dp. 5'8" at 16.5 is not short. He was already trending average to above average. I get the sense that OP is talking about a really short kid hitting his growth spurt. |
This! I was an early bloomer and reached my adult height of 5’5” at 12. I vividly remember feeling like a giant in middle school and was definitely taller than nearly all the boys. There were only a couple boys taller than me by the end of 8th. |
Why was he getting bone scans and seeing an endocrinologist? Is this normal for UMC people whose kids are below 50th percentile? |
This is OP. My son is a high school sophomore. I’m not sure why you commented here or how it connects to my question. |
How tall is he now at 15? How tall are you and DH? |
My DH grew about an inch after we met while in his 20s. He's still shorter but men in his family tend to continue to grow in their 20s. |
NP: my own DS was also 5’0” at 13, and we saw an endo at 13.5 (after bringing him in for a mid year height/weight check). In my DS’s case, he barely grew at ALL for over a year- in either height or weight- and was still tanner stage 1 (zero signs of puberty), which drew the concern of our pediatrician, as it can indicate other issues. In my DS’s case, it was simple constitutional delay- and he had an exaggerated period of very slow growth before puberty kicked in. Which apparently can be normal for some kids. It isn’t always just about height alone. Also time is of the essence IF there is a problem. Many times there turns out to be no problem that requires treatment, which is great. But better safe than sorry. Especially if the pediatrician also has concerns. My DS eventually started puberty and grew to a normal height without interventions, just later than most peers. But I’m glad we got it checked out. |
OP how tall is he right now? And he is tanner stage 2? Usually the growth spurt starts about 18 months after the first sign of puberty, if memory serves. |
Speaking of DH and neighbor's DD -- first year of college. |
OP if he has a 24mo delay, I’d think he’d catch up around age 18? As an estimate.
Given most boys finish growing in height by 16. So for him- 18, give or take. I’m sure it varies but that would be the expectation in my mind if I were you |
This is OP. Our pediatrician wasn’t concerned when there were zero signs of puberty at 13. Nor at 14. Why was yours? At 15, he said it was most likely just a delay and ordered the bone scan. Now I’m wondering if we need any other work up beyond the bone scan. |
He’s 5’5” and just at the start of Tanner stage 2. Parents both very tall (5’11 and 6’3”). |
Did the endo give you a final height estimate? Because this all sounds totally normal based on his expected height. When my son went through this, we were told that puberty growth is typically 9-12 inches. When we took my DS to the endo he was early Tanner stage 2 (just started puberty) and was about 5’2”. Endo estimated final height at 6’1” and my DS is currently 6’0” (might have another inch or two in there, remains to be seen). So my son has grown 10in since that appointment when he was just starting puberty. If yours does the same- there you have it- 6’3”. I will say it took my son awhile to start his growth spurt unfortunately. It was at least a year after that appointment I think? Usually the growth spurt does not start until mid puberty….1-2 years after the first signs. My son was impatient with the waiting and it was very hard on him. But it eventually happened. He had 2 years of very fast growth once it finally got started. |
Time for the weekly “help my son is so short, will he grow taller ” post.
Jeff should make an entire forum dedicated to mom fretting over their son’s height. It would be the busiest forum on the site. |
NP Our ped referred is to a endo after a year of observation. She go a jump on it by ordering some blood work like testing fir celiac disease, etc. And sent it to the ortho. He said she was very thorough. |