Teen Boy Concerned About Height (lack of)

[Anonymous]

Well, I’m 5’6” and DH is 5’7”. Some women don’t really care about height.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But the truth is that this kid does not have the genetic to be tall.

While his mother is short, he has a tall father, and you don't know about his grandparents. You cannot make a blanket statement like that.

[Anonymous]

What about growth hormones?

[Anonymous]

Eh, all these ‘pump him with hormones’; don’t worry about it

I would have him study engineering and computer science and go into tech, he will make good money. Business is harder b/c sales and leadership discriminate against short.

Money will fix any dating problems, let’s get real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I’m 5’6” and DH is 5’7”. Some women don’t really care about height.

That’s true. Some won’t. And ultimately, all that matters is that someone won’t care. OP’s son might be gay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about growth hormones?

What about all of these "growth hormones"? Those hormones are for people who have a diagnosed hormone deficiency. They are not supposed to be used just to make a short kid tall. It doesn't work that way.

[Anonymous]

Why do people think he will have a huge growth spurt if his own doctor predicts that he will be 5'6" or 5'7"? He's probably been slightly below average on the growth charts. Not everyone can expect to be above average in height.

Do most DCUMers really find doctors to pump their average or slightly below average sized kids full of growth hormones?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is 6’2” and was never a tall kid / tallest kid in his class. He continues to grow all through college - needing longer pants. I’ve seen pics of his work his friends in jr high and HS where they are all roughly the same height. The other men are now 5’9-5’11” as adults. You never know.

yes, my husband is 6'4" and grew 6" of this in college. We went to his high school reunion and that's all anyone said to him: "nice to see you! holy crap: when did you get so tall?"

This is how the men in my family are as well. They all continue to grow several inches in college. I (female) even went from 5’5” to 5’6.5” in college.

Many of my nephews and my brother were not over 5’11”/6 ft when they graduated HS and now they all range from 6’1-6’4”. I’m fairly certain this will happen to my sons based on their predicted height from 2 years old and our heights. Dr showed us the formula. Now as tween’s they are more along 50% height which doesn’t factor into delayed constitutional growth down the road. Some that grew early will be high on the curve at 13, but not at 17/18.

It’s obvious this isn’t a hormonal thing so don’t worry about it as there is really nothing you can do.

Get sleep, exercise and eat healthy. We are all organic for meat, fruit, vegetables and dairy products. I’m not feeding them chemically processed shit and hormone laden crap to try to get height and early puberty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 14 yr old is 5’3 and desperately wants to be taller and is concerned he won’t get to at least 5’9. His dad is 6’1 but I am 5’0. The doctor predicts based on his growth chart 5’6 to 5’7. How rough is it for teens/men on the shorter side? He is not only concerned with sports but dating (e.g. girls like taller boys). I so far have told him that he can’t control how tall he will be and that he isn’t done growing and that when he achieves his full height (whatever it is) that his character, personality and efforts in life are more important in life than height.

He can control it a little. He needs to get a lot of sleep--they grow when they are asleep. Get his bed and wake time on a schedule; very important.

Also, don't have him overexert on weights. The energy needs to go to his height, not repairing muscles. When he's not growing any more, he can then concentrate on muscle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I’m 5’6” and DH is 5’7”. Some women don’t really care about height.

That’s true. Some won’t. And ultimately, all that matters is that someone won’t care. OP’s son might be gay.

Wow, you must be a real catch.

[Anonymous]

There's no point in borrowing trouble and worrying about this now. What will be, will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's no point in borrowing trouble and worrying about this now. What will be, will be.

I agree. Help him accept and love who he is now. Growth hormones, hanging every night, and pumping him full of meat and milk in the hope that he might get one more inch sends him the message that his health doesn't matter and that he is not good enough the way he is. ( In addition to the physical and psychological effects of all that!)

In the real world, as adults, height does not affect your life re: employment and success. And as for a partner, there is a lid for every pot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at Tanner's chart for puberty. Where is he on the chart? Did he have a major growth spurt yet? All depends, many boys that had a growth spurt and stopped at 14, might stay the same height. Others will grow a foot at 16 or later. Why not see pediatric endocrinologist if this will help ease his mind? Is he very skinny? If he is, nutrition plays huge role in height. Look it up online.

He is a 1 or 2 at most on that scale. He is thin (eats like a horse) but not super skinny..about 110 lbs. He has grown 3.5 inches in a year. Not sure what that all adds up to.

As a 1 or 2 on Tanner's scale, he probably has a lot more growing to do. Add that he is lanky and it sounds like he had a first growth, but next big one is coming up. If he grew a foot and is muscular and has a beard, then I would worry, in this case it sounds like he has plenty of growth left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH... grew a foot over a summer (plus a bit).

I've read/heard about such growth every now and then, yet on the tanners scale the PHV is 3.5 inches over a year+. To grow a foot+ in three months must've been such an outlier - like one in a million maybe?

on the other hand I suppose kids shoot up in summer because they go outside more and have regular meals and sleep in a lot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But the truth is that this kid does not have the genetic to be tall.

You don't know that. I have a friend who is 4'11" and her husband is over six feet. Her son was tiny as a kid and we all thought he had his mother's genes. His sophomore year in HS he shot up to well over 6 feet.