Shorter Sons

[Anonymous]

How to support a teen son who is on the shorter side? My nearly 14 year old is 5’0. He has friends nearly a foot taller than him. He is very concerned he won’t grow. I am short 5’1 but his Dad is 6’1. Anyone had their sons grow in their later teen years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How to support a teen son who is on the shorter side? My nearly 14 year old is 5’0. He has friends nearly a foot taller than him. He is very concerned he won’t grow. I am short 5’1 but his Dad is 6’1. Anyone had their sons grow in their later teen years?

My husband was 5 feet under he was 16. He is now 5’ 11”. My brothers all grew 10+ inches their junior years and continued growing in college. Lots of boys grow in their later teens.

[Anonymous]

I have an average height male friend who wasn’t much over 5’ when he left for college. He sat on pillows to drive. He’s around 5’10 now. Super late bloomer.

My nephew hit his big growth spurt around 15. He grew 6” in just a few months; so fast that his back is lined with stretch marks.

[Anonymous]

Is he in 8th grade or 9th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is he in 8th grade or 9th?

He is in 8th Grade. Birthday is in October.

[Anonymous]

My teen was shorter than me at the start of freshman year, around 5'0" or 5'1". I don't know the exact height, but I am 5'4" and was able to look down at him.

By the end of sophomore year, he was 5'8".

At the beginning of junior year, he is 5'10 and growing.

[Anonymous]

My 8th grade son is 4'10" and is the shortest kid by far in the grade (including the girls who are nearly done growing). The boys in his grade are his age and a year older due to redshirting. I remind him of this sometimes when he brings up his height. He has short parents so he is aware that he is not going to be tall. But my cousin's son grew 6 inches one summer in high school (late high school). He now towers over his short parents so genetics can be a funny thing sometimes. My son may be short but he is the coxswain on his rowing team so he is in charge. It has really boosted his confidence to know that he has a lot of control over these giant boys. Their team photos are hysterical. My son is a foot or more shorter than them and they are basically the same age.

[Anonymous]

He may not grow. Check out if there are any potential health issues. If not then the rapid being short is so debilitating to his confidence.

[Anonymous]

My kid grew 6 inches between ages 14 and 16. Some boys hit their growth spurt later!

[Anonymous]

That is totally normal!!

My family of 6’1”-6’4” fathers, brothers, nephews all hadny had growth spurt then. It was later HS and everyone in my family grows an I’m h or so in college.

My boys have gigantic feet, but haven’t shot up vertically yet. They are mid-size. One had a foot injury X-rays and we were told growth plates are wide open 13.5 year old.

Many of his friends already have changed voices and growth spurts.

But between 14-17 is very normal. Early puberty/growth has clouded what is normal.

[Anonymous]

He's probably a late bloomer. Probably a late bloomer in many aspects, slower to develop. Not all bad. Good in a way. For sports look to wrestling, cross country or track, tennis (as I'm writing this I'm about to list everything ... except basketball)

Encourage moderate use of the weight room and healthy eating of course.

[Anonymous]

My son was around 5'0 for a good portion of 8th grade and definitely one of the smaller kids (he looked like he was 11 or 12). He started growing near the end of the school year and was 5'3 or 5'4 by the beginning of 9th grade at almost 14. He's about 5'9 as a senior (almost 17) and might have another inch left to grow.

[Anonymous]

Op, do you know where he is in puberty? That may assure him there's plenty of time to grow.

My son is a later bloomer, he was among the shortest in 8th grade, with classmates (and teammates in soccer) a foot taller. Shorter than most of the girls, too! Then between 14 and 15, he grew over 4". He just turned 15 and at his sports physical last month the doctor said he should be hitting his peak growth period this year. He started puberty late, about 18 mos. later than average.

We're similar in that I'm 5'3" and DH is 6'2", so where my kids end up is quite a guess!

[Anonymous]

How has he tracked on the growth charts up until this point? That may provide some indication as to where he'll end up post puberty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grade son is 4'10" and is the shortest kid by far in the grade (including the girls who are nearly done growing). The boys in his grade are his age and a year older due to redshirting. I remind him of this sometimes when he brings up his height. He has short parents so he is aware that he is not going to be tall. But my cousin's son grew 6 inches one summer in high school (late high school). He now towers over his short parents so genetics can be a funny thing sometimes. My son may be short but he is the coxswain on his rowing team so he is in charge. It has really boosted his confidence to know that he has a lot of control over these giant boys. Their team photos are hysterical. My son is a foot or more shorter than them and they are basically the same age.

Great, so you’re thrilled that your son is able to feel better about being short by seeking out positions of power over others, in this case taller boys. This is just what the world needs.