To be worried about my DS 13 height

[Edenspirits]

My DS is 13.5 and 5ft and he’s totally worried and upset all the time about it. He’s pretty small compared to his mates but a few of them have hit puberty whereas my DS is still like a little kid in comparison to be honest.

I spoke to the doctor as I was getting worried as he hasn’t really changed height much in 2 years - doc didn’t seem concerned & said he’s on the 25th percentile for his age & not to worry as he hasn’t got puberty yet. According to the growth charts his predicted height is around 5/10 as I am 5/8 and so is hubby (both the same height) and I try to reassure my son but as he’s getting so worried and upset, it’s making me upset and worried.

Aibu to worry- I think it’s because he hasn’t grown really in 2 years! He’s got asthma too and is on steroid inhalers but the doctor said it’s a bit of a myth that they affect height as the dose is so small.

OP, It is highly likely your son will have a growth spurt and achieve puberty soon. If that doesn't happen do go back and ask for some blood tests. My son reached about 15 an d then started to look younger again, lost leg and body hair, face looked younger too. DS and DH said I was worrying about nothing but eventually I persuade DS to go to the doctor, who was also unconcerned but ordered blood tests. The tests revealed DS 1 had a prolactinoma, and his system was awash with prolactin, stopping other hormones being in his system. He had drug treatment and the situation was rectified, but he still has to take some medication 15 years later and I do wish we had twigged a bit sooner. Do get you son checked out if this situation continues. A girl I was at school with had a prolactinoma and it went unchecked, causing her to become blind.

Only 30 % of british men are 6ft plus. Just on mumsnet that it seems otherwise
My ds 2 is 14 and 5ft 6 now but didn't grow significantly for a couple of years, was stuck at 5ft 1 for ages and getting very demoralised. He plays basketball and all his friends were 5ft 8 plus. I'm 5ft 2 and ex partner is 5ft 8 so being realistic neither of my sons are going to be 6 footers. I just reassured him that he probably would grow, but if not it wasn't the end of the world.

Totally get your concern, my situation is slightly different DD is nearly 2 and 9th centile but she was a SGA baby so a lot smaller than her peers.

Realistically your son is 25th centile which is perfectly fine and normal, it’s just where some people are (myself being one). Realistically there’s also is nothing that can be done, the criteria for a referral to an endocrinologist is more than 2 sds below mid parental height and your son sounds on the money there. Even then any sort of treatment, particularly gh is for children below the 0.4th centile.

@Ilovegreentomatoes

Does anyone know what age girls stop growing? My dd is 13 and 5ft 2 and hasn't grown much in the past year and a half.

Growth pretty much slows down to a stop after puberty when growth plates close xx

If my anecdotal evidence is any help, I've worked with literally thousands of teenagers.

It is completely normal to have a 13 and a half year old boy to still be about five foot tall and not started obviously growing quickly yet. Usually, the later growing ones kick off around 14.5 to 15. If the GP is happy, which it sounds like he is, what is likely to happen is that next summer, you'll suddenly realise he's getting bigger and by September, you'll realise there's a huge lump of teenage eating machine in your kitchen.

From my personal experience of being a teenager, I know at 13, I was taller than most of the boys, including ones who ended up six foot tall, at 5'3" (lessons about statistics included ones where everybody's height was measured so we could use the data to illustrate concepts). By 15 and 5'5", I wasn't. Even the 'tiny' ones were taller. And from DP's experience (his parents are 4'11" and 5'2" respectively), although he didn't grow as much as his mates, he still got from 5 foot to 5'7" from 14 to 17.

There is a massive difference in this

My sons had their growth spurts at 14 where as my brothers were 16. All of them are 6 foot plus

I remember seeing my son with one of his friends. He was 5 foot 8 at the time and next to his friend he looked like Harry Potter waking with Hagrid as his friend was a foot taller, hairier with wide shoulders.

My nephew went from 5'2 to 5'11 between 14/15.
Keep your eye on him if no changes within 6 months go back to the gp.

My cousin was really small at 13. When he read at my wedding people thought he was about 9. He ended up 6’2’’. By contrast my DH was 5’11’’ at 13 and 6’ adult height - literally grew one more inch. Think DS may go the same way as he’s 97th centile at 11, but I’m only 5’6’’.

My DS hardly grew height wise between 13-15 and he’s on steroid inhalers. We were worried, as he was about 5ft 3, and both myself snd DH are tall. However from 15 onwards puberty hit properly and he grew very very quickly and is now 6ft 1. Boys reach puberty much later than girls. That’s when the real growth starts.

I'm sure I read somewhere that Stuart Broad the cricketeer grew a foot one summer around the age of 15? From 5'5 to 6'5!
So there is hope!

For the poster with a DD, my DD had a massive growth spurt in the year before periods (age 12 she was 5 foot 7) she's still growing and last month grew a cm. (almost 13) I'd watch for a growth spurt. from what i've read they grow a bit more for the two years after their first period.
The growth patterns have been similar for her friends.

I studied adolescent growth spurts in boys. All boys have a period of steady growth followed by a growth spurt in mid adolescence.

The amount of height gained during the growth spurt is pretty consistent, therefore the taller the child is when their growth spurt begins, the taller they'll end up being.

So it actually helps to be older when your growth spurt begins because your period of steady growth is longer. Boys who shoot up early look like they're going to be the tallest but this isn't the case.

Parental height is the main determiner of height, regardless of what age you start shooting up.

My youngest was around 5ft and very skinny between 13 and 15. Then overnight he short up and waiting the year he grew to 6ft and then stopped but remained skinny. Even now in his 20’s she is 6ft with a 32 inch waist.
His brother was also short at 13 but put on much smaller growth over a longer period and at 18 he stopped a 5ft 7 and now in his 20’s he is still the same height different body shape than his brother but the same waist size.

No one in mine or DH family is taller than 5ft8.
My brother was later with puberty and is 5ft7
DS1 was early side (11) and he's 5ft6
DS1 average and 5ft7

Both are taller than DH and me. DH has had to accept he is nearer to 5ft5 than 5ft7! I'm 5ft1 which is in line with the women in my family.

I am 5ft and dh is 5.11. My 14 yo ds is 4.11. He hates it but I pointed out that he'll be taller than me and that his gdad who is only 5.6 had a fantastic army career with a very adventurous life. Height doesn't stop you. To be honest, dh was an aberration for me- all my past partners were "small" men. Most women don't care. Look at Jamie Cullan and Sophie Dahl!

I was really worried about DS2 - he was only 5 feet 3 at 15 years and nine months and was really conscious of it - he was being teased at school. He still had smooth baby skin on his face and legs and his shoes were size 6 and hadnt really started puberty.

He was slim and not really bothered about food so we made an effort to make sure he was eating well and consuming sufficient calories - i remember him drinking loads of milk. We also made sure he got to bed early enough to get a good night's sleep.

I have no idea whether any of this made any difference or whether he would have grown anyway, but he grew massively while he was 16. His feet grew first - he shot through the sizes and ended up an 11.

He has now just turned 17 and is 6 feet 2 and well built with it.

I have also read like a PP said that the later they start puberty, the taller they end up.

I understand your concern for your DS because I felt exactly the same for mine. Wishing you both all the very best.

There's nothing wrong with being short.

feet grow before they grow in height

If it was down to a growth hormone deficiency, how would you know? And would that need to be addressed during puberty or at an earlier age?

@Pastrydame

If it was down to a growth hormone deficiency, how would you know? And would that need to be addressed during puberty or at an earlier age?

Yes, treatment needs to start before puberty but the younger the better. I think in UK it’s licensed from 4.

First step is mid parental height- if greater than 2 SD below thats guidelines for an endocrinologist referral.

Then there are various tests, including a STIM test that can be done. However for iugr / sga children a STIM test might not be effective. GH is only used for children under the 0.4th centile for height

I'm sure I read somewhere that Stuart Broad the cricketeer grew a foot one summer around the age of 15? From 5'5 to 6'5!

My uncle did the same.

@Nc4post99 thank you for such an informative post. So lower than 0.4 percentile would not receive treatment, or just not receive growth hormone? My short dc is not quite that short, but I will do the parental calculation as well.
Thank you

I was about that height at that age and now I'm 5'2" and it ain't as shite as everyone thinks

[quote Pastrydame]@Nc4post99 thank you for such an informative post. So lower than 0.4 percentile would not receive treatment, or just not receive growth hormone? My short dc is not quite that short, but I will do the parental calculation as well.
Thank you[/quote]
So as far as I’m aware a child above the 0.4 centile for height doesn’t qualify for GHT, especially for iugr/ sga children. My daughter was sga so this is where I’ve focused most of my reading/ research. But I think it’s standard. I’ll google the guidelines and @ you so you can read up for yourself.

I think you can probably google mid parental but I’m 160cm which is 25th for women and DH is 178 which is just above 50th so our MPH is just under 50th. Therefore as a result the normal range for our children is between the 9th and 91st centile for height (it’s 2 standard deviations (centile lines) either way).

Anything under 3rd centile is considered ‘short stature’ globally. But if you plot your MPH and DC is more than 2sds below, print out a copy of the Nice guidelines for growth and ask GP for an endo referral. I say bring guidelines because some GPs aren’t familiar or just tend to dismiss parental concerns. Endo wait is typically a while but they’ll be able to run other tests for other things that could interfere with growth I.e. thyroid.

How old is DC? And how tall? Xx

If they started puberty slightly early, what age do boys tend to stop growing?
I think his voice broke maybe when he was 12 or so.
A lot of the examples here are of late puberty boys who then grew to 18/20.