Anecdotal but my sister and I grew up in America and I have 3 siblings who grew up in Korea. Sister and I who grew up in America are both 5'7-5'8" and weigh around 135-140ish. Sisters who grew up in Korea are 5'4" and 110ish. Brother who grew up in Korea (but was younger than all 4 sisters and who has a lot more access to food) is 6'2".

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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.

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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.

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Anonymous wrote:What size are his feet? Typically there is correlation with height. When’s the last time his feet grew? My endo told me that feet grow first and then the body catches up. My son’s growth spurt happened two years after his feet growth spurt.

Yes, op when was the last time his feet grew? That should give you some indication if he’s still growing.

NP here. My son's feet just seem to grow steadily in half sizes. He's never had a huge foot size increase. I guess even a half size up might indicate he's still growing?

yes, feet are the first to grow. My DD grew into her puppy dog feet. She's about 5'6" now, but was always just average, or slightly below. All of us were late bloomers. My son was like 35%ile for most of his life; he's now 5'11" thereabouts. All his friends stopped growing around 16ish, but he just kept growing. He's 19 and grew a little bit this past year.

I'm barely 5' but DH is 6'+.

PP here. What size feet does your son have now?

My son is 14 and 6', wearing a 10.5 or 11. While he is slightly shorter than DH, he has bigger feet than DH (who has small feet at 9.5 or 10).

Both DH and DS have size 11 shoe size. Weirdly, DS's hands are just slightly bigger than DH's hands, and DS is a few inches shorter than DH. I don't know if that means DS is still growing. Very well could be. I think DH said he stopped growing around 20, 21.

Son had X-rays for back issue and doctor showed us growth plates on his hands had nearly closed. He was 5’11 at the time. Is 6 ft as hs sr. I had no idea this was a measure of how much growth remains.

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Anonymous wrote:What size are his feet? Typically there is correlation with height. When’s the last time his feet grew? My endo told me that feet grow first and then the body catches up. My son’s growth spurt happened two years after his feet growth spurt.

Yes, op when was the last time his feet grew? That should give you some indication if he’s still growing.

NP here. My son's feet just seem to grow steadily in half sizes. He's never had a huge foot size increase. I guess even a half size up might indicate he's still growing?

yes, feet are the first to grow. My DD grew into her puppy dog feet. She's about 5'6" now, but was always just average, or slightly below. All of us were late bloomers. My son was like 35%ile for most of his life; he's now 5'11" thereabouts. All his friends stopped growing around 16ish, but he just kept growing. He's 19 and grew a little bit this past year.

I'm barely 5' but DH is 6'+.

PP here. What size feet does your son have now?

My son is 14 and 6', wearing a 10.5 or 11. While he is slightly shorter than DH, he has bigger feet than DH (who has small feet at 9.5 or 10).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What size are his feet? Typically there is correlation with height. When’s the last time his feet grew? My endo told me that feet grow first and then the body catches up. My son’s growth spurt happened two years after his feet growth spurt.

Yes, op when was the last time his feet grew? That should give you some indication if he’s still growing.

NP here. My son's feet just seem to grow steadily in half sizes. He's never had a huge foot size increase. I guess even a half size up might indicate he's still growing?

yes, feet are the first to grow. My DD grew into her puppy dog feet. She's about 5'6" now, but was always just average, or slightly below. All of us were late bloomers. My son was like 35%ile for most of his life; he's now 5'11" thereabouts. All his friends stopped growing around 16ish, but he just kept growing. He's 19 and grew a little bit this past year.

I'm barely 5' but DH is 6'+.

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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.

Sure, but people are not generally taller than the generation immediately before them, right now. Unless OP is an immigrant from a country with a different development pattern, access to childhood nutrition and general environmental factors are pretty similar among Gen X/Millennials and Gen Alpha/Gen Z (OP's child).

In the absence of big wars, famines, etc, we are not seeing large swings in height in a single generation in the USA right now, so a 5'3" person having a 5'3" child is pretty normal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What size are his feet? Typically there is correlation with height. When’s the last time his feet grew? My endo told me that feet grow first and then the body catches up. My son’s growth spurt happened two years after his feet growth spurt.

Yes, op when was the last time his feet grew? That should give you some indication if he’s still growing.

NP here. My son's feet just seem to grow steadily in half sizes. He's never had a huge foot size increase. I guess even a half size up might indicate he's still growing?

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8 year old girl who is 5 feet tall. It profoundly affects her socially and emotionally. So much sympathy for you. We have her in therapy to talk through it and to work on self image. My approach - with advice of therapist - is to try things that become her “thing.” She is too young for tall girl team sports, so we are doing things like theater and climbing.

She can definitely do track and basketball right now.

Regardless, your family seems to be having an oversized reaction to your kid being tall.

Anonymous wrote:What size are his feet? Typically there is correlation with height. When’s the last time his feet grew? My endo told me that feet grow first and then the body catches up. My son’s growth spurt happened two years after his feet growth spurt.

Yes, op when was the last time his feet grew? That should give you some indication if he’s still growing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I have an 8 year old girl who is 5 feet tall. It profoundly affects her socially and emotionally. So much sympathy for you. We have her in therapy to talk through it and to work on self image. My approach - with advice of therapist - is to try things that become her “thing.” She is too young for tall girl team sports, so we are doing things like theater and climbing.

I’ve seen both sides my spouse is 5’5” and it really hasn’t impacted him and I’ve known him for almost 25 years. That may be in part because he was a standout athlete in a sport usually reserved for bigger guys. I don’t know. My brother is a few inches taller and wears lifts in his shoes and obsessed with his kids height. It comes up all the time in conversations.

Everyone is impacted differently by physical traits, appearance etc. I hated my hair growing up. But height is something that society places value on there are certain jobs (pilots) that you cannot do and multiple sports that require height in order to excel.

OP I’d get another opinion, Im sure whatever the outcome your son will live a happy and fulfilling life.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's particularly helpful for you to take him to a doctor and talking about his stature as if it's a medical problem. I feel like it sends your son the wrong message.

But do t you think it’s an issue?