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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My 10 year son is 5th percentile for height and has been since he was 2.  His doctor has checked everything, nutritionist said he’s a fantastic eater, he’s super healthy and this is just the way he is supposed to be.  Unfortunately he has been struggling with it a lot lately and I really don’t know what else to say.  It doesn’t help that all his friends are super big for their age.  He’s the shortest kid in his grade and he’s starting to get teased by his friends and classmates about being so little.  My brother was like him growing up and is 5’5” now which is probably where my son will end up.  Being short really bothers my brother to this day so he will unfortunately have no good advice for my son.  Does anyone have good advice on how to help him when he says he hates being little and dealing with the teasing?  Advice for boys only please, as it’s very different being a short girl.  Thanks.[/quote]

Hi OP, my almost-12-year-old is also very short, and my DH is 5'6".  I am several inches taller, but it looks like DS is on the DH trajectory.  He is so short that he still needs a booster seat in the car and also extremely slim (like 1st percentile slim, despite being a great eater).  It's pretty clearly genetics, and like your son his friends look giant to me.

My son has thankfully not been teased, to my knowledge.  That would bother me.  If it feels like it's becoming a real problem and is impacting his self esteem, and is happening at school, I would consider speaking with the teacher.  This trends towards bullying in my mind.

There's a wonderful book from the 1980s called Growing Up Feeling Good, by Ellen Rosenberg.  It was my growing up bible as a tween/teen, and my DS now enjoys it too.  It has a great chapter on body types and coming to terms with your body especially if you are on one end of a spectrum (tall, short, fat, skinny, etc).

I will say that my DH is very professionally successful, as a lawyer, and several other men in his extended family who are quite short are also professionally successful.  DH is also very athletic--he loves basketball and pre-pandemic played regularly with a group of guys.  I don't know if there are short male role models, including pro athletes, who might be helpful for your son to know about, but maybe it's worth exploring?  Best of luck.  It can be hard to be a short boy.[/quote]

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