How to Grow Taller at 12

At 12, you are still growing: the average 12-year-old boy grows about 2.8 in (7.0 cm) in the next year and the average girl about 2.3 in (6.0 cm). Your genes set your potential height; what you can control is reaching it. That means enough sleep, enough food (especially protein, calcium and vitamin D), daily exercise and avoiding things that hold growth back.

Bottom line: at 12, sleep 9 to 12 hours a night, eat enough, move every day, and track your growth every few months.

How much can you still grow at 12?

These are the CDC medians, the middle of the range for US kids. Your own numbers depend on your genes and on when your puberty started.

Where most 12-year-olds are in puberty

Boys: At 12, puberty is underway for many boys and the growth spurt often begins. Boys who haven’t started yet are not behind: the normal range for starting puberty is wide.

Girls: At 12, many girls are at or just past the peak of their growth spurt. After the first period, growth slows down and usually stops within about two years.

Puberty timing explains most of the height differences between friends of the same age. If you want to see where you are, read growth spurts in teens and signs of a late bloomer.

What actually helps you grow at 12

• Sleep 9 to 12 hours a night. That is what the CDC recommends at your age, and growth hormone is released mostly during deep sleep. See does sleep make you taller?
• Eat enough, with protein at every meal. Growing bodies need energy. Undereating or strict dieting during puberty can hold growth back.
• Get calcium and vitamin D. Teens aged 9 to 18 need 1,300 mg of calcium and 600 IU (15 mcg) of vitamin D a day (NIH). Milk, yogurt, cheese, fortified plant milks, tofu and fish help. See foods that help you grow.
• Move at least 60 minutes a day. The CDC’s guideline for kids and teens includes bone-strengthening activity like running and jumping three days a week. Supervised strength training is fine (it doesn’t stunt growth).
• Avoid what slows growth: nicotine and vaping, alcohol, and chronic lack of sleep. See what stunts growth.
• Stand tall. Posture doesn’t lengthen bones, but slouching can hide height. A few daily stretches help.

What won’t make you taller

No pill, gummy, “HGH booster”, stretching routine or hanging bar can make your bones longer than your genes allow. Growth hormone is a prescription treatment for specific medical conditions, and testosterone or steroids taken without a doctor can close growth plates early and leave you shorter. See does HGH make you taller? and vitamins for height.

Signs you’re still growing at 12

• You grew noticeably in the last 6 to 12 months (measure yourself against the same wall every few months).
• Your shoe size is still going up, or your pants are suddenly too short.
• Your puberty changes are recent or still ongoing.

Our “Am I done growing?” quiz puts these signs together. Only a bone-age X-ray can confirm whether your growth plates are still open.

When to see a doctor

• You haven’t grown at all in a year.
• You are much shorter than your parents’ heights would suggest, or you have dropped across percentile lines on your growth chart.
• Your growth worries you. A pediatrician can check your growth curve and, if needed, refer you to a pediatric endocrinologist.