14 Year Old DS

[HermiioneSnape02]

I'm a bit concerned about DS14. He isn't really growing? No puperty in sight either.

I normally don't fetch him from school but did yesterday and its been playing on my mind. I knew he was quite short, but in comparison to his friends, (since I last saw them they have all shot up and grow immensely) he is tiny.

No spots, no hair, ( I have asked and jokingly checked his pits), but he is putting on weight though, too much if I'm honest, he is constantly hungry. I'm having to talk to to him repeatedly about healthy choices and filling food rather than crisps and chocolates.

Do you think its too early for a trip to the dr's?
Thanks x

[irregularegular]

I looked this up recently as my daughter seems quite late to develop. For boys puberty was considered to to be late if there was no sign of testicular enlargement by 14.

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Puberty/Pages/Complications.aspx

[Cathpot]

Secondary school teacher here - not in any way medically qualified- but there does seem to be a wide spread of size/ development in boys in year 9 and 10 - often there will be a group of boys shorter than the girls in the class at age 13/14. Then they shoot up in the following year or two. My DH has stretch marks on his back from growing so fast in one year.

[BlueCowWonders]

Agree with Cathpot about a big span.
My Ds is one of the bigger ones at 13, but some of his friends are smaller than the children I see at primary.

[NotJanine]

I have a 14year old DS who is finally starting to get taller but isn't really showing puberty signs (I've not checked him over for hair!)
He has a real mix of friends, some are similar size or smaller than him and some are very tall with facial hair.

I'm not concerned, maybe if there's not much change when he gets closer to 15 I'd consider the GP.

[weegiemum]

I have a 14yo ds.

He's huge - almost 6' tall, size 12 feet, spotty, skinny as a rake, sprouting hair etc ....

All his friends are at least a head shorter than him, and all are smooth skinned and slightly chubby. I'm expecting an influx of 6' tall ds clones in the next 6 months, looks like they're all on the verge of the growth spurt stage. Ds is oldest in his year but also dh is very hairy and hit puberty early so I reckon its genetic as much as anything else.

Any tips on where to buy reasonably priced size 12-13 trainers gratefully received!

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

Mine were earlier, but I also think that he's putting on weight in readiness to shoot up. Both my boys did that. One of DSs friends was near 15 when he started growing. I'd honestly give him until the summer before thinking of going to the GP as he sounds as if it's all about to kick in. Good luck with it! DSs friend went from a size 6 to size 10 shoe in a year!

[HermiioneSnape02]

Thanks everyone

Its really been playing on my mind - silly really I know.

I am really trying with the eating, but its an uphill struggle when DS isn't on the same page tbh.

I wasn't a late bloomer as far as I know, period at 13, as well as glasses and I have the same size feet as I did at 14 a 5, I'm 5ft5 tall. DH is 5ft10 with size 8 feet, I've seen pictures of DH at 14/15 and he's one of the tallest and stick thin! So neither of us are especially tall, but we had developed or starter to by now, my dad was 6ft2.

I think it just shocked me yesterday when I saw him walking up to the car with a group of friends, including girls and he was markedly smaller, I didn't recognize a couple of his friends they had changed so much in the face and some even had facial hair!

I will keep an eye on him and see how it goes over the next 6 months. Thanks for the reassurance.

[HermiioneSnape02]

weegiemum

//www.cloggs.co.uk

Has been mentioned on the style & beauty board, they do seem very reasonable.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

Wedgie, try the adidas outlet. They are big made. DH is an 12 and finds the 12s far too big. DS1 at 15 is now 6'3 and DS2 is just over 6 foot at 14. DH is disappointed that they both have smaller feet than him. Size 11 and 10. I think they take that from me. I'm just a 6 at 5'10.

DS2 hit puberty first he was 11/12 ish but DS1 was closer to 13 . There was a time when the the little bro was almost the bigger bro to great angst on one side and excitement on the other.

[weegiemum]

Thanks! I'm good at finding big ladies shoes (I'm 5'9 and a size 10/11 which is no doubt where he gets it from!) but JD are letting us down as I'm not spending £110 on trainers!!

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

They have the Duramo 6s at £31.50 in the large sizes. They are a decent all round trainer. My boys live in those and they can get near a year out of a pair. They keep one pair for indoor stuff and PE and the other for mucking about.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

I've bought from cloggs before. You get decent flashback via quick and usually a voucher code about too.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

That should be cashback and quidco

[PirateSmile]

I know how you feel OP. DS is also 14. His feet haven't grown for years, he has no hair under his arms and his face is the same as it was when he was very young.

He's lucky though in the sense that he is still tall, despite not yet having his main growth spurt. DP was a little later to start puberty so I suppose that explains it. It's incredibly variable and it worried me too as I started a similar thread a year or so ago. I have toyed with the idea of a visit to the GP but I think that make make DS feel self conscious so I'll leave it for the time being.

[endofmytethertake100]

I think they grow out then up. DD put lots of weight on but showed no sign of puberty then in the space of about 4-6 months she changed completely , sadly so did her behaviour

[19lottie82]

Check out mandmdirect online for trainers in big sizes at decent prices. I think they had adidas superstars and Stan smiths for £30

[HermiioneSnape02]

Update.

I spoke to my DS last night and asked if he was concerned. He was. He got quite upset and admitted people had been calling him names like umpa lumpa and munchkin. Soooo after he'd calmed down I asked him if his penis had changed or if he had hair down there yet, as the nhs website stated the dr would check this as an indicator of puberty starting. He replied yes.

So long story short I think I'll have to see how he gets on. He's obviously started maybe he's just a slow grower?

I thank god after last night that we have such an honest open relationship that I asked him this question and he didn't bat an eyelid when answering.

I have said he needs to report people calling him names but he said he is trying to ignore and has promised if it gets any worse he'll report it then.

Thanks for all your input.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

Aww, that's good (well not the name calling) it really sounds like its all about to happen. I'm sure I read somewhere that the late starters often end up taller. He should be looking at being at least as tall as you but probably closer to his dad if not taller. My DH who is 6'2 said that when he left high school at 16 he was Mr average with a lot of his peers taller. He bumped into some of them in the pub a few years later and he was by far the tallest. He was the tallest in his family. He attributes it to having an outside job and drinking loads of milk.

[mudandmayhem01]

My dh always says how he finished y11 as the smallest boy in the year, he then spent most of the summer either eating or sleeping and grew 6 inches by the time he started 6th form.

[JustDanceAddict]

The eating thing is probably him having to put on weight to grow upwards. I am waiting for DS to hit puberty. He'll be 12 next month and he is the skinniest thing - but tall - so am hoping he will massively fill out. Apparantly my uncle was like that and he ended up well over 6 foot and big built, so you never know. I know some boys of 12/13 who are well into puberty and others of 13/14 who aren't - just really varies.

[flowergirl456]

I think the timing of puberty varies massively. My daughters were late - still looked like children aged 13-14 which is unusual for girls, but I wasn't too bothered because I also was late growing. But I know from personal experience it's no joke when you're in the middle of it, its horrible being the last one and being smaller or more childlike than everyone else, and teenagers don't appreciate that puberty is like a bus - it'll turn up eventually. You can fairly reasonably calculate his final height by the height of you and his Dad and looking at family members, so by the sounds of it he'll get there eventually, probably over summer when he can sleep in!
Incidentally I remember reading that with girls at least they have to be 7 stone before puberty kicks off (which is why puberty is reaching children earlier these days) I'm not sure what it is with boys but it must be something in the body clock that sets it off. It's a good sign he's eating so much, even though it's junk...

[HermiioneSnape02]

Thanks flowergirl456

It's really getting him down I didn't realise this until I started the dialogue with him.

He has since our discussion asked if I can still take him to the Drs just to see if they will do anything. I've told him to wait and think on it over the weekend and if still wants to go then I will take him.

[flowergirl456]

I think you're right, taking him to the Doctor is a good idea, just to put his mind at rest as much as anything. It's obviously worrying him, and it may provide some reassurance. Incidentally it might be of comfort to know my husband was taken to the Doctor at that age for the same reason, we're obviously a family of late developers...anyway he was paranoid apparently he wasn't growing and didn't have the usual signs of puberty like hair on his legs etc (you noticed more in those days because of the communal changing rooms following PE!) He was told not to worry, and of course eventually it worked out. He laughs about it now, but still good to be reassured.