Parents of short boys

[Anonymous]

I had a good guy friend who was 5'5" as an adult. It did bother him...but he had so much going for him. He was cute and had an awesome personality. Everyone liked him - guys and women. He was just super friendly and likable. He never had a shortage of women liking him. He worked out and was in good shape, so that helped probably both in feeling good about himself and being attractive to women. Confidence Confidence Confidence

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 11 year old twin daughters. They are average height but still underweight since they were born so I can relate to the concerns you have.

I make sure that my daughters are very active (They ski, swim, play a variety of team sports). I tell them it doesn’t matter how skinny they are, their body is strong and capable.

That’s great! But it’s different for boys. Maybe it shouldn’t be, but it absolutely still is just different.

dp Yes, it is a positive to be thin and shorter.

[Anonymous]

I’m the mom to a very short 14 year old son.
He’s adopted and I suspect his birth parents were very small based on where he is from.

A friend recently suggested growth hormones and I always thought this was for medical issues vs genetics.

Anyone have any insight here?

I looked it up but I’m not clear on whether it’s helpful or worth it.

[Anonymous]

I posted before about my son. He started rowing in HS and became the coxswain for the team. They need short, lightweight kids and he fit the bill. He did it for a few years but stopped due to the big time commitment but it is definitely a great sport where they need little people. Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

My son is quite short and is 11. He doesn't particularly enjoy being short, and would prefer to be taller, but there is really nothing we or he can do. He has to accept it as part of life. There's quite a few things that he is decently good at (in school and his sport, which is soccer) so we just try to stress a focus on the positive.

[Anonymous]

My son is also very small - almost 10 and probably 25% for height (so not as small as your son but it's noticeable). Interestingly it hasnt really posed any issues yet - he's aware of it (especially because his 7 year old brother is basically the same size and people often think they're twins) but it doesn't seem to bother him. He is scrappy and athletic so that probably helps.

It's unlikely he will end up very short - I'm 5'7, DH is 5'10 and also grew 9 inches his freshman year in HS, so DS1 seems to be following that same pattern.

I agree that if he's struggling with it, get him into something where it's an advantage - jujitsu, wrestling, even soccer if he's fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a good guy friend who was 5'5" as an adult. It did bother him...but he had so much going for him. He was cute and had an awesome personality. Everyone liked him - guys and women. He was just super friendly and likable. He never had a shortage of women liking him. He worked out and was in good shape, so that helped probably both in feeling good about himself and being attractive to women. Confidence Confidence Confidence

I dated a guy like this in college. SO HOT though short. Now he's happily married and we had some good times - like other smaller guys he played soccer and had TONS of confidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teen, don't have him shop in the boy's dept. At least, not when that's obvious to him. Error on the side of doing whatever it takes to help him feel attractive. Make sure his clothes fit very well. Get them tailored. For very special occasions, get a custom made suit.

OP here, good advice. He looks great in skinny pants/jeans.

PP with the small older son - he looks AMAZING in skinny jeans (which he hates wearing but I make him occasionally) and also hasn't dealt with the weight gain a lot of his peers have during COVID.

[Anonymous]

My beautiful 5’7” cousin is married to a guy who is maybe 5’2” tops. He’s super into CrossFit type fitness and successful professionally and well-liked. I don’t know him well enough to know if his height bothers him or if he ever struggled with it, just sharing as another positive outcome of a short adult man with a great life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few of the short guys I knew at the Naval Academy became SEALS. They're the ones with the ideal body type for that rigor.

I also know a bunch of military guys who are short (and hot!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My beautiful 5’7” cousin is married to a guy who is maybe 5’2” tops. He’s super into CrossFit type fitness and successful professionally and well-liked. I don’t know him well enough to know if his height bothers him or if he ever struggled with it, just sharing as another positive outcome of a short adult man with a great life.

5'2 is a whole other animal. I actually think say, 5'5 and under for an adult man is different than say, 5'6 - 5'8 (tiny vs small vs transitioning to average around 5'9, 5'10). That's great to hear but SO unusual (the height, not the success).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the mom to a very short 14 year old son.
He’s adopted and I suspect his birth parents were very small based on where he is from.

A friend recently suggested growth hormones and I always thought this was for medical issues vs genetics.

Anyone have any insight here?

I looked it up but I’m not clear on whether it’s helpful or worth it.

They can be risky. How short is he? Like smaller than his peers or so small it's potentially a medical / hormonal issue?

[Anonymous]

My older one is 6feet3 and my 10 yr old 4feet6. It's really hard when two siblings are different height. One got mom side and other dad side genetics. Both of us are good height but my MIL is 5feet2.
I feel your pain OP . My little one started asking why he is so short and his brother tall.

[Anonymous]

We have a short boy too, and have visited a pediatric endrocrinologist in order to rule out any medical reason. I would encourage you to do that just for peace of mind and informattion/education.

In our talking with them we learned that growth hormones are both expensive (I can't remember exactly but something in the 10s of thousands for the course of treatment) and will not increase a child's height beyond what is genetically pre-determined. It seems like they are used only if the child is underweight or there is some other issue preventing normal growth. It is not something we pursued, our kid is just going to be on the shortish side (they think 5'6-5'8.0

The first course always seems to be an x-ray of the hand which will tell them how old the bone development is compared to the child's age. It's easy and non-invasive and seems to provide a good amount of information.

I'd agree with others -sports that rely on brains more than brawn are good - martial arts, wrestling, etc. Good luck -- I hope the teasing stops that is the hardest to deal with because it's almost always kids trying to relate rather than just be mean (at least in my kid's case.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is 5 ft 7 and it hasn't stopped him one bit. Girls chase him constantly. I've never understood the stigma. It seems like only the shallowest of shallow girls care.

Being 5’7” is average height, not short. It’s not the same thing as being 5’2” or 5’3”.