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Original poster

DS smallest in secondary school

27 replies

libbyamelia · 12/06/2022 21:50

Ds is in Y7 and super tiny. He's always laughed off the odd joke about his height but I can tell it's starting to get to him. He's desperate for a growth spurt.

I try and be positive and tell him that his time will come and remind him that other people might have things that worry them, but it might be stuff that's less visible.

In all honesty though, I'm worried too. It's affecting his confidence, and I also think suppose he really doesn't ever really grow (which is ridiculous, as I know he will at some point!

He's 12 in two weeks. Neither my husband or I are that tall, so he isn't likely to be huge but I just wish there was something I could do. Some of his friends are so tall now!

Has anyone else got a tiny DS?

OP posts:
catmg · 12/06/2022 22:00

Me! Though mines only 7, but is naturally quite diminutive and also the youngest in his class so looks a lot younger and smaller than the rest of his classmates. He hasn't even lost his first tooth. I anticipate being in the same position as you in a few years time. Great advice that others might have worries that just aren't so visible, I will bookmark that! Your son will be fine with such a wise mum.

catmg · 12/06/2022 22:03

Me! Though mines only 7, but is naturally quite diminutive and also the youngest in his class so looks a lot younger and smaller than the rest of his classmates. He hasn't even lost his first tooth. I anticipate being in the same position as you in a few years time. Great advice that others might have worries that just aren't so visible, I will bookmark that! Your son will be fine with such a wise mum. 😀

Springandsummerarecoming · 12/06/2022 22:31

Mine was tiny at primary school. One of the smallest. He then hit secondary and in year 8 he is the tallest of all his friends. (He says there are taller people in his year than him though - he is 5ft 9.) I guess others will probably overtake him again at some point as neither of us are tall but it’s nice that he’s not the smallest anymore!

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Dinoteeth · 12/06/2022 22:58

Me!
My 11 yo still legally needs a car seat.

wejammin · 12/06/2022 23:10

My 10yo son in year 5 is the smallest in his year. My 7yo daughter in year 3 is still in age 4 clothes. Some of the girls in my son's class have shot up recently. I don't think it bothers DS. His nickname is 'Midget'. He's autistic and not really interested in what other people think.
I'm only 5ft1 and his dad is 5ft9 so he's not going to be tall, no-one in our families are tall.
I do worry about him being small at secondary school but TBH I suspect he'll have bigger social issues.

Dinoteeth · 12/06/2022 23:11

Op a nugget of information that I picked up recently, the later boys take their growth spurt the taller they will be.

My nephew and cousin were both tiny until about 14 /15 and both ended up pushing 6ft, nephew is 18 and probably still growing.

Daft question does your boy use a HBB or booster cushion?

Singleandproud · 12/06/2022 23:12

Normally the boys go on holiday in Yr 8 much shorter than me and come back after the Summer a head and shoulders taller than me.

artisanbread · 12/06/2022 23:14

He will grow and soon enough he will likely overtake some of the girls as the shortest females tend to be smaller than the shortest males. He might not feel he stands out as much then.

It sounds like you are saying the right things. Have you ever had him checked by the GP, just to be sure he is growing as he should? Unlikely anything is wrong but it's not impossible. Also possibly worth mentioning to pastoral team at school if he is anxious about it or if any of the others are saying things to him about it.

Hellocatshome · 12/06/2022 23:14

My 12 year old is small. He is very sporty and competes at regional level in a sport where being tall is an advantage. His coach keeps telling him just wait until you grow you will be even better and I cant help thinking I dont want him pinning his hopes on growing because maybe he won't

Letmeatthetat · 12/06/2022 23:15

I have a smallest in the year DD in year 6. She's kept pace with her classmates just always a head or so shorter than them. I worry about her in senior school from September, she looks much younger than her years.

Workyticket · 12/06/2022 23:16

Ds is the smallest in his year (year 5)

he's acknowledged it but isn't bothered yet he was prem - 3lb 12 born and didn't hit average newborn weight until he was about 4 months due to other illnesses so thats probably a factor too.

Kite22 · 12/06/2022 23:26

Well, someone has to be.

My ds was one of the smallest, moving up to Secondary. He didn't r
really have a growth spurt until he was 15. He is 6' now though.

You could do with helping him have some 'retort' when someone mentions it.

TheNoodlesIncident · 12/06/2022 23:29

I haven't seen DS's cohort much but I would bet that he is still amongst the smallest. Year 9 now and smaller than the Year 7s. Wearing the same blazer and shirts that he did in Y7, they looked too big for him then, still fit but look a bit tattier now.

I keep hoping he will have a growth spurt but I doubt it, his height only ever creeps up and DH and I are both a lot shorter than average. Sorry DS Sad I know he gets grief about it from other kids (but not the ones who know him, in his classes, they're nice to him). He's also young in his year, poor kid! At least he's more academic than sporty...

Ohdearohdearohdear6 · 12/06/2022 23:31

Me. He's also a twin and a good 2" shorter than his twin. His frame is tiny. His bones are tiny. But he is strong, fast, fit and fearless.

Their time will come.

RaleighDurham · 12/06/2022 23:40

Mine was the smallest by far (and youngest) in the year group. He didn't really start growing for a few years after that. One of his friends, who was 5'10" in Yr 7 and my boy came up to just above his elbow, stopped growing at that point and now, as adults, they're the same height.
DS was on the 2nd centile all the way through, but it 5'10 now which is fine (my family are all tall but dh's are very short).
The single most important thing we found was to keep his confidence up and to train him with light off-the-cuff ripostes to teasing that didn't let on that he was sensitive about it. It's certainly never held him back.

2pinkginsplease · 12/06/2022 23:43

Ds and dd were both quite short when in primary school as soon as ds hit 15 he grew and is now roughly the same height as all his friends. 5ft 10/11”.

dd started growing at about 14 and has overtook most of her friends and is now 5ft 7”

not bad considering dh and I are 5ft9 and 5ft8.

mrsfoof · 12/06/2022 23:52

DD is year 7 and is only 137cm, so way smaller than most her peers. She still wears age 9-10 clothes!

Fifthtimelucky · 12/06/2022 23:52

My husband was very short until he was 16/17. I don't know how short but his mother told me she took him the doctor to see if anything could be done.

He then had a growth spurt at 17, outgrew three pairs of school trousers one year, and ended up at 6'3".

One of my daughters clearly took after him. At 13 she was tiny and was mistaken for an 8 year old! She still looked like a child at 15. She is now 5'8.

whimsicalwillow · 13/06/2022 00:02

Yes! My son was the smallest in his year 7 group. Took a few years for his growth spurt. He was still growing at 18/19 so a late starter.

LookingGlassMilk · 13/06/2022 00:04

My kids are all small, ds1 only slightly smaller than average, but ds2 and dd are significantly smaller than average.
Ds2 was investigated for it and they said it was a constitutional delay. He's 11 and is the smallest in his class.
Weirdly, the only one of them bothered about it is ds1 (age 14), who isn't even that small.

Dh was small until he was 16, then he grew to 6ft. I'm 5ft4.

I read a couple of studies which suggested that iron and vitamin a supplements were as effective as growth hormone in boys with a constitutional delay, so I started giving ds1 floradix and cod liver oil last summer. He grew a lot in that time but I don't know if it was just a coincidence. I don't give it to him all the time, just when I get around to buying a bottle but he does seem to grow more when he's taking it.

Yoloohno · 13/06/2022 00:06

I can me from a family of late growers that become taller than average.

My did was barely 5 foot at 14 and looked tiny compared to her friends, within a year she’d grown to a taller than average 5 foot 7.

My uncle grew massively at the age of 16 and went from tiny to 6 foot in a year.

CrystalTits · 13/06/2022 00:12

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MunchMunch · 13/06/2022 00:25

My ds2 (y7, 12yo) is a little shorty. He's about 4ft 9. He isn't the shortest and one of his best friends is tiny.

At his school from what I've seen of all the kids they all seem to be around his height and the really tall ones are very few. He still complains he's too short but im 5ft his dad is about 5ft 10 and ds1 (22yo) is about 5ft 8. However looking back at photos of ds1 on his first day in year 7 he was taller than ds2 who is almost at the end of y7.

Comefromaway · 13/06/2022 00:32

Yes. Ds had to have his uniform specially made as in year 7 he was still in age 8 clothes.

he is now 18 and still small, 5 ft 2. He looks really young. People assume he is about 14/15.

oceanskye · 13/06/2022 02:46

My 12 year old son has always been small and has only just started (slowly) growing a bit more. He is about 4ft10 last we measured him, and very slight with it. My oldest son has always been tall and is 6ft2 now at 15, so my youngest looks tiny compared to him. He doesn't seem bothered by it, I think he just assumes he will catch up to his brother one day. I have to remind myself not to be over protective of him, he just looks so little still!