Is it likely my 15 year old has stopped growing?

[RoséProsecco]

My son just turned 15 in December.

I measured him in the summer & again over the school holidays & he hasn't grown since.

He's only 163cm & his feet haven't grown in 18 months either.

Is this it? He's very self-conscious about it.

If it's relevant, he was an IUGR baby.

I'm only 154cm but his dad is about 175cm, so I was hoping he'd take after his dad.

What’s an IUGR baby?

I used to work in a Secondary, it's not unusual for some boys to plateau a bit and then have a massive spurt in their later years.

One boy had been tiny all throughout Secondary, about 4 ft 6 my in year 11, I bumped into him when he was at the end of year 12 and he must have been 6ft, it just looked like he'd been stretched

Men can keep growing up to age 25 I think! I doubt he is fully grown.

There is actually nothing you can do about it at all, I know that’s not helpful at all but I just wanted to say that to you. All the best.

Boys can keep growing until they are 21. Give him time.

Peak height velocity also, if you find a calculator online you can find out when he is growth spurts are due. You measure him sitting and standing and it’s really accurate in my experience.

@Mumoftwo2022 - it means intra uterine growth restriction- he was premature & born at 29 weeks, had stopped growing at 24/25 weeks.

He seems to be having a normal puberty with pubic/arm hair, acne etc.

"Intrauterine growth restriction, or IUGR, is when a baby in the womb (a fetus) does not grow as expected. "

I managed to Google it very quickly. I'm sure you could have.

Why be an arse. I was just asking and OP didn’t seem to come back with an arsey response.

My son and his friend both grew tall in quite a short space of time. Aged about 14-15. They grew so quickly both had horizontal stretch marks across the back. My son is 5’ 11 and his friend is 6’4.

I know boys who stay short forever, some shoot up young and some stay short and then shoot up.

I would stop measuring him, as that’s not going to help his insecurities.

Try and get him into a sport because I’ve noticed at schools that shorter boys who are sporty and have lots of confidence still get lots of attention from girls (which is probably his main focus).

Does your h remember when he grew the most ? My sons grew the most the year that they were 15. Their shoe size had been stable for years and growing taller didn’t increase their shoe size.

Don’t measure him, it’s not like you can change it

We don't usually measure; I was checking his sister for clothes sizing & he said he wanted done.

I'd read somewhere that once their feet stop growing that is it for height, so I hope that's not the case for him - but it will be better for my bank balance!

And he's sporty- football, rugby.

His acne's now resolved so that should help his confidence too.