Usually, facial hair comes in the last stage of puberty. Some may get finer hair on their upper lip much earlier at age 11/12, but it usually doesn’t coarsen and become beardlike until 15+. Voice changing is not exact in terms of when it falls. Some boys are in mid puberty and some are late. My son’s voice changed at age 13, but he didn’t get axillary hair until nearly 16. If your son’s voice is changing early, like before 11, it can indicate early puberty. |
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My 17-year still doesn’t shave—maybe once every two months lol
Still baby face. Late grower |
Thank you. That is helpful. Voice changing started around 14 to 14.5 I think. He’s 15.5 now. Late to start puberty per his pediatrician but not clear how fast/far into it he is. |
I think parental height will be the best predictor. The general consensus is that boys stop growing by 16, but there are many cases in which late onset of puberty causes boys to grow even in their 20’s. Other than X-rays to look at growth plates, the better indicator is genitalia development, link below. Voice change, body odor, facial hair, shoe size, etc are not reliable. Since no one is going to enjoy putting a pair of calipers to the testes, it’s more of a waiting game. I’m waiting to see if my 16 year old is done growing - he has been steadily gaining height over the past couple of years, but hasn’t had a huge spurt yet. https://www.paediatricpearls.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Pubertal-stages-and-timings.pdf |
| ^ my sons didn’t even have growth spurts until 16. |
The outliers are much discussed and very real but yes it’s true most boys stop growing taller by end of 15th year. |