My son hates being short.

All the men I have been attracted to in life have all been between 5'6 & 5'10. My DH falls within this category at 5'9" I admit I wouldn't be comfortable with a man shorter than me but only because I'm 5'4" This wouldn't bother me if I was very tall.

I have a male relative who is like Dustin Hoffman in looks, height & build. His wife is like a model. A confident man doesn't concern himself about height & that's what makes him attractive. FWIW I have a work colleague whose DH is 6'7" He stands with his knees bent in company.

I'm just under 5'4 and my partner is 5'5.5. It's actually so much more practical in every day life that we are so similar in height. Especially for instigating things like kisses etc.
I left highschool half way through year 10 and remember the shortest boy in my class at that point was about 5'1 at best. Seen his facebook and he grew to be atleast 5'8.

If it helps my DS is tiny at 5’4 age 16. He has a lovely girlfriend. I think confidence is the key thing that helps when it comes to relationships, rather than physical characteristics. That is something that your DS can work on rather than his height, which he’s stuck with.

Well there isn't anything he can do about it really is there? You can't make him taller than how he's built genetically.

If both you and his dad, and grandparents are average/quite short then he may well be similar. Though often kids are a couple of inches taller than their parents.

I know it's hard but you must try and move his focus away from this particular trait. He can grow up to be attractive and charismatic and confident..not everyone can be 6'5! Make sure you let him know he's got plenty of potential to be a great man.

I'm a school teacher and I see so many 'short' boys shoot up over a summer holiday and suddenly look like men. Boys can change very suddenly. That said, they don't stop growing until, well, after they leave school as far as I can tell (some really strapping sixth formers!) so anything can happen.

In terms of building confidence... sports that are advantaged by speed and agility over height would be a good bet.

I must be the only person on this thread who doesn't have an issue with height filtered on Tinder though... as a 6 foot tall woman, I'd have welcomed this back in my single days!

My son is now full grown. Short and slight - probably about 5'6. Strong, esp upper body, but not bulky muscles. He has probably found it harder romantically over the years than if he was taller, but I'm confident that being nice will be an increasingly sought-after characteristic as he gets older. And he's very nice. Currently has a lovely girlfriend - v pretty, too, which isn't relevant to me but might give your DS comfort.

My middle son was the tallest at primary school until about this age then started being over taken by other boys. He'd levelled out early

My youngest and his best friend at primary were tiny skinny boys. Now both 23. Son is 5 9". His friend 6’. Son grew four inches in one six month period.

Should a 14 year old go to the gym? I heard that delays growth. My teen is very very sporty but has been told by her coach that she has to be at least 16 before they introduce her to the gym m.

You can start by getting your DH to talk to him about his own experiences. If he does end up smaller, there are a million and one examples of smaller men. Half of Hollywood/the tech industry/etc. I also know loads of men who were small when they were teenagers and then had a growth spurt.

However, NUMBER ONE, I wouldn't worry about Tinder. He's 14 years old!

Is he young her his year in school? I found the older ones had growth spurts earlier and then the younger ones looked tiny but they all catch up.
14 is still very young but if you can afford private testing I would just Incase there's anything that can be offered.

Friends’ son was short till he was 16. They took him for tests and the theory was he had delayed puberty which affected his height. Sure enough, he shot up in 6th form and now is over 6 foot. On the other side of the coin, my DS did most of his growing in year 6! They can vary immensely with when they develop. There’s plenty of time for your DS to grow.

Well I am 5 ft 0 ins.so was my Nan and my cousin. Dad 5ft 4 but very well built. I didn't know Tindet had a height filter.i do think girls limit their options by looking for tall guys though

I really feel for you here OP. The irony is that it's men that have done this, not women. I've never seen height obsessed over the way it is now & it's all from incel culture & Tate bollocks - how on earth do you protect a young teen from that though? It's become so pervasive that young women are spouting it too - what Tinder have done is bloody awful imo.

It affects them at all heights till the magical 6ft , even being taller than average isn't enough. And the stupid thing is that adult women just don't really care all that much!

If it helps, we used to use phrases like 'your the perfect height for you' with middle son who is shorter than both his brothers & ppl would let him know constantly. It is hard though

Because they both grew very tall compared to their siblings and parents who never done any sport. Two different families. One is East Asian where both parents are short around 5’5 both. One of their daughter’s was into a competitive swimming from a very young age. We are talking about daily swimming here. She grew to 5’11 by the time she was 17. Fantastic figure and posture.
The other family is Eastern European - both parents are short ( 5’2 mum and 5’6 dad). They were concerned about their son’s height and he was doing basketball and swimming on a regular basis since primary age. He grew to 5’8 by 16 and is still growing. Both growth spurts happened at around 15. How old is your daughter?

My DP didn’t hit puberty until Year 11, he was very small/thin.
His Mum is around 5ft 1, unsure of his Dad’s height.
My DP is now 6ft 1 and built like a wardrobe.
He was also very very self-conscious of this in his teens.

My brother was in jockey school. He was tiny. We all assumed he was going to take after my mums side of the family! Even though myself and other brother were really tall!! He’s 6ft 1!!!

Check he's not overdoing it with weights at the gym. If he's going too heavy, as his body is still growing it can have an impact on growth plates and can actually stump growth. Just a thought!

i’m 5’7”. my oldest girl is 5’11” her dad is 6’7”)my boys are 5’8” at 12 and 4’5” at 11 (dad is 6’). i was 4’11” until i was 15.
i think my youngest will follow my late growth spurt where as my older ones grew early and just kept growing.
doesn't stop my youngest fretting about ‘never getting tall’ when the maths says he probably will.
i have a family member who is 6’2” (male) and all his female siblings are under 5’2” with both parents being under 5’6”.
later puberty can be a very good thing for boys as they often grow taller as a result.
it's a complex area and not an exact science. if you are worried and can afford it, seeing a paediatric endocrinologist privately might be helpful just to be sure there isn’t anything there that may need looking into.
he could grow like topsy when he’s 16/17/18 and still grow beyond that age.
but i get it, he will feel like an outlier amongst his peers and sadly men are judged by their height.
look at positive self esteem input, consider if medical assessment is needed and try just to watch and wait if that’s the right thing to do.
as long as he has a good diet, fresh air, exercise and lots of love he will reach his maximum potential physically and emotionally.

If having a girlfriend and height were linked I wouldn't be sat here typing this message. All the men in my family have been around 5ft 6 to 5ft 8. My youngest is an exception probably gets it from my grandmother.

I'm Welsh and I think so. Dh is 5'8 and tallest in his family.

He's got at least 2 more growth spurts to go..

Good call on the question about feet! My DS is 14.5 and only about 5ft 3 so far, but needs size 11 shoes 😬

I’m 5ft 10 and his dad is 6ft, so we’re confident he’ll be tall once puberty fully kicks in, but some of the lads in his year at school are like full grown men so I can understand how the “late bloomers” can feel a bit insecure. DS himself has never been too concerned about the opinions of others (thanks to ASD…) but is a bit tired of his mates patting him on the head.

I'm sorry OP, it can be really tough. My DS turns 14 tomorrow and he's 4'7". He's currently under a paediatric team to check for issues, also not sure much will be found - the whole family are short. My Grandad was 5'1" as an adult and I remember him saying his Father was also a short man.

Id love to be taller myself (4'8") but when I spoke to my GP they said anything that could have helped wouldn't work because I've stopped growing, so I'd definitely look into it if you DS in happy to do that.

I really wouldn’t take him for any testing. With yours/his father’s height it’s likely than he’ll be a shorter than average adult. Taking him for testing might reinforce the idea that his height is abnormal and make him even more fixated on it. I’d just focus on encouraging him in sports/ other things that boost his confidence.

Luckily???? Ha. Luckily I’m short and happy to be so!!