Tiny Teen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just for some perspective, DH is 5'3" and life is not too terrible. He married a short woman (5') and is a successful professional with two awesome kids and is financially comfortable.

Just to throw out there that being short is jot the end of the world as some are implying.

I don't think the OP was implying that being short is the end of the world.

She is 6-1. Her husband is 6-5. It's perfectly reasonable for her to wonder why her son is well below the 50th percentile for his age. Short people are amazing and have great lives, but two people of that height are very unlikely to produce one of these wonderful people.

No, not really. I work with somebody who is 6-5. His fraternal twin brother is 5-8. And my 5-3 mother and 5-8 father produced a 6-0 son.

I think some of you really need a basic genetics class. Of course siblings can vary widely in height from each other and that's likely because their parents vary widely in height (relative to the mean for their sex). In your twins case, it's very possible they had a very tall dad and a shorter mom or vice versa. But it is pretty unusual for two extremely tall people to produce a significantly shorter than average son. A 6-1 woman and a 6-5 man are WAY off the normal growth chart (99th percentile+). They are both 7+ inches taller than the mean. It is absolutely a red flag that they have a child below the 50th percentile for height. Maybe everything is fine, but why not get the kid checked out.

Your just below average height parents producing a just above average height son isn't particularly relevant either.

Yeah, no. Even if height is highly heritable, there are still going to be lots of exceptions. Tall parents with short kids, short parents with tall kids. And that's entirely apart from regression to the mean.

What both of you are saying is true. I don't know about lots of exceptions, but yes there will be exceptions. And yes with this kid's family history, it's a red flag but possibly perfectly normal.

[Anonymous]

A 95 lb. 15 year old boy IS tiny. Maybe to some tiny means short but that is their definition (or issues).

If the average weight of a 15 year old boy is 126 lbs then 95lbs is tiny. His BMI is 15.3 and in the 1st percentile. Persistent malnourishment can lead to many problems beyond just being on the shorter side. You people are all wrapped up in your own issues about short kids rather than seeing that a child not on the growth chart for weight could mean a whole host of things!

[Anonymous]

OP, you may wish to read up on reversion to the mean.

That said, he sounds like my brother at that age. He is now 6'5".

[Anonymous]

OP when did your husband and you started growing? what about your 16-yo?

[Anonymous]

ADHD medication? Steroids? Op, is he on any meds?

[Anonymous]

What are his eating habits like? It'd be more concerned about low weight if he's eating normally than about height. If he's not getting enough nutrients, that can affect height growth. My DS is small and very thin, and he doesn't like to eat much -- just never has. The doctor said that his height has been going up incrementally and thus is not concerned but that if his weight stops going up on the curve, he would be a bit more worried. I only say this because he's not a great eater. If your kid is not eating much or not eating at all healthfully, then I might chock it up to that and seek to improve his diet or try to find out if there's something more going on (celiac, allergies, etc.).

It sounds like you have a good relationship with your doctor, so just call and say what you said here -- that you know it seems like everything is fine, but you can't help but worry about it and wonder if there's some specialist you should take him to just to see if there's anything more going on.

[Anonymous]

OP here, few questions answered. I was my height when I started high school. I played volleyball so was measured regularly. My DH continued to grow through high school. He also played a sport and was about 6' when he started high school. His brother started high school at 6'. He was in full puberty by 8th grade.

No ADHD meds. He is an excellent eater, probably my best from variety to caloric intake. You all have given me much to think about. I am going to put in a call to his doctor tomorrow just to go back over our discussion and next steps. It has been bothering me enough since the appointment that I should speak with her again.

[Anonymous]

I haven't read everything by how much does he sleep? Apparently when you are in a deep sleep a growth hormone is released and you grow until your growth plates close. I found that my son grows more when he sleeps more

[Anonymous]

OP- parent of delayed DD who wrote earlier- follow your instincts. Everyone told me my DDCwould be fine based on our height, and family genes but she was so small, tiny really, compared to all her peers that it bothered me, just like you mention it bothers you. f it's nothing, you will have piece of mind, and if there is something going on, you can get on top of it. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Hopefully you can read it and don't need to be a subscriber

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/national/health-science/at-12-he-had-stopped-growing-the-reason-was-a-surprise/2017/02/06/3bebc9dc-cdea-11e6-b8a2-8c2a61b0436f_story.html

[Anonymous]

I would also be wondering if his body is absorbing nutrients. For a 15 year old 95 pounder who is a great eater--something's not adding up. The height wouldn't concern me but the weight seems like a red flag.

[Anonymous]

Has he been tested for Celiac?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully you can read it and don't need to be a subscriber

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/national/health-science/at-12-he-had-stopped-growing-the-reason-was-a-surprise/2017/02/06/3bebc9dc-cdea-11e6-b8a2-8c2a61b0436f_story.html

OMG. I hadn't ever considered this. One thing that I notice with him --- TMI alert ----- is when he goes the bathroom it is giant. Like shockingly large, double flusher, which has always been a family joke. He also is tired a lot but I figured that was part of being a high schooler and I don't own a thermometer either. My SIL has Chron's and my husband is Ashkenazi Jew. Hmmmmmm....

Also we haven't tested for Celiac. For either Chron's or Celiac he doesn't have any sort of stomach discomfort or bloating. I hadn't really considered either due to not traditional symptoms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would also be wondering if his body is absorbing nutrients. For a 15 year old 95 pounder who is a great eater--something's not adding up. The height wouldn't concern me but the weight seems like a red flag.

That is really my concern issue. I know the first posters were getting on me about their short children which really isn't my concern. He weighs 95 lbs. That isn't even close to the average weight of a girl his age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also OP, he might just wind up being smaller than all of you.

My dad is 6'4" -- his sister is 5'0". Same set of genetics, different outcomes.

I'm 5'4" woman.

Father 6'2", brother 6'3", sister 5'9", mother 5'8". I am not adopted.

My girl cousins are all 5'10". Great paternal grandmother 4'9" married to 6'0" man. I guess I have some of her genetics. Though I always had tonsil issues as a kid (never taken out) and I wonder if that delayed height. I heard that breathing issues in sleep are sometimes culprit.