How Do My Bones Grow?

How Do My Bones Grow? When you were a baby, you had very soft bones made up more of cartilage than bone. The cartilage was slowly replaced by harder and stronger bone, filled with network of calcium laid down by cells.

You have layers of these cells in the shape of plates at the ends of the bones. These are called “growth plates,” and they close up when you reach full adult height.

As you grow, living bone tissue makes your bones grow larger along with the rest of your body. Then, when you are about 18 or 20 years old, your bones stop getting bigger.

Inside the bones, however, there is still a lot of growing taking place. As the old bone cells wear out, they are replaced by new bone cells. Because your bones are alive, your body is able to mend any that break.

At what age height stops? In general, boys begin puberty between the ages of 10 and 13 years old and experience growth spurts between 12 and 15 years old. This means their biggest growth spurt happens about two years after it does with girls. Most boys stop gaining height by age 16, but their muscles may continue to develop.

Does milk make you taller? As best as the current science can answer it, no, milk doesn’t make you grow taller, simply because, well, nothing can make you grow taller. But milk can be a useful tool to help kids grow to their potential height.

Content for this question contributed by Dyane Seville-Jones, resident of Soquel, Santa Cruz County, California, USA