My son is 13 & 1/2 , still no growth spurt

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure. My son is very short, relative to his peers, but he is growing at a rate of more than 3 inches a year. Not to say that will ever make him tall, because DH and I are both sort, but growing an inch a year seems like very little. It is the rate of growth I would ask his doctor about, rather than the fact of growth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure. My son is very short, relative to his peers, but he is growing at a rate of more than 3 inches a year. Not to say that will ever make him tall, because DH and I are both sort, but growing an inch a year seems like very little. It is the rate of growth I would ask his doctor about, rather than the fact of growth.

Same with my son. He grew just under 12 inches in MS but because he was shorter than the other boys to begin with, he is still short. He looked like a boy in his 8th-grade graduation photos but now at age 16, he definitely looks more like a young man. He is not going to be tall but that's genetics. If you are worried, sometimes doctors will have an x-ray done of the wrist to see how much space is left to grow.

[Anonymous]

Totally normal. Some kids get their growth spurts early, 12-14, some get them very gradually over 13–16, some don’t really grow till late, 16-19. There have been plenty of kids who hit grow a great deal between Junior year HS and year following HS. Just your kids genetics. As long as he is getting proper nutrition and enough sleep and exercise, I wouldn’t be worried about it.

Some kids will be as tall as their parents, shorts, or taller.

[Anonymous]

My 13.5 year old son hasn’t either. He has friends much shorter and friends much shorter. He is about 5’2”. And even if he doesn’t grow a lot more, which I know won’t happen, I’m not worried because there is nothing I can do about it. There are very tall and very short people in the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As the title says, my son is 13&1/2 years old, he still doesn’t have growth spurt. For example, he is not that tall, barely grew an inch taller last year, no change in voice (manly) etc. Should I be worried?

Kid younger than him is now taller than him plus a change in voice.

Please tell me I am overthinking!!

Hi OP,

My son was just like this, no growth spurt at 13 1/2, and between 12 and 13 he had barely grown at all. I didn't think much of it, but at his 13 year check up our pediatrician suggested we see a pediatric endocrinologist just to get checked out and make sure it wasn't anything other than being a late bloomer.

I did take him to see one, he was followed for a year, received assurance that he'd grow. And he did. Started his big growth spurt right at 14 and he grew 12" between then and now at 18.

[Anonymous]

My son turned 14 in April and while he grew a lot this year (3 inches), he's still on the shorter side (5'4") with no change to his voice yet. I know he feels uncomfortable being behind his friends, but his pediatrician said that he's just at the very beginning puberty now. My husband didn't go through puberty until 15 1/2 so I think my son will just be a late bloomer. I know it's easier to worrying, but some kids just do things in their own time.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you are overthinking it to the extent that it is worth asking the pediatrician. I have a similar kid (actually he's 14) and we are little worried. There are tests you can do to rule out potential issues. Of course having a short stature isn't in itself an issue--but if he has changed his growth pattern or falls really out of step with siblings or parents' height, it is worth asking about.

FWIW, I am average and my husband is very tall and it seems likely that my son will be very short. It is surprising (genetics are funny) but I am reassured that there is nothing wrong and really nothing to do.

[Anonymous]

My son just turned 15 and has also yet to hit a true growth spurt. He’s almost 6’ but has no facial hair or armpit hair abs his voice still hasn’t changed.

My husband was about 15 1/2 when he hit his growth spurt. He’s 6’3.” I think our son will be taller than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you are overthinking.

My son is almost 13 and still physically a little boy (5’0” 85lbs).

Some of his friends are the same size as he is (and even smaller), others are starting to look like men already!

My DH was a very late bloomer (ended up 6’0”) but didn’t grow until he was well into high school.

Unfortunately it will be the same for DS, it appears.

I’m average sized (5’5”)

This has become a problem in DS’s eyes over the past year or so (becoming a huge disadvantage for sports) but really..what can you do?

In school, there is a huge variety but in youth sports I’m noticing mostly early developers stick with team sports as the late developing kids drop off and give up.

Exactly the same with my 13-year old. He still has lots of baby teeth. He is barely 5’0” and skinny. He has a baby face. He is a very good athlete though and somehow still plays on top sports team.

His brother was shorter than me (I’m 5’4”) at 14 at start of Covid/March 2020. And now at almost 16 he is 5’10” and still growing.

[Anonymous]

My son had his growth spurt a little after age 13.5. He was probably still under 5 feet for much of 8th grade, and maybe 5'5 or 5'6" by his 14th birthday in September of 9th grade with a voice change.

He ended up between 5'9 and 5'10, but those last few inches were very gradual. He was certainly never going to be 6'2 with his genetics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is 17 and will be 18 in the Fall. Right before the lockdown we went to the pediatric endo because he wasn't growing and his bone scan showed he was 16 yo in a 13 yo body. He's now almost 6 feet tall and his dr. says he'll keep growing into his sophomore year of college. His weight is another story, but he's built slim and is really active. On the flip side his 14 yo brother has facial hair, a cracking voice, and looks so much older at 14 than older DS did.

Yes. Two of my three kids grew in college. I did too! Worth asking your parents etc. There is something called congenital growth delay (aka being a late bloomer) that runs in families and my kids got a double dose from both sides of the family. One child didn't get her period until she was sixteen. Supposedly this also means my girls will have an extended fertility window too. Lots of people in my family had kids in their forties yay us.

[Anonymous]

Does your child get enough outdoor time?
Humans are like plants. You need proper food and nutrients to grow and the sun helps.
My son grew about 4 inches last year. From 5 feet to 5'4 now. We measure him every birthday. The neighbor who is a year older at 12 is the same for the past few years, which is about 1 foot shorter than my son. He comes up to my son's shoulders now. Don't know what happened. The mother is about 5'7, much taller than me (I'm 5'2). The father is about 6 feet and my Dh is about 6 feet as well.
Their other son is about 14 years old and he's a bit shorter than my son too. The mom complaints they don't go outside much. It could be as much as once a week.

We don't see them often outside. When they do, you notice the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your child get enough outdoor time?
Humans are like plants. You need proper food and nutrients to grow and the sun helps.
My son grew about 4 inches last year. From 5 feet to 5'4 now. We measure him every birthday. The neighbor who is a year older at 12 is the same for the past few years, which is about 1 foot shorter than my son. He comes up to my son's shoulders now. Don't know what happened. The mother is about 5'7, much taller than me (I'm 5'2). The father is about 6 feet and my Dh is about 6 feet as well.
Their other son is about 14 years old and he's a bit shorter than my son too. The mom complaints they don't go outside much. It could be as much as once a week.

We don't see them often outside. When they do, you notice the difference.

WTF?

[Anonymous]

DS was super small at 13. Below 1st percentile in height and weight. WHich percentiles is your DS in?
And yes, at 13 pediatrician was very concerned and we ended up at Georgetown for a pediatric endocrinologist. He was diagnosed with constitutional growth delay. He also had to start eating more, way more, as the lack of growth was connected to his not getting enough calories. He was also in sports a lot. Attended a tennis academy 3 hours per day, 5 times per week.
If we acted sooner he would have been taller as his genetic potential and bone scan showed that his projected height was almost 6 feet. He ended up a bit shorter than 5'11".
But, if your kid is average in height and weight, that is totally different nad likely nothing to worry about at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your child get enough outdoor time?
Humans are like plants. You need proper food and nutrients to grow and the sun helps.
My son grew about 4 inches last year. From 5 feet to 5'4 now. We measure him every birthday. The neighbor who is a year older at 12 is the same for the past few years, which is about 1 foot shorter than my son. He comes up to my son's shoulders now. Don't know what happened. The mother is about 5'7, much taller than me (I'm 5'2). The father is about 6 feet and my Dh is about 6 feet as well.
Their other son is about 14 years old and he's a bit shorter than my son too. The mom complaints they don't go outside much. It could be as much as once a week.

We don't see them often outside. When they do, you notice the difference.

What? You are ranting/criticizing the kid's height based on their outdoor time? At 12? Are you off your rocker? For all you know by 18, your neighbor's kids might be 6'5" and your kid might be 5'8".
Are you drunk on Thursday night?