11-yo DS Height

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I've told him before it's genetic and pre-determined, and we're not tall (but above avg) people so he's most likely be the same way. not sinking in with him, of course, and little brother being one of the tallest in his grade is not helping the matter either. i'm just worried he's getting self conscious about it.

Welcome to life with an 11 year old. He probably is self-conscious about, and that's normal. EVERYTHING can be angst-inducing. One minute they're being total butt-heads and incredibly rude, and the next minute they want to cuddle. Try not to give too much "juice" to this. It's not something you need to "process" with him or worry about. Just stay positive.

--mom of an almost 14 year old

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this post - he's 11 years old - he's got lots of years of growing left! Boys grow throughout their teens, and if he hasn't hit puberty yet then he's fine. Some boys at this age go through a growth spurt and have an earlier puberty, some have this later. Look around at how small most of the middle-school boys are compared to the girls.

I recently volunteered at an event at my DS's middle school and it was striking to see the difference in boys from 6th-8th grade. The girls didn't seem to change as much but 6th grade boys (including my DS) are still mostly little boys while 8th grade boys are teens.

[Anonymous]

I have to laugh at this post. Dealing with the same thing.
I have a 10 year old who is catching up to my 13 year old.
Even though I am 6 feet, my kids are only in the 50% percentile for height.
I've been telling the 13 year old since 5/6 grade that the girls are going to be taller for the next 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Go see a pediatric endocrinologist. Yes, if needed there is something that can be done. A bone age would be a good start.

[Anonymous]

What I ment to say is that there is something that can be done for short stature. It depends on the reason for it. Is it growth hormone deficiency vs late bloomer vs hypothyroidism. But there is a window where something can be done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go see a pediatric endocrinologist. Yes, if needed there is something that can be done. A bone age would be a good start.

WHAT? A pediatric endocrinologist? Talk about using a chain saw when a nail clipper would suffice,

He's 11! Kids are all over the place with their height.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It appears DS' growth in height has slowed down the last year or so, evident in both comparing to his friends and the height charts at Dr's office. I think he's developing a little bit of complexity over this - the other day he said to an acquaintance of mine that he's stopped growing when she told him how much he's grown since the last time she saw him. He also asked to be measured and commented the growth spur isn't happening. I assume the fact that his 9-yo brother is catching up on him in height is another factor. But there's really nothing we could do, other than encouraging exercise, good sleep, and healthy diet, right? I don't think we did anything differently over the last year when he grew less than an inch, versus few years back when he grow 2+ inches a year. Thoughts?

His mom is saying he is crossing percentiles. Op did I misinterpret? Did he go from 50 to 25%, for exsmple? If so, yes it may need further evaluation. A bone age is a good start to compare to chronological age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go see a pediatric endocrinologist. Yes, if needed there is something that can be done. A bone age would be a good start.

WHAT? A pediatric endocrinologist? Talk about using a chain saw when a nail clipper would suffice,

He's 11! Kids are all over the place with their height.

Don't be a dick!

If the kid falls off the growth chart, check it out. If his friends are taller, no big deal!

[Anonymous]

Yes, it is not so much looking at friends but at your son and analyzing growth velocity and how he is comparing to his genetic potential. Is there a history of delayed puberty in the family, etc. This all plays a role whether it's normal or abnormal. There are things now that can be done depending on the reason for the short stature

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I've told him before it's genetic and pre-determined, and we're not tall (but above avg) people so he's most likely be the same way. not sinking in with him, of course, and little brother being one of the tallest in his grade is not helping the matter either. i'm just worried he's getting self conscious about it.

Welcome to life with an 11 year old. He probably is self-conscious about, and that's normal. EVERYTHING can be angst-inducing. One minute they're being total butt-heads and incredibly rude, and the next minute they want to cuddle. Try not to give too much "juice" to this. It's not something you need to "process" with him or worry about. Just stay positive.

--mom of an almost 14 year old

ITA. This is the kind of stuff I respond to with, "DC, I'm not worried about this. You will be as tall as you're supposed to be. Boys usually keep growing until they are 17 or 18. So, much too early to worry about this! Want to play a game?"

Sometimes it's really helpful to just not engage. I think sometimes when parents engage in these kinds of worries, it's a negative feedback loop: I've stopped growing. I'm worried. OMG, mom is taking this seriously. She must be worried, too. There's really something to worry about! I've stopped growing!" Etc.

Don't feed the beast.

--mom of 17yo and 12yo

[Anonymous]

This is something nobody has control over and you need to let your child know that. My DS is the smallest child in his entire grade. He knows that he won't be tall because neither of his parents are. End of story. I agree with the PP. Make this fact known and move on to things he does have control over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he is very active you may need to increase his caloric intake. Ice cream and ensure help

source?

Not PP. Ice cream and insure will increase his caloric intake but will probably make him grow wider not taller.

Tallness is in the genes OP. That's not to say he might hit a growth spurt later on. One of the shortest guys in my middle school and h.s. hit a major growth spurt right before senior year and was no longer short.

I'm guessing you are not the parent of a teenage boy. Our pediatrician has repeatedly told DS that he needs to eat more, and he frequently has two lunches and two dinners. DS is active and growing like crazy, and what DR said is that if he wants to reach his full height potential, he needs to make sure he's getting enough calories to fuel the growth. Ensure is great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he is very active you may need to increase his caloric intake. Ice cream and ensure help

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this post - he's 11 years old - he's got lots of years of growing left! Boys grow throughout their teens, and if he hasn't hit puberty yet then he's fine. Some boys at this age go through a growth spurt and have an earlier puberty, some have this later. Look around at how small most of the middle-school boys are compared to the girls.

I recently volunteered at an event at my DS's middle school and it was striking to see the difference in boys from 6th-8th grade. The girls didn't seem to change as much but 6th grade boys (including my DS) are still mostly little boys while 8th grade boys are teens.

+1. At Back-to-School Night for 6th grade, one of my DS's teachers commented that she's been teaching 8th graders for many years, and that now she was switching to 6th graders. She joked that she will ease them into middle school by being a lenient grader for the first few months because "6th graders are so cute and small." I thought it was interesting to hear her perspective as someone who's accustomed to being with 8th graders. There's a huge difference between ages 11-12, and ages 13-14. Lots of growing happening there!

[Anonymous]

My DS didn't do much growing between 5th and 7th grade and was one of the shortest kids. Towards the end of 8th grade, he started just wanting to eat and sleep and then eat some more. Now, he's probably on his way to being maybe 5'5" for the start of 9th grade. Not tall, but not particularly tiny either (he's still 13). His pediatrician says he'll probably be around 5'9" (a little taller than DH).