same for Acromegaly patients) [90, 91]:

Blood test (to measure HGH levels)

Oral glucose tolerance test

MRI scan of the pituitary gland (to check for any tumors in her pituitary)

How Can You Treat Gigantism?

The main goal of treatment is to stop or slow down your child’s production of HGH.

Depending on the cause and severity of the condition, your doctor will recommend different treatment methods.

It’s very important that your doctor regularly monitors your child’s pituitary gland after the treatment.

Here are the most common treatment methods for Gigantism (same for Acromegaly patients) [91, 92]:

Surgery to remove the pituitary tumor (80% of Gigantism caused by tumors are removed by this method)

Taking medications to:

Reduce HGH production in body (somatostatin analogues)

Reduce general hormone levels (dopamine agonists), or

Block HGH from being absorbed by tissues in the body (GH antagonist)

Radiation therapies (this is usually the last option, since radiation can be risky):

Conventional radiation therapy

Photo beam therapy

Stereotactic radiosurgery

To learn more about Gigantism, check out the full guide here:

Healthline: Gigantism

And since Gigantism and Acromegaly both have similar screening and treatment methods, you may want to look into Acromegaly as well.

To learn more about these methods, check out this article:

Mayo Clinic: Acromegaly (Diagnosis and Treatment)

Can Estrogen Help Shorten Tall Girls’ Heights?

If you have a tall daughter who’s concerned about growing too tall, you may have come across Estrogen as a possible solution.

And while some studies have shown that Estrogen slows down growth [93], this treatment has many downsides as well.

Here are 3 reasons why you should think twice about Estrogen treatments:

It can reduce fertility (harder time becoming pregnant) [94]

Increase risk of breast cancer [95], and

Long-term side effects of Estrogen treatments are still not known [96]

So if you’re considering estrogen treatment for your tall child, make sure to consult a doctor or pediatrician, and discuss these potential downsides.

To learn more about estrogen treatments, check out this article:

WebMD: ‘Fixing’ Girls Who Are Growing Too Tall

3 Steps to Increase Your Child’s Height (After Growth)

In this chapter, I’m going to teach you a 3-step method to increasing your child’s height (even if all of his bones have fused):

➊ Becoming taller

➋ Staying taller, and

➌ Growing taller

So what the heck’s the difference between these 3 steps?

By the end of this chapter, you’ll know exactly that the differences are.

But for now, I’ll briefly go over what each step is about:

1. Becoming taller = This step helps your child appear taller, but not actually grow physically taller

2. Staying taller = This step helps your child maintain the taller look he achieved from the previous step

3. Growing taller = This step helps your child actually grow physically taller

In this chapter, we’re going to focus mainly on step 3: growing taller

But for step #3 to work, your child needs to first master steps 1 and 2.

So without further ado, let’s quickly dive into step 1.

Step #1

Becoming Taller

Becoming taller means that your child is appearing to be taller, but isn’t actually growing taller physically.

(That’s what chapter 6 was all about)

To refresh your mind, here’s a picture to show you what I’m saying:

As you can see, the “twin” on the left appears taller, EVEN if both of their bones and spine have the exact same lengths.

This is why fixing a poor posture can actually make you taller instantly.

So how can your child fix his posture to appear taller?

Fortunately, if your child has implemented strategies from chapter 6, he is already at his tallest posture.

But if he hasn’t followed through with that chapter, no worries.

Here is a recap of all the things your child can do to fix his posture:

Ways to Correct Your Child’s Posture (to Become Taller)

Install a medium-firm mattress that’s your child feels comfortable sleeping on

Encourage your child to sleep without a pillow

Correct your child’s sitting posture (click here for the step-by-step process)

Encourage your child to sit less by taking frequent breaks, using standing desks, or lying down on his stomach when watching something

Optimize your child’s standing posture (click here for the step-by-step process)

Buy your child a posture corrector, and

Help your child feel more happy and confident

Step #2

Staying Taller

After your child has fixed his posture, he needs to be able to maintain that posture effortlessly.

As a wise man has once said: “It’s one thing to achieve success, but another thing to maintain success.”

So what does your child need to do to maintain his new posture with minimal effort?

By stretching and strengthening his postural muscles.

In Chapter 7 (part 2), we went over the best exercises that not only fix his posture, but also stretch and strengthen his muscles that support a good posture.

And here is a recap of those 9 exercises:

9 Exercises to Maintain a Straight Posture (for Staying Taller)

(Click on each exercise to see the video demonstration)

Doorway Stretch

Wall Angels

Standing Rows

Shoulder Rotations

Thoracic Stretch

Hip Flexor Stretch

Glute Bridge

Plank

Superman

3 Bonus Resources for the Best Postural Exercises

Here are 3 bonus resources that your child can use to further improve and maintain his posture:

Brett (from Art of Manliness): 6 Exercises to Counteract Slouching

Jeff Cavaliere (from ATHLEAN-X): Perfect Posture in 5 Steps

Dr. Alan Mandell: 13 Best Postural Exercises for Forward Head Posture

Step #3

Growing Taller

This is the step you’ve been itching to read about.

So let me start off this step by answer the question that’s in your mind right now:

How in the WORLD can my child grow taller if his bones are done growing???

By lengthening a part of his body that CAN still grow longer in length:

His spine

I’ll explain.

As you can see, your spine has 24 bones (marked in white), which are separated by 23 different cartilage discs (marked in red).

But here’s the coolest part:

Even if your child’s bones stop growing in length, these cartilage discs CAN still grow longer [97].

In fact, a group of patients (whose average age was 65 years) were able to lengthen their cartilage discs to reduce their back pain [98].

So if 65-year-old patients can lengthen their spine, your child can too.

The question then becomes:

How Much Can Your Child’s Spine Actually Grow?

Quite a bit actually.

I’ll give you some concrete numbers to back this up:

If all your child does is increase each of his cartilage discs by 0.05 inches each, he’d grow 0.05 inches x 23 which equals 1.15 inches in total.

And that’s exactly how I was able to grow taller as an adult.

So how can your child maximize the length of the cartilage disks in his spine?

There are 3 things your child can do to maximize his spine length.

I call these the “Spine Maximizers”:

Spine Maximizer #1: Avoid Lifting Weights Over The Shoulders

If you want your child to MAXIMIZE his spine length, you want to MINIMIZE the weight on your child’s spine.

Now, if your child is still growing naturally, weight-lifting will NOT stunt his growth, since his bones can continue to grow no matter how much weight they have to bear.

But the cartilage discs in your child’s spine are different:

If they bear too much weight, they won’t be able to expand to their fullest lengths.

So too minimize the pressure on your child’s spine, he’ll want to avoid lifting heavy weights over his shoulders.

Here is what he’ll want to stop doing (for the next few months):

Overhead shoulder presses

Handstand pushups

Squats

Lifting heavy backpacks

Carrying anything that’s too heavy off the floor

On the flipside, he can still do some weight-lifting exercises that won’t compress his spine, such as:

Flat bench presses

Normal pushups

Cable exercises

Now here’s the good news:

Once your child has maximized his spine length, he can go back to doing heavy-lifting over his shoulders.

Because even if he puts pressure on his spine once again, he will still maintain his taller height [99, 100].

But until he reaches a plateau, he should minimize these spine-compressing activities.

Spine Maximizer #2: Maintain a Proper Posture (Already Done)

If your child has already followed the previous steps in this chapter, he has already completed this step.

Congratulations!

Now keep in mind that maintaining a proper posture isn’t only important for appearing taller, but growing taller as well.

This may seem contradictory to what you learned in Chapters 6 and 7, since I told you that good posture doesn’t increase bone length.

But maintaining a proper posture CAN increase the length of your cartilage discs.

I’ll explain.

Fixing Your Child’s Posture Can Take 60lbs Off of His Spine!

Remember: Your child’s cartilage discs can lengthen no matter how old he is [97, 98].

And for them to expand, he must minimize pressure on these discs by maintaining a proper posture.

But how will fixing his posture reduce this pressure exactly?

To give you concrete numbers: if your child fixes his posture, he can make his head lighter by 60 lbs (around 23 kg).

So make sure your child maintains a proper posture, and he’ll be good.

Spine Maximizer #3: Increase Natural HGH

Throughout this entire guide, I harped on how your child needs enough HGH in his body to lengthen his bones.

But what I didn’t tell you is that HGH can also lengthen his cartilage discs as well [101, 102].

So to refresh your mind, I’ll give you 4 HGH-boosting strategies your child can take action on.
(These strategies are basically a collaboration of the previous chapters)

Remember: Results will Depend On Your Child

If your child implements the strategies I taught you in this chapter, it’s possible for him to grow taller by an inch or 2.

But remember: your child might get different results.

For example, if your child’s bones are still able to grow slightly, he may grow EVEN MORE than 2 inches.

On the flip side, if your child is done growing, AND he is already doing many of the strategies we covered in this chapter, he won’t see too much difference in his height.

But whether or not he ends up growing 2 inches, or just a centimeter, do remember that this chapter (and the rest of this guide) goes beyond helping your child become taller:

Following this guide will improve your child’s health.

Height Motivation Tip #1: Love Your Child Unconditionally

Before we dive deeply into these motivational tips, I want to emphasize one thing:

Your child is much more than his height.

In fact, your #1 priority for your child should be optimizing his happiness, health, and emotional well-being over EVERYTHING else.

(Yes, even more than becoming taller)

But here is where it gets interesting:

If you give your child lots of love and positivity, not only will he be much happier and more confident, but he’ll be much more receptive to whatever you ask him to do.

So in other words: You can love your child, AND get him to take actions that will help him increase his height.

But remember at the end of the day, your love is the greatest give you can give your child.

To learn more about how to love your child unconditionally, check out this post written by Dr. Laura Markham from Aha! Parenting:

5 Secrets to Love Your Child Unconditionally

Height Motivation Tip #2: Set a Vision for Your Child

If you want your child to follow all of the tips in this guide, he needs to be SUPER MOTIVATED to grow taller.

Why?

Because for this guide to work, he needs to follow these advices NOT for a few days, weeks, or even months…

He needs to follow these strategies for several years of his childhood and adolescence.

So how do you give your child maximum motivation?

Show him pictures of tall people who are charismatic.

If your children associate tall height with positivity, they’ll be motivated to become tall themselves.

So if you have a son, and he’s really into sports, you can post pictures of tall athletes like LeBron James or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Or if he’s into the celebrity world, you can show him full-body pictures of The Rock or Hugh Jackman.

And if you have a daughter, show her pictures of tall and beautiful models, such as Taylor Swift or Katie Holmes.

To learn how to amp up your child to accomplish big things, check out this post on All Pro Dad:

10 Ways to Motivate Your Child

Height Motivation Tip #3: Use Positivity as the Driving Force

Notice that in the previous section, I did NOT include “show your child pictures of short people” as a motivational tip?

That’s because excitement works much more effectively than fear.

So if your child gets motivated to become tall by looking at a picture of LeBron James every day, he will become super motivated to become taller, and his actions will reflect that.

On the flipside, if he looks at a picture of Filius Flitwick from Harry Potter every day, he will ironically do things that will attract that image.

(Much love Warwick 🙂)

Bottom line?

If you want your child to take certain actions, motivate him to go after what is desirable, rather than running away from something that he DOESN’T want.

To learn how to get your child to make positive decisions, check out this post written by Nancy Jergins from iMoM:

5 Ways to Teach Your Kids to Make Good Decisions

Height Motivation Tip #4: Think Rewards, Not Punishments

This tip builds on the last one.

If you reward your child for doing things that you want him to do, he’ll do more of it.

But if you punish your child for doing things that you DON’T want him to do, he’ll do more of that as well.

How so?

Because whenever you react (positively OR negatively) to anything your child does, you are reinforcing that behaviour from your child.

So if your child goes to bad at 2 am, the best thing to do is to let it go.

On the flipside, if you see your child eating height maximizing foods, make sure to reward that behavior with positivity.

As counter-intuitive this seems, it’s the best way to ensure that your child does more of what you want him to do.

To learn the power of positive reinforcements, check out this post written by Amy Morin:

Positive Reinforcement to Improve a Child’s Behavior

Height Motivation Tip #5: Intrinsic Rewards Win Any Day

The question then becomes:

What is the best way to reward your child’s behavior?

Before I answer that question, let’s look at the 2 main ways that you can reward your child:

So which route should you take?

I recommend the intrinsic reward route.

Research has shown that intrinsic rewards are much more effective than extrinsic rewards, for 2 reasons:

1. Intrinsic rewards encourages your child to take a certain action for a longer time, since the activity makes him feel good

2. Extrinsic rewards don’t last as long, because once you remove them from the equation, your child will no longer take the action you want him to take

So whenever your child does anything to help himself become taller as an adult, you want him to feel good naturally from doing that activity.

I’ll give you 2 practical examples of how you can use this approach:

How to Intrinsically Motivate Your Child to Maintain a Better Posture

To give an example, let’s say that you want him to stretch (to maintain a straighter posture).

Here would be the 2 ways that you can reward your child:

Reward him intrinsically by: Asking him how good he feels from stretching his tight muscles, and reducing his back pain

Reward him extrinsically by: Tell him that he’s a good boy for keeping a straight posture, and give him a cookie

If your child feels good from stretching, he’ll naturally want to keep doing it without you nagging about it every hour.

But if your child only stretches because he wants that cookie from you, he’ll stop stretching once you run out of cookies to give him.

How to Intrinsically Motivate Your Child to Eat Height Maximizing Foods

Another example: Let’s say you want your child to consume Protein-rich foods.

Here are 2 ways you can reinforce that behavior:

Reward him intrinsically by: Asking him how good your grilled salmon tastes (and if he doesn’t like it, you can repeat this step with another Protein-rich dish)

Reward him extrinsically by: Giving him 30 minutes of PlayStation time after he eats your grilled salmon

As you can see once again, it’s obvious that the first option requires less effort, and is much more sustainable.

Bottom line?

Get your child to feel intrinsically good about the practices that help him grow taller, and he’ll continue to take the right actions without you having to nag him hour after hour.

To learn how your child can become more intrinsically motivated, check out this post written by Brittany Dixon:

Raising Intrinsically Motivated Kids

Height Motivation Tip #6: Widen The Choices for Your Child

If you want your child to follow this guide for years to come, being lenient is key.

For example, optimizing your child’s nutrition is easy, since there are a VARIETY of different foods that can support his growth.

So if you want to optimize your child’s Calcium intake, you can simply show him ALL the foods that are rich in Calcium, and ask him which of the Calcium-rich foods he likes best.

You can use this same approach when you want to help him straighten his posture.

Instead of forcing him to do certain exercises every day, you want to familiarize him with all of the exercises I taught you in this guide, and ask him which one he enjoys doing.

This will make it much easier for him to do exercises that will keep his posture straight, since he will genuinely like doing those exercises.

Now, you won’t be able to take this approach to every aspect of his life.

For example, if you want him to go to sleep on time, there aren’t that many choices to offer him besides encouraging him to go to sleep early.

(But fortunately, this problem can be solved by implementing the next tip)

To learn the power of giving your child many choices, check out this post written by JoAnn from No Guilt Mom:

2 Simple Ways to Get Kids to Listen the First Time You Ask

Height Motivation Tip #7: Create a Height Maximizing Environment for Your Child

Optimizing your child’s environment will make the last few tips much easier to follow through with.

To give you an example of what I mean, let’s look at 2 children: John and Carly

Inside John’s room, he has a fridge full of vegetables, which contain lots of Vitamin C (one of the 5 Height Maximizing Nutrients)

On the flipside, Carly has a shelf full of sugary oreos that can lower her HGH levels, which would slow down her growth.

So who is more likely to consume foods that will help them grow taller?

Well, John obviously!

But was John necessarily “parented” better than Carly?

Not really.

The only difference was their environment.

So for your child, you want to optimize his environment so that he is naturally inclined to do things that will support his growth (and overall health).

Here are some ways you can optimize his environment for maximum growth:

To learn how your child’s environment can shape his behavior, check out this post by Dr. Amy Sussna Klein:

The Power of Purposeful Preschool Environments

Height Motivation Tip #8: Become a Height Maximizer Yourself

There is one part of your child’s environment that we didn’t cover.

And that is you!

In fact, out of everything that’s within your child’s environment, you’re the most influential factor.

So to fully optimize your child’s environment for maximum growth, you need to be a good role model.

In other words, if you want your child to apply the strategies I taught you in this guide, you must become a Height Maximizer yourself.

That means that you’re going to have to do the following on a consistent basis:

Eat healthy, and avoid eating junk foods

Go to sleep early

Maintain a proper posture throughout the day, and take many breaks from sitting

Exercise and stretch regularly

Limit your drinking or cannabis usage

If you’re not confident about following through with these practices, just remember my last tip, and optimize your environment (excuse my circular logic).

That way, it’ll be much easier to stick to these practices on a much more consistent basis.

To learn about how to be a better role model for your child, check out this post on The Center of Parenting Education:

Being a Good Role Model – The Promise and The Peril

Height Motivation Tip #9: Remember that Your Child is Human

If your child doesn’t follow through with EVERYTHING I teach you in this guide, you should be relieved.

Why?

Because it proves that he’s a human (and not a robot).

As human beings, we never follow through with anything perfectly, since we’re bound to make mistakes all the time.

So if your child snacks on a sugar-filled smoothie, or stays up very late watching a movie that came out recently, you must recognize that he’s human, and let it go as soon as you can.

While this forgiving mindset seems like you’re allowing your child to go in the wrong direction, it’s the best way to dismiss unwanted behaviors.

Remember tip #4: Whenever you react positively or negatively to anything, you are reinforcing that behaviour from your child.

So as long as your child doesn’t doesn’t go over the border, let his mistakes go, and continually improve his actions by:

Loving your child

Motivating your child

Praising his positive behaviors

Optimizing his environment, and

Being a good role model

To learn the power of ignoring unwanted behaviors, check out this post written by Amy Morin:

Reduce Attention-Seeking Behaviors by Ignoring

Height Motivation Tip #10: Communicate With Your Child Openly and Frequently

For you to make all of these strategies work in your favor, you must understand your child on a very deep level.

Because when you understand your child deeply, you’ll have a much easier time encouraging him to take a certain set of actions, because you’ll know what truly motivates him (and what doesn’t).

So how can you get to know your child more deeply?

By doing 2 things:

➊

Learn About Your Child by Having Frequent 1-on-1 Conversations

If you want to strengthen your relationship with your child, talking him to him regularly is key.

Because the more often you talk to your child, the more comfortable he’ll feel talking to you.

This may be hard for you if you’re usually out working, or generally have a busy lifestyle.

But do whatever you can to dedicate at least a portion of your day to interact with your child.

This means having breakfast together, going for walks, and joining him when he’s doing his favorite activities.

Now onto the juicer tip:

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Learn About Your Child by Encouraging Him to Be Fully Expressive

If you talk regularly, he’ll already be pretty open with you, since he feels comfortable with you.

But how can you get your child to be even more open about himself?

Here are some conversational rules to keep in mind, if you want your child to fully open about his thoughts and feelings:

Always put yourself in his shoes, and talk to him in a way that he wants to be spoken to

Show curiosity and appreciation for whatever he has to say about any topic

Stay non-judgmental, and listen to everything that he has to say with open arms, no matter how positive or negative

Questions to Ask Your Child to Understand Him Deeply

Here are some simple questions you can ask your child:

How are you feeling today?

What was your favorite part of your day?

What were some things that you didn’t enjoy as much?

If you can live today all over again, what would you do differently?

You can also ask him bigger, more open-ended questions, such as:

What is the one thing in your life that you’re grateful for more than anything else?

What is the one thing you wish you can change about your life?

What is one thing that you look forward to doing in the future?

What is one thing you regret about in the past?

Also, don’t be afraid to ask him questions about how he feels about you, such as:

If I was an ideal parent, what would I continue doing?

What would I do more of? or

What would I stop doing altogether?

Questions You Can Ask Your Child About His Height

And finally, here are some questions you can ask your child about his height:

How do you feel about your current height?

How does your height compare to your peers? Do you feel comfortable about that?

How tall do you truly want to become as an adult?

How would you feel to be the tallest person in the room?

How would you feel like to be the shortest person in the room?

Is becoming tall (or not becoming short) something that you consider to be important?

To encourage your child to be more open with you, check out this post written by Dr. Laura Markham from Aha! Parenting:

10 Foolproof Strategies for Getting Kids to Talk

Now, if you’re serious about helping your child reach her full potential height, I suggest that you re-read each chapter thoroughly.

And if you want your child to stick to these strategies for years to come, you’ll want to take a very gradual approach.

In other words:

Instead of pressuring your child to take action on everything at once, make sure that he integrates strategies from just one chapter at a time.

Once he gets used to whatever lifestyle changes he makes from one chapter, he can move onto the next chapter, and so on.

And slowly but surely, he’ll grow up to become not just taller, but much healthier, stronger, and more confident.

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← Go Back to Part 1