Anonymous wrote:I remember lots of guys in 8th and 9th grade who hadn't hit their growth spurt yet. I'm a very petite female (5'0) and I remember being the same height as many of them.

Not just that you remember - there are a lot of kids in 8th grade at our middle who haven’t hit it yet. my kid is also 13.5 and has more to grow. Ghost of hair on lip, but still 8+ inches short of his dad.

Our daughter is age 7 and we didn't take much notice that she was quite short for her age. We have kept her class photos and this year we noticed her lack of height. She seems to have lots of friends but I think some of the younger children have mentioned why is she short. The children in her class have never said anything to her because they must be used to her. She seems happy enough but says every now and then if she will get taller. I mean I am about 5'2 and my husband is 5'9. I know as a child I was short for ages and I was the shortest in my family. It just seems strange as our son who is 9 and his height is fine. We also have another son who is 5 and he is a few inches taller than their sister. So maybe she will take after me and just be short. We are thinking about getting her checked out even to make us more aware if there us a problem.

Anonymous wrote:Overthinking. DS was a late bloomer. Didn’t hit full blown puberty until 16. He’s now almost 6’5” and still appears to be growing. He’s 17 1/2.

I hope he stopped growing for his sake. It’s not easy to be too tall or too small.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son seems to be growing at a way slower rate than his friends. My son just started high school and his trousers had to be taken up his shirts are aged 9 his blazer had to be altered lastly his shoes are Size 11. He always seems abit shorter than his friends. He as 2 really good friends I think they are about 4'10. My son is 4'8. It's his first year at high school and he is already barely coming up to some of their shoulders. There are 3 altogether that's the shortest in his year. They have a councillor at school as some of the older children call them names and always getting pushed aside. Alot of the girls like them they get called cute shorty he just doesn't like it. My daughter on the other hand is 9 and already his height.. her height is like her friends so on a par with them.

If your son is 4’8” as a freshman in high school, I’d take him to a pediatric endocrinologist to make sure everything is okay. That is extremely small for age, even if family genetics trend on the small side.

+ 1. That is the height my 5th grader was at his 10 year old checkup and he’s average height. Solid 50th percentile for years.

My son just turned 14 and he us one of the shortest in his year. The thing is my 12 year old daughter is taller than him. My husband and I are 5'4 and 5'6. My parents are 4'9 mother and 5'5 my father. My husbands parents are 4'8 mother and 5'4 father. We came from the Philippines and started our family here. The women are usually shorter than the men. So we don't really know why our son is short. He has not grown in 3 years and he is now 4'10. Our daughter is 5'3 and I think she may still be growing. I find he is about the same height as the girls..He seems OK with his height now that he has got over the fact his sister is taller than him. He seems to like the company of the shorter people. So being with his grandmother's is great. Also some of his aunts are pretty short. They are mostly between 4'8 and 4'11. So he loves being with them and some of the shorter pupils at school. .

Anonymous wrote:My son seems to be growing at a way slower rate than his friends. My son just started high school and his trousers had to be taken up his shirts are aged 9 his blazer had to be altered lastly his shoes are Size 11. He always seems abit shorter than his friends. He as 2 really good friends I think they are about 4'10. My son is 4'8. It's his first year at high school and he is already barely coming up to some of their shoulders. There are 3 altogether that's the shortest in his year. They have a councillor at school as some of the older children call them names and always getting pushed aside. Alot of the girls like them they get called cute shorty he just doesn't like it. My daughter on the other hand is 9 and already his height.. her height is like her friends so on a par with them.

If your son is 4’8” as a freshman in high school, I’d take him to a pediatric endocrinologist to make sure everything is okay. That is extremely small for age, even if family genetics trend on the small side.

My son seems to be growing at a way slower rate than his friends. My son just started high school and his trousers had to be taken up his shirts are aged 9 his blazer had to be altered lastly his shoes are Size 11. He always seems abit shorter than his friends. He as 2 really good friends I think they are about 4'10. My son is 4'8. It's his first year at high school and he is already barely coming up to some of their shoulders. There are 3 altogether that's the shortest in his year. They have a councillor at school as some of the older children call them names and always getting pushed aside. Alot of the girls like them they get called cute shorty he just doesn't like it. My daughter on the other hand is 9 and already his height.. her height is like her friends so on a par with them.

My son turned 14 in April and while he grew a lot this year (3 inches), he's still on the shorter side (5'4") with no change to his voice yet. I know he feels uncomfortable being behind his friends, but his pediatrician said that he's just at the very beginning puberty now. My husband didn't go through puberty until 15 1/2 so I think my son will just be a late bloomer. I know it's easier to worrying, but some kids just do things in their own time.

Why is that on the short side for a 14-year-old? Doesn't seem on the short side at all. My DS was way below 5' at 13, heck he was like a second grader! He is almost 6' at 22.

It's on the shorter side in that it is somewhat below average, but it's not extremely short. I don't see anything inaccurate in what the OP said. That was my son's exact height at that age, and he was 42nd or 43rd percentile, if I recall.

This is all anecdotal. I suspect everything is fine, but would check with his pediatrician if you have concerns. It seems normal enough based on my now 16 year old, but that's just one data point, which isn't going to tell you anything about your own kid.

I would like an update from op if she is around.

Normal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your child get enough outdoor time?
Humans are like plants. You need proper food and nutrients to grow and the sun helps.
My son grew about 4 inches last year. From 5 feet to 5'4 now. We measure him every birthday. The neighbor who is a year older at 12 is the same for the past few years, which is about 1 foot shorter than my son. He comes up to my son's shoulders now. Don't know what happened. The mother is about 5'7, much taller than me (I'm 5'2). The father is about 6 feet and my Dh is about 6 feet as well.
Their other son is about 14 years old and he's a bit shorter than my son too. The mom complaints they don't go outside much. It could be as much as once a week.

We don't see them often outside. When they do, you notice the difference.

WTF?

Hey…I was with her for the first couple sentences. It makes sense maybe? Outside time and summer means more sleep and more vit D, and maybe that leads to more growth? But then it took an incoherent turn..

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you are overthinking it to the extent that it is worth asking the pediatrician. I have a similar kid (actually he's 14) and we are little worried. There are tests you can do to rule out potential issues. Of course having a short stature isn't in itself an issue--but if he has changed his growth pattern or falls really out of step with siblings or parents' height, it is worth asking about.

FWIW, I am average and my husband is very tall and it seems likely that my son will be very short. It is surprising (genetics are funny) but I am reassured
that there is nothing wrong and really nothing to do.

I know this is old but I was curious how tall your son ended up? We are seeing an endocrinologist this upcoming week.

All of the "don't be concerned, my son grew x number of inches when he was in his late teens", etc. is great, but it doesn't apply to another individual. In the vast majority of these cases, yes the boys do grow and reach their expected height. But the concern is for the few ones who might have an actual medical issue, and a parent doesn't want to miss the window where treatment is possible.

There's nothing wrong with bringing it up to the pediatrician, and seeking additional evaluation (e.g., endocrinologist) if you feel something might be off.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of obsessing over your son’s size, you should reassure him that he is worthy regardless of how tall he is.

There is always this poster.

Physical development can be (usually is but maybe not always) very important to boys that age. It's more than just height. There can be emotional and psychological side effects to delayed puberty that no parental assurance can make go away. Boys are more likely than girls to feel psychological stress from later puberty. Don't pretend their stress is nothing.

That boy is more likely to be stressed if those around him associate his height with his self-worth.

Yeah, like himself and his peers. Not his mom. This isn't a parent-led issue.

You think parent perceptions of their kids don’t affect the kids’ wellbeing? Seriously?

You are completely discounting the kid himself and his ability to feel his own feelings for himself. My perception of my late to puberty kid? He's beautiful and awesome, just like he's always been. His perception of himself is completely different.

+1 my DS was 5'1.25" at 14. I never said anything about his height except that he's just a late bloomer, and it will happen. But, he felt it. How can he not when he was teased by kids about his height, or lack thereof, and all his friends, even girls were taller than him?

He's almost 19, and about 5'11", and probably/possibly still growing. Some of his long time friends still call him "short" even though he's now several inches taller than they are. It's now become a joke, like calling a 6'5" 300lb guy "tiny".

He was also the "slow and steady" type who grew an average of 2" per year. He kept growing past the age of 17 even as most of his friends stopped.