Mumsnet Talk

I wanted to canvass experiences really. DS is 13 next month and has only grown about 1.5 inches since he was 10. Weighs 7st. He's showing some signs of puberty (needing deodorant, a few hairs here & there, certain "parts" enlarging and needing care and erm attention daily, a bit moody).

But no growth spurt, not even his feet which are still only size 4. He's just a little over 5 foot (155 cm). His dad and grandads are well over six foot, paternal grandmother pretty tall, me and my mother and grandmothers all about 5'4").

So at what age please did all your teenage boys do the massive growth thing?

13 is young for boys . My stepsons didn't get beyond 5 foot until age 16 , then they grew so quickly, and at 17.5 my oldest stepson is nearly the hight of his 6.2 father .

Ds2 did the growth spurt at about 13 but ds1 not until 16. He was not happy his younger brother was taller than him! Now they are 15 + 17 and are both 6 foot although I suspect ds2 may yet overtake him again.

My brother grew from 5'9" to 6'1" at 21.

My son has grown a minimum of 6/7 inches since he was 13 now 16 .

Working in a secondary school I have noticed that boys start their growth spurts around Year 9. Leave in July (Y8) and really noticed the difference in their heights when they returned in Sept for Year 9

Don't worry it will come and then you will be buying new school trousers every term as they will be flapping around their ankles and not just because the waist is hanging somewhere below their bottoms

I'm going to watch this cos my ds is the same, he'll be 13 in April and is only 145 cm. Loads of his mates tower above him and even little brother(9) is nearly as tall as him

Reassuring to read that it will happen , but hoping it is soon for his sake , I'm sure he's getting very self conscious about it. No sign of puberty yet tho' either as far as I can tell

Wohmum - my DS was always one of the smallest in height in his class and I worried too as on my side of the family we are all not very tall. Now he is in Y11 he is about 5ft 8 and hasn't stopped growing yet judging by his trousers but he is still as skinny as a rake.

My DS felt left out when all his friends shot up in Yr 9. He has just caught them up, and overtaken lots, in Yr12! He turned 16 last August and it all started then.

Good to read some of these. DS is 15 (year 11) and still only 155cm. Think things are shifting a bit finally, as have had to buy new trousers recently, but it's been a long time coming. Men in my family are all over 6' but DH's family are all on the short side. So much for boys taking after their mothers (I'm 5'8")

Oh, mine too, year 8 and 12.

Plays rugby in the school teams well and I worry for him as the others are so big.

my twin brother was one of the smallest in high school right up to year 11

it didn'r help that I was the tallest in the year, if not the school (I reached 6ft at 13)

he's now 6ft 4 but didn't stop growing till 21, and then didn't broaden out until about 25

They say that the later they start growing, the taller they grow.

My older brother was the smallest in his class at 13, started to grow properly at 15 and was 6'2 by 20.

My younger brother grew earlier and was 5'10 at 13, but only reached 6'.

ds2 who is almost 14 has grown 7 inches in the last 9 months and has gone from 5'2 to 5'9, but has plenty more to come, I think.

DS1 was only 10 but DS2 is 13 and just "spurting". My observations of their friends is that Year 9 is the average with a few earlier and a few later.

My ds was the smallest for years and years.He has only really shot up since about 16. The summer after GCSE he grew a bit but now at 17 he is growing about an inch a month! He is taller than dp which isn't hard as he is not tall but also taller than both my brothers I never thought he would grow and was worried at one point.

I teach secondary and have often noticed the massive difference in the heights of Year 8 boys particularly. Some still look like new Year 7s, some look like Year 11s. They all grow!

Mine didnt start until 15. Then he grew and grew! Just shy of 6ft 4" this week.

DS grew very early- at the start of year 7 he was exactly the same height as his year 10 sister and shot up in year 7-8 mostly.

He has 2 friends who are brothers- the older one is 2yrs older than DS- he shot up at about the same time as DS and now he's yr 13 and DS is yr11, DS has about an inch on him. However the brother- a year older than DS was still singing treble 2+yrs ago- sweet and small at 14. Bit miffing for him when not only was his bro shooting up but his mate DS was too! THis kid has now grown and may out pace DS and his bro but I'm not sure- he seems to have stopped at about 5 11....

I am so glad this thread is about, my DS2 is 16 and about 5ft 2, just a little taller than myself. It gets him down that he's smaller than the rest of his friends and DS1. He's asked me to refer him to doctor... so I'm hopeful that he will have a growth spurt anytime soon.

Thanks for all your experiences, will try not to worry til end of yr 9!

He was out in the snow this weekend with his mates who have nearly all shot up this year - he looks so tiny in comparison, bet it's only a msttervoof time the girks start calling him 'cute'

girls

I too am glad to see this. DS is just 12, and many of his mates are really growing, especially their feet. Ds is still hanging in there with size 4s, while they are mooching about on size 9 feet. As long as they arent all like puppies!

It does seem that those lads with short fathers (ie 5'8 and below) have started to grow much more rapidly than my DS whose dad is 6ft.

If we go by growth charts, DS will eventually be 6'2" .

DS thinks it is monumentally unfair because he swims, and those with flippers big feet seem to be doing much better than him at the moment.

Hatti - how tall are you? My DS's dad is 6 foot 3 and I am 5 foot 3, is that about the same as in your family?

Im 5'6" and the shortest in my family. DH is 6ft and the shortest in his! Grandparent on dh side is 6'5".

Ds1 is 15. He is taller than me but shorter than most of his friends. I'm not too worried yet though as his feet did have a growth spurt and he is a size10. I fully expect him to grow into them any day soon.