How to get taller at 12?
If this is what you are wondering, this blog post will show you all the effective ways you can try to improve your height. Believe us, if you do it today, your children’s height will be improved remarkably.
The average height for 12-year-old boys and girls
At age 12, girls are typically in the middle year of puberty, while boys start going through the process. That is why most teen girls tend to be taller than teen boys of the same age.
For 12-year-old girls, the mean height, according to the 50th percentile, is about 59.4 inches (151 centimeters). Meanwhile, the mean height for 12-year-old boys is around 58.7 inches (149 centimeters).
As parents, you need to track your children’s height regularly to know if they are growing. Besides, you need to help them live a healthy lifestyle by applying some methods below.
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Top 11 ways to get taller at 12
Drink plenty of milk
Cow’s milk is very nutritious due to the variety of nutrients. It has calcium, zinc, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin D, which are vital for growth during childhood. Also, it contains a protein, called insulin-like growth factor 1, which is involved in the growth and development of muscle and bone tissues. Teens aged 12 should consume three cups of milk every day.
Get enough meals in a day
Younger children need to eat three main meals and at least two snacks daily. A good rule of thumb is to give snacks a few hours after one main meal ends and about one to two hours before the next meal starts. Some healthy choices for snacks should include fresh fruits and veggies, granola bars, yogurt, pretzels, or cheese.
Eat more greens
Eating vegetables is helpful for improving bone health because they deliver a great source of calcium and other nutrients, like vitamin K, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and more. Teens should eat 5 to 5 ½ servings a day. One serving is ½ cup of cooked veggies, 1 cup of green leafy or raw salad veggies, ½ cup of cooked dried beans or lentils, or ½ medium potato, corn, or sweet potato.
Get enough sleep
Sleep plays a vital role in gaining height. If your boys or girls lack sleep, they may suffer from shortness of height since their bodies do not get enough time to grow and repair. 12-year-old teens should go to bed at 9 p.m. and sleep about 10 hours to maintain their physical health.
Drink enough water
Water is the cheapest, healthiest, and most thirst-quenching drink that is good for the body. It helps keep joints, bones, and teeth healthy and transfers necessary vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from food to the rest of the body for use. Drinking seven glasses of water daily or at least 56 ounces is enough, but if teens are joining physical activities, they can consume more to prevent dehydration.
Expose to sunlight
When the UVB rays touch the skin, they will help the body synthesize vitamin D. As we all know, this vitamin has many roles in the body, including height growth. You should spend time in the midday and try to expose more skin to make more vitamin D.
Exercise daily
Staying active for at least 45 minutes every day might help build bone density and muscle mass, boost growth hormone production, and maintain a healthy weight. At this age, teens should focus on flexibility exercises like yoga, strength-building exercises like sit ups or pushups, and aerobic activities like jumping rope, biking, or playing tag.
Maintain good posture
Improving your posture might help you appear taller, not actually make you grow taller. But if you ignore it and keep slouching and hunching over time, this might stunt your actual height. So, what should you do?
- Keep your back straight, your head up, and your shoulders wide and down when walking.
- Spread your legs shoulder-width apart and keep your knees unlocked when standing.
- Do not slouch and add a pillow behind your lower back when sitting.
Control your weight
The averages for 12-year-olds are 92 pounds (41.7 kilograms) for females and 89 pounds (40 kilograms) for males. Gaining weight to the point of obesity might make you shorter because obesity may weaken bone structure and metabolism. This results in osteoporosis, particularly in the back, joints, and hips. And you know what it has links to; that is, height loss.
Reduce sugar and salt intake
Since processed food consumption has increased, we are now consuming more foods high in salt and sugar. And that leads to many health issues and even affects height gain. Just stick to a limit of one teaspoon (about 5g) of salt daily and no more than 10% of our daily energy intake. 10 teaspoons of sugar are suitable for a 2,000-daily calorie intake.
Use height-increasing supplements
Taking dietary supplements for height increase might help get taller, especially for teens going through puberty. Most products include necessary nutrients for height growth, including vitamin D, vitamin K, calcium, zinc, magnesium, etc. Even some contain herbal extracts that are beneficial for overall health and growth.
Reasons prevent teens from reaching the average height at 12
Eat too much
Overeating is closely related to extra body fat and obesity because the body is getting a calorie surplus. And if this happens for a long time, it might lead to obesity and insulin resistance, which affect the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Overtrain
Exercise is probably good for growth since it stimulates growth hormone production as well as delivers many health benefits. Although people often say “no pain, no gain,” too much training and not enough rest might cause serious issues, especially for teens during their growing years. Also, they should watch out for some exercises that might stunt their growth, such as weight lifting, marathons, or gymnastics.
Spend too much screen time
Screen time is a sedentary activity, meaning your kids are being physically inactive while sitting down. And that might lead to some issues, like making them hard to sleep at night and raising their risk of gaining too much weight.
5 exercises to help 12-year-old kids grow taller
Skipping
Skipping during puberty might help you get a good amount of height increase. That is because this exercise is effective in speeding up bone growth. Carry out it for 3 to 5 days a week, and do not push yourself too hard if you are just getting started.
Jogging
The truth is that only jogging would not create more growth hormones. But if you combine it with other activities like stretching, yoga, swimming, or hanging, this might boost the production of HGH better.
Doing yoga
While yoga does not directly improve your skeletal height, it may assist you in building strength, promoting flexibility, and improving posture. And these benefits might indirectly make you appear taller. Here are some certain yoga poses you should try to help you stand taller, such as downward dog, forward fold, cobra pose, child’s pose, plow pose, legs up the wall, and seated spinal twist.
Hanging
Hanging from bars is always fun and helpful for straightening the spine and extending the vertebrates. Set a hanging bar in your house, and make sure the bar lets your children be able to hang fully above the ground. But if you are worried about safety, you should teach them to hang with their legs bent at the knees first. Start hanging for about 10 to 15 seconds for newbies and then increase to 45 seconds to 1 minute at a time.
In a word
It is time to go ahead with these ways mentioned above to help your 12-year-old kids get taller. Start today and maintain this lifestyle consistently to acquire the expected results. Good luck!

Mike Nikko is a blogger with over 15 years of experience. I will bring you the best product reviews and other useful life experiences, tips to increase height, tips to improve health… If you have any questions, feel free to ask Mike Nikko!