12 year old son hasn't started puberty yet

[Anonymous]

I have no idea if this is normal (I'm a single mom, I grew up an only child, and he's my oldest boy) but my son (almost 12 and a half) has shown zero signs of developing. He is still mistaken for his sister on the phone, he has zero body hair, he's around 5'1", and I don't know if I should be saying this on here but his penis is only about an inch long and his testicles look like peanuts. I just have no idea if this is normal? Should I take him to a doctor? A pediatrician or an endocrinologist or something?

[Anonymous]

You saw his penis?

[Anonymous]

omfg

[Anonymous]

Good thing has not started.
Once puberty starts, he'll slow down growing.

He's not even 13. It's all right!

[Anonymous]

OP, I could have written your post word for word. Looking around at his classmates, I have to assume he's within the range of normal -- but I don't really know what the range is.

I know he's not supposed to have a full chest of hair at age 12.5, but his little baby-size peen and girl voice and babyish demeanor does give me pause. (to weirdos: we go camping together, so yes, I've seen his nether region and it looks exactly like it did when I was changing his diaper 10 years ago).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good thing has not started.
Once puberty starts, he'll slow down growing.

He's not even 13. It's all right!

I thought puberty is accompanied by a growth spurt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good thing has not started.
Once puberty starts, he'll slow down growing.

He's not even 13. It's all right!

I thought puberty is accompanied by a growth spurt.

This poster is wrong.

Boys don't stop growing until their late teens at the earliest.

[Anonymous]

I have no idea why first posters are horrified. You're his parent, of course you have to see to his health and everything it entails.

No puberty at 12 is still within the range of normal, but if you're worried, don't hesitate to talk with his ped. It has a lot to do with heredity. Perhaps his father was a late bloomer as well.

Age of puberty has no bearing whatsoever on his final height (and other measurements!) as an adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good thing has not started.
Once puberty starts, he'll slow down growing.

He's not even 13. It's all right!

I thought puberty is accompanied by a growth spurt.

This poster is wrong.

Boys don't stop growing until their late teens at the earliest.

Once boys hit puberty, the window of time where they will grow is then set. If they are short when they hit puberty, there is less time for them to grow in height. The more growing they get in prior to the onset of puberty, the better, for height purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I have no idea why first posters are horrified. You're his parent, of course you have to see to his health and everything it entails.

No puberty at 12 is still within the range of normal, but if you're worried, don't hesitate to talk with his ped. It has a lot to do with heredity. Perhaps his father was a late bloomer as well.

Age of puberty has no bearing whatsoever on his final height (and other measurements!) as an adult.

Its weird to see a 12 year old's penis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You saw his penis?

He doesn't have that strong a sense of modesty yet and I'm his mother. So, yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I have no idea why first posters are horrified. You're his parent, of course you have to see to his health and everything it entails.

No puberty at 12 is still within the range of normal, but if you're worried, don't hesitate to talk with his ped. It has a lot to do with heredity. Perhaps his father was a late bloomer as well.

Age of puberty has no bearing whatsoever on his final height (and other measurements!) as an adult.

Its weird to see a 12 year old's penis.

Apparently it's not if you go camping?

Anyway, just as when he was an infant children of all ages develop at different rates. If you are concerned ask his pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I have no idea why first posters are horrified. You're his parent, of course you have to see to his health and everything it entails.

No puberty at 12 is still within the range of normal, but if you're worried, don't hesitate to talk with his ped. It has a lot to do with heredity. Perhaps his father was a late bloomer as well.

Age of puberty has no bearing whatsoever on his final height (and other measurements!) as an adult.

Its weird to see a 12 year old's penis.

Good Lord, you're criticizing a single mother worried about her son's development and taking a look at his penis? What if she was a pediatrician and did this every day?

You ARE a piece of work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I could have written your post word for word. Looking around at his classmates, I have to assume he's within the range of normal -- but I don't really know what the range is.

I know he's not supposed to have a full chest of hair at age 12.5, but his little baby-size peen and girl voice and babyish demeanor does give me pause. (to weirdos: we go camping together, so yes, I've seen his nether region and it looks exactly like it did when I was changing his diaper 10 years ago).

Compared to his classmates, I still feel as if my son is behind. Over the summer, we would go to the pool and he would play basketball in the pool with his friends, and I couldn't help but notice most of them had armpir hair already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I have no idea why first posters are horrified. You're his parent, of course you have to see to his health and everything it entails.

No puberty at 12 is still within the range of normal, but if you're worried, don't hesitate to talk with his ped. It has a lot to do with heredity. Perhaps his father was a late bloomer as well.

Age of puberty has no bearing whatsoever on his final height (and other measurements!) as an adult.

Its weird to see a 12 year old's penis.

Good Lord, you're criticizing a single mother worried about her son's development and taking a look at his penis? What if she was a pediatrician and did this every day?

You ARE a piece of work.

But she is not a pediatrician. Just a weirdo.