What is a growth spurt?
A growth spurt is a rapid increase in weight and length/height over a short period of time. Appetite will increase during this period as will need for sleep. Increased irritability is also sometimes a symptom. The largest increases in growth occur during a child’s first year of life and then again during puberty. Generally, each individual growth spurt will last a few days up to a week, though we sometimes refer to a teen’s total growth spurt as lasting a year or more. Toddlers and school age children do continue to gain weight and height every year generally at a slower steadier pace, though they too may experience brief periods of rapid growth.
