They’re all different. My oldest shot up between 13-14, grew like six inches that year and then slowly grew about 2.5-3 more until age 17. My youngest just turned 14 and still has not had his spurt, is still in early puberty with no voice cracking etc. He will likely end up taller than his older brother if he gets a similar spurt, and they look very different from each other despite being full siblings. Looking at their peer groups, it is all so individual and variable.

Both of my boys had their major growth spurts from ages 12-14 (4-5 inches a year), then slowed down at 15. Older kid grew another couple of inches at ages 16-17 after a year pause. Younger kid is 15 now, so we'll see, but I'm expecting a bit more growth considering he's been mirroring his brother's growth curve exactly since about age 3.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't height polygenic though? So not just as simple as saying short mom and tall dad will equal shortish kid?

DH and I have the same heights as OP and her husband and our 15 year old is tall- certainly exceeds expectations given my height but then I remember that I have relatives who are considered tallish for our ethnicity.

As for whether boys grow after a long lag...not sure.

Just depends what genetic combination they get, IME. My own sons are 4in different in height, and we know a lot of families with fairly large height differences among siblings. Then you have to look at grandparents etc as well. I think people are just stating that if mom is 5’3”/5’4”, a 5’8” son is not really even outside of normal expectations (regardless of what dad’s height is). A 6’1” son wouldn’t be outside expectations either.

Same with our family. My two girls are 6” different. And that’s assuming the 13 year old is done growing which I think she is.

I look at my cousins and nieces and my siblings and see the big differences in height, hair coloring, eye color. We aren’t clones. Stop rushing to a specialist when your child is in the 30% in height.

Anonymous wrote:My son had a 9 month pause at 14-15. He is now growing again, almost 16, albeit more slowly. And he has passed the height projected by he basic prediction calculator. Sleep, exercise and protein. Not sure they help, but they certainly don’t hurt.

Similar for my son. At 16, the doctor thought he was probably done because he didn't grow at all from 15-16, and was already tall. But then, 16-17 he grew 1.5"! He's approaching 18 and I think he may have grown another half inch since last check.

He had a major change in sports during that growth year, he left high level swimming, which resulted in more sleep and rest. He still does lots of activity, but I really think the major caloric and sleep deficit improvement may have been a factor in the growth.

Anonymous wrote:I know a guy was 4' 10" at age 14, and he ends up with 6' 3".

He likely hadn't' had any puberty at age 14 though. OP's son has.

Anonymous wrote:Isn't height polygenic though? So not just as simple as saying short mom and tall dad will equal shortish kid?

DH and I have the same heights as OP and her husband and our 15 year old is tall- certainly exceeds expectations given my height but then I remember that I have relatives who are considered tallish for our ethnicity.

As for whether boys grow after a long lag...not sure.

Just depends what genetic combination they get, IME. My own sons are 4in different in height, and we know a lot of families with fairly large height differences among siblings. Then you have to look at grandparents etc as well. I think people are just stating that if mom is 5’3”/5’4”, a 5’8” son is not really even outside of normal expectations (regardless of what dad’s height is). A 6’1” son wouldn’t be outside expectations either.

Isn't height polygenic though? So not just as simple as saying short mom and tall dad will equal shortish kid?

DH and I have the same heights as OP and her husband and our 15 year old is tall- certainly exceeds expectations given my height but then I remember that I have relatives who are considered tallish for our ethnicity.

As for whether boys grow after a long lag...not sure.

Anonymous wrote:You are 5'3. He's five inches taller than you. That's almost exactly the norm for a son/mothe.

Yep.

Marrying tall can only do so much OP.

Your best bet to have a tall child was to have many of them.

Probably done but who knows. There will always be outliers.

Both of my DS had a big growth spurt over 2-3 years and then quickly slowed down (really noticeable when they do). Grew maybe 1-2 inches very slowly then done.

Looking at my sons and their friends,- most didn’t seem to grow noticeably much more in height after 15-16 (with the exception of a couple of very late bloomers).

Anonymous wrote:My son went through puberty at 12 and had a huge growth spurt between then and 14, but now at 15 hasn’t grown at all in the last year. He’s just under 5’8. Any chance he will still grow a little or have a second small spurt? Doctor seemed to think he’s done. I’m just under 5’4 and his dad is 6’1.

How much did he grow during his huge growth spurt?

You are 5'3. He's five inches taller than you. That's almost exactly the norm for a son/mothe.

Highly unlikely. The norm is one huge growth spurt, then they might eke out another inch after the spurt.

When did his feet stop growing?

Anonymous wrote:It would be very rare for a boy to stop growing at 15. Most grow until at least 17, and some even still grow at college

Wrong. Most boys are done growing in height by 15.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most likely he's done but maybe not. That's all anyone can tell you.

I get that. Just was surprised that the doctor sounded so definitive.

You're disappointed your son is shorter than you thought he'd end up and you'd like the doctor to be wrong. I get this.

Anonymous wrote:Most likely he's done but maybe not. That's all anyone can tell you.

I get that. Just was surprised that the doctor sounded so definitive.