Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, OP. I would definitely seek out a second consultation with a different endo. She does not sound like she answered all of your questions and her bedside manner seems like it might not have been great.

I found this on the web:

"Predicting growth can be a little tricky. While it is true that once a growth plate has fused there will be no lengthening of that bone, not all the growth plates in the body fuse at the same time.

Some bones, like the small bones of the wrist and feet, might fuse while other bones in the body still have open growth plates. Height will be determined primarily by the growth in the bones of the legs and the spine at this time.

It is quite possible that the small bones in the wrist have closed while the growth plates in the legs are still open, and that would allow for continued increases in height. You wouldn't know for sure unless you looked at an X-ray of the legs.

That said, hand and wrist X-rays are a standard use as a predictor of skeletal maturity in children, so it may be that your son has finished growing. The growth plates in the knees generally close at about the same time as the ones in the wrist.

The usual progression of fusion of growth plates is elbow first, then foot and ankle, then hand and wrist, then knee, then hip and pelvis, and last the shoulder and clavicle. It is possible that he has finished.

However, 14 would be quite early for a boy to stop growing unless he has gone through puberty early. Most boys don't stop growing until about age 17."

It's very possible your kid has open growth plates elsewhere. We grow late in my family. My sons really didn't have much of a growth spurt until after age 16. My older son left for college this Fall just as he turned 19 and has grown an inch in that time. I thought he was done. My brother grew 2 inches in college. Fwiw, my older son 'looked' like he was done growing. He was shaving, looked like a man, etc.

My 16-year old is baby faced, no facial hair and he seems to have more growing. No idea about his growth plates at this point, but he was tiny at age 14 and jus this year --16--grew some.

Anonymous wrote:For the trolls who keep saying “two short parents, what did you expect?”- the OP’s kid has the same genetically expected height as would the son of a 6’0 dad and 5’0 mom (around 5’8). He is far below the genetic expectation, so OP is right to seek medical advice.

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Anonymous wrote:Did anyone mention ethnicity? Asian men are genetically short. The average height is 5’5” for many Asian countries. Specifically India is 5’6”.

I don't think stating average height in other countries is helpful...presumably OP's son has been raised in the US with some semblance of an American diet.

Genetics, not diet. Japanese people are also genetically shorter.

I don't think genetics exist in a vacuum without other factors at play. Diet, environmental factors, etc impact height. That's why I don't think looking at the average height of a man in another country is really all that relevant.

+1 even within each race, people are taller now than they were 100 years ago because of diet and other environmental factors.

Celiac disease or other environmental factors can make one shorter.

to add...

A perfect example of two groups of the same ethnicity that have different average heights is Koreans. North Koreans are shorter than South Koreans because they lack the nutrition that South Koreans have.

North Korea is extreme in their lack of food and everything else that makes life worth living.


Genetics matter in African tribes who segregate The Dinka tribe in South Sudan has an average height of over 6 feet tall. More than a few are 7 feet tall men. Women are close in height. The citizens in the Republic of Sudan have an average height of 5.5”

Sudan people have had civil wars and genocides for decades. South Sudan is now independent. That’s a huge height difference for all of the Sudanese people even though they have had the same problems.

America is not a tall country.

Indeed, I never stated that only diet matters. I agreed with a PP that genes AND environment AND diet matters.

Only if you live in a country that has famine. Which isn’t the case here.

Anecdotal and not entirely on topic: I do think the heavily fortified foods (vitamin A/D added to milk, flours, cereals, etc) in the US make people slightly taller than they would otherwise be if left to genetics. My DH grew up in another country, much poorer than US. He was never hungry, had enough food, but no processed foods. Just homemade bread, meats, fruits, veggies, yogurt/cheese but no milk. He and one sibling were young adults when they came to US. His youngest siblings came to US when they were 3 and 5. The youngest siblings that grew up in the US are significantly taller than DH and sibling that came when they were fully grown.

The United States is 58th on the height scale of all the countries. A nation of immigrants with all different genetics have put the US in the middle of the pack.

Central Americans, Latinos, Mexicans—yes. Demo has brought height average down in the US

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Anonymous wrote:Sometimes kids end up shorter than both parents
I am 5’6” DH 5’7”
19 yo DD 1 is 5’8” finished growing by 15
16 yo DD 2 is 5’3” her final height, got her period 2 years ago and hasn’t grown in the past 9 months, it never occurred to us to consider medical interventions.

5’3 for a girl is very different than 5’3 final height for a boy. In fact my som goes to Children’s endocrinology because he has short stature despite having an average height dad and tall mom. Our Endo there is wonderful though, and has done lots of tests and is following him closely. She said she’d treat any boy with a final predicted height of 5’4 or less with growth hormone shots, so OP is right to feel worried/concerned.

Is that only when the parents are tall? Seems irresponsible to give growth hormones to a boy whose mother is 4’10” and father is 5’5” because 5’4” or less is very reasonable in that case.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes kids end up shorter than both parents
I am 5’6” DH 5’7”
19 yo DD 1 is 5’8” finished growing by 15
16 yo DD 2 is 5’3” her final height, got her period 2 years ago and hasn’t grown in the past 9 months, it never occurred to us to consider medical interventions.

5’3 for a girl is very different than 5’3 final height for a boy. In fact my som goes to Children’s endocrinology because he has short stature despite having an average height dad and tall mom. Our Endo there is wonderful though, and has done lots of tests and is following him closely. She said she’d treat any boy with a final predicted height of 5’4 or less with growth hormone shots, so OP is right to feel worried/concerned.

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Anonymous wrote:Did anyone mention ethnicity? Asian men are genetically short. The average height is 5’5” for many Asian countries. Specifically India is 5’6”.

I don't think stating average height in other countries is helpful...presumably OP's son has been raised in the US with some semblance of an American diet.

Genetics, not diet. Japanese people are also genetically shorter.

I don't think genetics exist in a vacuum without other factors at play. Diet, environmental factors, etc impact height. That's why I don't think looking at the average height of a man in another country is really all that relevant.

+1 even within each race, people are taller now than they were 100 years ago because of diet and other environmental factors.

Celiac disease or other environmental factors can make one shorter.

to add...

A perfect example of two groups of the same ethnicity that have different average heights is Koreans. North Koreans are shorter than South Koreans because they lack the nutrition that South Koreans have.

North Korea is extreme in their lack of food and everything else that makes life worth living.


Genetics matter in African tribes who segregate The Dinka tribe in South Sudan has an average height of over 6 feet tall. More than a few are 7 feet tall men. Women are close in height. The citizens in the Republic of Sudan have an average height of 5.5”

Sudan people have had civil wars and genocides for decades. South Sudan is now independent. That’s a huge height difference for all of the Sudanese people even though they have had the same problems.

America is not a tall country.

Indeed, I never stated that only diet matters. I agreed with a PP that genes AND environment AND diet matters.

Only if you live in a country that has famine. Which isn’t the case here.

Anecdotal and not entirely on topic: I do think the heavily fortified foods (vitamin A/D added to milk, flours, cereals, etc) in the US make people slightly taller than they would otherwise be if left to genetics. My DH grew up in another country, much poorer than US. He was never hungry, had enough food, but no processed foods. Just homemade bread, meats, fruits, veggies, yogurt/cheese but no milk. He and one sibling were young adults when they came to US. His youngest siblings came to US when they were 3 and 5. The youngest siblings that grew up in the US are significantly taller than DH and sibling that came when they were fully grown.

The United States is 58th on the height scale of all the countries. A nation of immigrants with all different genetics have put the US in the middle of the pack.

Central Americans, Latinos, Mexicans—yes. Demo has brought height average down in the US

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone mention ethnicity? Asian men are genetically short. The average height is 5’5” for many Asian countries. Specifically India is 5’6”.

I don't think stating average height in other countries is helpful...presumably OP's son has been raised in the US with some semblance of an American diet.

Genetics, not diet. Japanese people are also genetically shorter.

I don't think genetics exist in a vacuum without other factors at play. Diet, environmental factors, etc impact height. That's why I don't think looking at the average height of a man in another country is really all that relevant.

+1 even within each race, people are taller now than they were 100 years ago because of diet and other environmental factors.

Celiac disease or other environmental factors can make one shorter.

to add...

A perfect example of two groups of the same ethnicity that have different average heights is Koreans. North Koreans are shorter than South Koreans because they lack the nutrition that South Koreans have.

North Korea is extreme in their lack of food and everything else that makes life worth living.


Genetics matter in African tribes who segregate The Dinka tribe in South Sudan has an average height of over 6 feet tall. More than a few are 7 feet tall men. Women are close in height. The citizens in the Republic of Sudan have an average height of 5.5”

Sudan people have had civil wars and genocides for decades. South Sudan is now independent. That’s a huge height difference for all of the Sudanese people even though they have had the same problems.

America is not a tall country.

Indeed, I never stated that only diet matters. I agreed with a PP that genes AND environment AND diet matters.

Only if you live in a country that has famine. Which isn’t the case here.

Anecdotal and not entirely on topic: I do think the heavily fortified foods (vitamin A/D added to milk, flours, cereals, etc) in the US make people slightly taller than they would otherwise be if left to genetics. My DH grew up in another country, much poorer than US. He was never hungry, had enough food, but no processed foods. Just homemade bread, meats, fruits, veggies, yogurt/cheese but no milk. He and one sibling were young adults when they came to US. His youngest siblings came to US when they were 3 and 5. The youngest siblings that grew up in the US are significantly taller than DH and sibling that came when they were fully grown.

The United States is 58th on the height scale of all the countries. A nation of immigrants with all different genetics have put the US in the middle of the pack.

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are both above average — 6’ and 5’8”. My sister is 6’1” and DH’s brother is 6’4”. But not a single woman on DH’s side is taller than 5’2”. We are on track to have three girls shorter than me. Oldest is done growing and she’s 5’71/2”

That 1/2 is relevant to this thread. At 12.5, all doctors told us she was done growing. She had a wrist x-Ray for a sports injury. Totally fused. She started her period at 10.5.

When she was 13 she had a hip x-ray. Ortho says she might have some additional growth left. Sure enough, she grew another half an inch. Way after any usual indicator would say so.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are both above average — 6’ and 5’8”. My sister is 6’1” and DH’s brother is 6’4”. But not a single woman on DH’s side is taller than 5’2”. We are on track to have three girls shorter than me. Oldest is done growing and she’s 5’71/2”

That 1/2 is relevant to this thread. At 12.5, all doctors told us she was done growing. She had a wrist x-Ray for a sports injury. Totally fused. She started her period at 10.5.

When she was 13 she had a hip x-ray. Ortho says she might have some additional growth left. Sure enough, she grew another half an inch. Way after any usual indicator would say so.

In your case, you are taller than your husband

Nope. DH is the 6’ parent.

Anonymous wrote:

Plus, everybody knows 5’3” would be a devastating height for an adult man. It is what it is.

It's not a desired height, but it is not devastating. At my former DOJ office, I worked with a guy who is 5'3". He was married to a woman slightly shorter than him, had a good job. Again, I am not saying any guy desires 5'3" as his adult height, but it isn't "devastating."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are both above average — 6’ and 5’8”. My sister is 6’1” and DH’s brother is 6’4”. But not a single woman on DH’s side is taller than 5’2”. We are on track to have three girls shorter than me. Oldest is done growing and she’s 5’71/2”

That 1/2 is relevant to this thread. At 12.5, all doctors told us she was done growing. She had a wrist x-Ray for a sports injury. Totally fused. She started her period at 10.5.

When she was 13 she had a hip x-ray. Ortho says she might have some additional growth left. Sure enough, she grew another half an inch. Way after any usual indicator would say so.

In your case, you are taller than your husband

Plus, everybody knows 5’3” would be a devastating height for an adult man. It is what it is.

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are both above average — 6’ and 5’8”. My sister is 6’1” and DH’s brother is 6’4”. But not a single woman on DH’s side is taller than 5’2”. We are on track to have three girls shorter than me. Oldest is done growing and she’s 5’71/2”

That 1/2 is relevant to this thread. At 12.5, all doctors told us she was done growing. She had a wrist x-Ray for a sports injury. Totally fused. She started her period at 10.5.

When she was 13 she had a hip x-ray. Ortho says she might have some additional growth left. Sure enough, she grew another half an inch. Way after any usual indicator would say so.