Late blooming 14 year old boy - visit to the pediatrician

[Anonymous]

My son is 16.5 now, and still doesn’t have much in the way of facial or body hair (he is very proud of his one armpit hair). He is an athlete but can’t yet put on muscle - he has that lanky childlike look rather than the manly muscled look many 16 year old athletes have. And because he doesn’t have the bulk or muscle mass he isn’t progressing in the sport as he likes. So I hear you!

Boys care about this just as much as girls care about getting hips and breasts. You can tell them not to care, but they do.

Puberty has been really uneven for my son, not the textbook progress through the tanner stages. His height came first, then his voice changed overnight in 9th grade, and his leg and arm hair came in the past few months. So sympathy, OP. One thing to remind him is that there are lots and lots of kids like him - “everyone” doesn’t get have a deep voice and a mustache. It can help to remind himself of that (it helps a really tiny bit)

[Anonymous]

Both of my boys were late bloomers and really neither of them grew until they were much closer to 16.5 or 17. But now they are both older and of course look like their peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My issue with these threads is they often draw stories of...and then my son grew and was taller than all the other boys in the land!

Some boys are just short. 50 percent of them won't hit 5-9. Different issue than late puberty of course, but even some of the late puberty boys will just be short. And yes, this will affect many sports. I think it's so important to help boys know this is both possible and perfectly fine and they will thrive. There are many things to do other than competitive sports in high school and beyond and sports can be enjoyed at a recreational level too.

OP here.

I get this but it's not about final adult height but really about late puberty. Personally, I think he looks fine for his age. Sure, maybe a little young and small but not dramatically so. It's my DS who is having the problems with it. There has been a lot of ink spilled over the impact of boys and late puberty.

I'm average height for a woman and DH is 6'4". We have zero illusions about DS being 6' or taller and that's certainly not an interest or concern.

Not saying it's you OP, but of course the bias against short men is the underlying theme of all this. Why are they panicked about late puberty? Because for that brief moment in time, they are the short boy. And yes, I understand puberty is also about them filling out, voice change, etc. so more than just about height but it's a big factor. Please note there are very few threads with people wringing their hands about girls late to puberty.

The comparison between boys and girls here isn’t late puberty for both. It’s actually early puberty for girls and late puberty for boys. Both boys and girls can struggle with those respective time frames. Of course not always. Some kids roll with whatever is in front on them. Some need some extra support.

I’m not sure what point you’re making here? We are all deathly afraid our daughters will be hit on too young and are boys will end up short? Because society is F-ed up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My issue with these threads is they often draw stories of...and then my son grew and was taller than all the other boys in the land!

Some boys are just short. 50 percent of them won't hit 5-9. Different issue than late puberty of course, but even some of the late puberty boys will just be short. And yes, this will affect many sports. I think it's so important to help boys know this is both possible and perfectly fine and they will thrive. There are many things to do other than competitive sports in high school and beyond and sports can be enjoyed at a recreational level too.

OP here.

I get this but it's not about final adult height but really about late puberty. Personally, I think he looks fine for his age. Sure, maybe a little young and small but not dramatically so. It's my DS who is having the problems with it. There has been a lot of ink spilled over the impact of boys and late puberty.

I'm average height for a woman and DH is 6'4". We have zero illusions about DS being 6' or taller and that's certainly not an interest or concern.

OP, when did you and your DH hit puberty? It’s highly heritable so that could be a factor here too. I think it’s fine to see a ped endocrinologist sooner if you’d like rather than wait for the pediatrician to recheck him in 6 months.

[Anonymous]

Somewhat similar story. My son fell on the chart thojfh - went from 90th percentile in height at around age 11 to 30th at 14. And no puberty. I was pretty pushy and we saw an endo and did the growth hormone stim test when he didn’t grow much in six months and voila - he was in fact growth hormone deficient. He’s been treated for the last two months and looks older and has grown almost an inch (he was growing 1-2 inches a year previously, not enough for a boy of that age).

He is still just barely Tanner stage 2 though. We will see if endo wants to do testosterone soon since he is almost 15.

My understanding is that a low dose of testosterone to jump start puberty is ok if there’s nothing going on at age 14.

[Anonymous]

Have you talked to him about his gender? There’s a chance that he could transition and be a normal-height girl?

[Anonymous]

My son, a few months younger than yours is about the same size. Not worried but has some short people in the family.