Shorter Sons

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grade son is 4'10" and is the shortest kid by far in the grade (including the girls who are nearly done growing). The boys in his grade are his age and a year older due to redshirting. I remind him of this sometimes when he brings up his height. He has short parents so he is aware that he is not going to be tall. But my cousin's son grew 6 inches one summer in high school (late high school). He now towers over his short parents so genetics can be a funny thing sometimes. My son may be short but he is the coxswain on his rowing team so he is in charge. It has really boosted his confidence to know that he has a lot of control over these giant boys. Their team photos are hysterical. My son is a foot or more shorter than them and they are basically the same age.

Great, so you’re thrilled that your son is able to feel better about being short by seeking out positions of power over others, in this case taller boys. This is just what the world needs.

For goodness sakes, that PP is just trying to make her short DS feel better about being short.

My 13 yr old is 4'11". My DH is over 6'; I am barely 5'. We are both late bloomers. DS has yet to hit puberty. Zero signs of it, but in the last year or two, he has been packing on the weight. We tell him that's his body's way of preparing for growth vertically.

He once had to have an xray done on his foot for an injury. Dr said his bone growth was about 1 to 1.5 years behind his chronological growth.

He is, of course, bummed he is so much shorter than most of his friends, but we try to keep reminding him that he hasn't even hit puberty yet, and per his pediatrician, the later he hits puberty, the more time he has to grow.

But, I also tell him that unfortunately, he has a short mother, so he has a pretty good chance of being on the short side, too. So, no matter how tall he ends up being, don't let that stop you from achieving and enjoying life. We all have our "crosses" to bear. Focus on the positive - he's bright, does well in school and is a kind person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grade son is 4'10" and is the shortest kid by far in the grade (including the girls who are nearly done growing). The boys in his grade are his age and a year older due to redshirting. I remind him of this sometimes when he brings up his height. He has short parents so he is aware that he is not going to be tall. But my cousin's son grew 6 inches one summer in high school (late high school). He now towers over his short parents so genetics can be a funny thing sometimes. My son may be short but he is the coxswain on his rowing team so he is in charge. It has really boosted his confidence to know that he has a lot of control over these giant boys. Their team photos are hysterical. My son is a foot or more shorter than them and they are basically the same age.

Great, so you’re thrilled that your son is able to feel better about being short by seeking out positions of power over others, in this case taller boys. This is just what the world needs.

+1. This was a very strange response.

[Anonymous]

^ pp here.. forgot to add, my 6'+ DH didn't grow much in MS. He grew almost a foot in a year at 15 or 16.

[Anonymous]

Stop focusing on the fact that he may grow, since you don't know. Help him have confidence even if he does end up short.

[Anonymous]

OP -- if your son hasn't gone through puberty, then I'm sure he'll grow. If he has, then maybe he's not going to be super tall. My son is the same age as yours and they all grow at different rates. Some of these boys have grown a ton...but their voices have changed, they've filled out, they have armpit hair, etc. They've gone through puberty. My DS just started going through puberty in the past couple of months and the growth has started. I imagine he will continue to grow for the next 3 or so years. Starting puberty at 14 is not a "late bloomer"...pretty normal for a boy, I think.

[Anonymous]

If you are worried you should take him to pediatric endo. They will take an x ray of the hand and determine his bone age. If his bone age is younger than his actual age and he doesn't show start of puberty, he might be a late bloomer. Also known as constitutional growth delay. If he is in puberty and quite a bit, still go see endo. My DS was actually shorter than your DS around the same age. DH is 6' and I am a bit over 5'4". DS is now at 19, just a bit short of 6' and he grew almost an inch over summer. If your DS is very thin, eating a lot of food will help. It did for my DS. Also is your DS on any meds? Meds can interfere with growth, even if Drs say they can't. My DS was on and off Prozac for Selective Mutism as a younger child, and once he stopped it he grew. It was a combination of eating more, stopping the drugs, seeing Drs so that he can hear how important eating is to height. He is just over 130lbs even now! Some people just don't eat a lot. He grew a lot when 16, I think. I wouldn't say a foot in a year as the saying goes, but pretty close to it.

[Anonymous]

The captain of my basketball team was 5'5' during his freshman year and had a huge growth spurt between soph and junior years and he graduated being 6'6''.

[Anonymous]

As others have said, a lot can change in very short (!) order.

When my sons (fraternal twins) were 14-15, one was in the throes of puberty and grew to be 5'10''. His brother was 5'4" and just beginning puberty. It was not a fun year. Kid2 was very.frustrated and very.impatient. If I said "your time will come" once, I said it a million times.

They went to China for six weeks the summer before they turned 16, and when I picked them up at the airport I almost fell over. I swear the boy grew 5 inches in six weeks. It was insane. They're about to turn 17, kid1 is 5'10" and kid2 is 6'2" and they both eat every thing not tied down. And some things that are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As others have said, a lot can change in very short (!) order.

When my sons (fraternal twins) were 14-15, one was in the throes of puberty and grew to be 5'10''. His brother was 5'4" and just beginning puberty. It was not a fun year. Kid2 was very.frustrated and very.impatient. If I said "your time will come" once, I said it a million times.

They went to China for six weeks the summer before they turned 16, and when I picked them up at the airport I almost fell over. I swear the boy grew 5 inches in six weeks. It was insane. They're about to turn 17, kid1 is 5'10" and kid2 is 6'2" and they both eat every thing not tied down. And some things that are.

This is what my son's endocrinologist told us. She sees it all the time, late bloomer often means taller in the end.

[Anonymous]

Taller than the boys who grew early? I think this would only be true if the kid had the genetic potential for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taller than the boys who grew early? I think this would only be true if the kid had the genetic potential for it.

Clearlt genetic potential is there for that pp's sons. They are twins. And yes, endo told me in general, early growth spurt and puberty, means ending up shorter in most cases. Early puberty is generally not good for height.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As others have said, a lot can change in very short (!) order.

When my sons (fraternal twins) were 14-15, one was in the throes of puberty and grew to be 5'10''. His brother was 5'4" and just beginning puberty. It was not a fun year. Kid2 was very.frustrated and very.impatient. If I said "your time will come" once, I said it a million times.

They went to China for six weeks the summer before they turned 16, and when I picked them up at the airport I almost fell over. I swear the boy grew 5 inches in six weeks. It was insane. They're about to turn 17, kid1 is 5'10" and kid2 is 6'2" and they both eat every thing not tied down. And some things that are.

That's interesting! You have your own twin study...

[Anonymous]

My DH is 6'5". He grew 6 inches after turning 16.

[Anonymous]

My oldest is only 9, so I haven’t reached this point yet but I did make a mental note that two of my nephews really shot Up during their Jr and Sr years of high school so it could be the same with my son.

He just had his 9 y/o well visit and the doctor said puberty could start at 9, and when my jaw dropped he said he saw no signs of it yet in DS.

[Anonymous]

Height growth happens if the child is not entered puberty and if their bone age is on the younger side. When there is no space between the bones to grow (without bumping into each other) growth will not happen.

Even when they enter puberty, growth is determined by the bone age. So, you don't know how tall he will grow. If you have a very tall DH, there is a great chance that he will shoot up and it will happen relatively late in HS.