--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We humans undergo two major growth…" description: "\"We humans undergo two major growth spurts: one during infancy and another from eleven to twelve until fifteen or sixteen--pubescence. Between the two i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/louise-j-kaplan-16276_body_we-humans-undergo-two-major-growth-spurt_1960837.png" --- # We humans undergo two major growth spurts: one during… ![“We humans undergo two major growth spurts: one during infancy and another from eleven to twelve until fifteen or sixteen--pubescence. Between the two is a relatively quiescent growth period in which most of the body takes a rest from growing while the brain continues to mature. This period of life…” quote by Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/louise-j-kaplan-16276_body_we-humans-undergo-two-major-growth-spurt_1960837.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/louise-j-kaplan-16276_body_we-humans-undergo-two-major-growth-spurt_1960837.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/louise-j-kaplan-16276_body_we-humans-undergo-two-major-growth-spurt_1960837.png) > “We humans undergo two major growth spurts: one during infancy and another from eleven to twelve until fifteen or sixteen--pubescence. Between the two is a relatively quiescent growth period in which most of the body takes a rest from growing while the brain continues to mature. This period of life is general referred to as childhood or, sometimes, latency.” [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human development has two major growth phases—early childhood and puberty—while the intervening years are a quieter period where the brain matures despite limited physical growth. **In simple terms:** Two growth spikes with a quiet middle period Key Takeaway Recognize that mental development continues even when the body seems static Themes development neurobiology lifespan growth Mood analytical informative Type educational scientific When to use this quote - Early childhood education - adolescent health programs - parenting strategies - skill acquisition - mental health interventions Key Concepts Critical periods brain plasticity educational timing Questions to Reflect On - How can educators support brain growth during the quiet years? - What activities foster continued mental development? A Different Perspective Focusing only on physical milestones may overlook crucial cognitive changes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Eleven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eleven/) [Fifteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifteen/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Growth Period](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth-period-3236046/) [Growth Spurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth-spurts-3236045/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Infancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infancy/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majors/) [Mature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mature/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) [Pubescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pubescence-3236047/) [Pubescence Relatively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pubescence-relatively-3236049/) [Sixteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sixteen/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Spurts Infancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spurts-infancy-3236048/) [Twelve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twelve/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [I believe one of the reasons we went through such a remarkable growth period was that we had this atmosphere of free discussion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/i-believe-one-of-the-reasons-we-went-through-such-a-remarkable-growth/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) > [Infancy is the realm conveyed to us in dreams which look backward to the past. Adolescence, more like a work of art, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/infancy-is-the-realm-conveyed-to-us-in-dreams-which-look-backward-to/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [We humans, once we have become emotionally invested in a homeplace, a prized personal possession, or, especially, in another person, find it immensely difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/we-humans-once-we-have-become-emotionally-invested-in-a-homeplace-a/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [In the stress of modern life, how little room is left for that most comfortable vanity that whispers in our ears that failures are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/in-the-stress-of-modern-life-how-little-room-is-left-for-that-most/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [I find no change of consequence in grown people, I do not miss the dead. It does not surprise me to hear that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-find-no-change-of-consequence-in-grown-people-i-do-not-miss-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-the-infancy-of-civilization-when-our-island-was-as-savage-as-new/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [A person's life from infancy to old age is nothing else than an advance from the world towards heaven, the last stage of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/a-person-s-life-from-infancy-to-old-age-is-nothing-else-than-an/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [I acknowledge Thee, Lord of heaven and earth, and praise Thee for my first rudiments of being, and my infancy, whereof I remember nothing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/i-acknowledge-thee-lord-of-heaven-and-earth-and-praise-thee-for-my/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Adolescence: A stage between infancy and adultery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/adolescence-a-stage-between-infancy-and-adultery/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Superstitious notions propagated in infancy are hardly ever totally eradicate, not even in minds grown strong enough to despise the like credulous folly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/superstitious-notions-propagated-in-infancy-are-hardly-ever-totally/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [The Author of nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-playfair/the-author-of-nature-has-not-given-laws-to-the-universe-which-like/) [John Playfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-playfair/) > [The focus in the Western pictorial tradition is on the body of Christ, the bit you can paint, the Nativity and the infancy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/the-focus-in-the-western-pictorial-tradition-is-on-the-body-of-christ/) [Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/) > [Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/christianity-is-the-companion-of-liberty-in-all-its-conflicts-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [Heaven lies around us in our infancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/heaven-lies-around-us-in-our-infancy/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) ## More by Louise J. Kaplan > [As he walks away on his own two feet--the toddler's body-mind has reached its moment of perfection. The world is his and he the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/as-he-walks-away-on-his-own-two-feet-the-toddler-s-body-mind-has/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [In all times and in all places--in Constantinople, northwestern Zambia, Victorian England, Sparta, Arabia, . . . medieval France,Babylonia, . . . Carthage, Mahenjo-Daro,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/in-all-times-and-in-all-places-in-constantinople-northwestern-zambia/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [We humans, once we have become emotionally invested in a homeplace, a prized personal possession, or, especially, in another person, find it immensely difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/we-humans-once-we-have-become-emotionally-invested-in-a-homeplace-a/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [We belong to that order of mammals, the primates, distinguished by its propensity for repeated single litters, intense parental care, long life-spans, late sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/we-belong-to-that-order-of-mammals-the-primates-distinguished-by-its/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [Normally an infant learns to use his mother as a "beacon of orientation" during the first five months of life. The mother's presence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/normally-an-infant-learns-to-use-his-mother-as-a-beacon-of/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [A man's fatherliness is enriched as much by his acceptance of his feminine and childlike strivings as it is by his memories of tender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/a-man-s-fatherliness-is-enriched-as-much-by-his-acceptance-of-his/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [For a woman ... to explore and express the fullness of her sexuality, her ambitions, her emotional and intellectual capacities, her social duties, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/for-a-woman-to-explore-and-express-the-fullness-of-her-sexuality-her/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [Infancy is the realm conveyed to us in dreams which look backward to the past. Adolescence, more like a work of art, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/infancy-is-the-realm-conveyed-to-us-in-dreams-which-look-backward-to/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [In every adult human there still lives a helpless child who is afraid of aloneness… This would be so even if there were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/in-every-adult-human-there-still-lives-a-helpless-child-who-is-afraid/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [Though they themselves might be as surprised as their parents and teachers to hear it said, adolescents--these poignantly thin- skinned and vulnerable, passionate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/though-they-themselves-might-be-as-surprised-as-their-parents-and/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [During adolescence imagination is boundless. The urge toward self-perfection is at its peak. And with all their self- absorption and personalized dreams of glory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/during-adolescence-imagination-is-boundless-the-urge-toward-self/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [Fathers have a special excitement about them that babies find intriguing. At this time in his life an infant counts on his motherfor rootedness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/fathers-have-a-special-excitement-about-them-that-babies-find/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [Adolescence represents an inner emotional upheaval, a struggle between the eternal human wish to cling to the past and the equally powerful wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/adolescence-represents-an-inner-emotional-upheaval-a-struggle-between/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [What eleven- to thirteen-year-old boys fear is passivity of any kind. When they do act passively we can be fairly certain that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/what-eleven-to-thirteen-year-old-boys-fear-is-passivity-of-any-kind/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [Other people--grandparents, sisters and brothers, the mother's best friend, the next-door neighbor--get to be familiar to the baby. If the mother communicates her trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/other-people-grandparents-sisters-and-brothers-the-mother-s-best/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) [Explore all 40 Louise J. Kaplan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We humans undergo two major growth spurts: one during infancy and another from eleven to twelve until fifteen or sixteen--pubescence. Between the two is a relatively quiescent growth period in which most of the body takes a rest from growing while the brain continues to mature. 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