To ask about growth delay in boys

[Edenspirits]

DS was 14 last month and has been referred for tests by an endocrinologist as he’s short and is showing no signs of puberty. He’s 5ft and his predicted height is 5:10 according to consultant. Both me and his Dad are 5ft7.5 so she said today that I am on the 90th percentile for my height but DP is on the 25th for his.

I am worried- DS’s voice hasn’t broken, his hands and feet are still quite small (a sign apparently) and he still looks younger than his peers- no hair etc. I guess I am worried about bone fusion but assume that as puberty hasn’t happened, that won’t have happened yet. He’s quite stocky but still quite childlike.

Anyone had any experience of it? He has to spend a day in hospital having bone scans, bloods done etc & she said he’ll need a canula put in which worried me a bit but guess it’s to make testing easier.

tbf, if OP starts asking for appts now, the lad might be offered treatment in 6+ months time, at which point it will be more obvious if he actually needs it.

Could be late puberty, could signal a problem. But 14 is the age when they check this out. He obviously grew fine as a child to get to 5' so not the same situation as a pp whose son needed growth hormone.

Delayed puberty itself isn't a problem other than affecting how the person feels (which is important) but there may be other underlying causes so it does need looked into.

Tiny girls are checked too.

Growth isnt only about height, it's an important part of endocrine function and it affects various levels of health. Puberty is an important process our bodies need to go through and of course if it isnt starting in either a girl or boy it's something to be investigated.

Some children are just late developers.

One of my daughters was very short throughout primary school and the first few years of secondary. I am only 5'2 so just assumed she was taking after me and would always be short.
She was also a late developer. At 13 she was once taken for an 8 year old. She started growing at 14 and her periods started at 15. She is now 5'8.

It turns out that instead of taking after me she was taking after her father. He was extremely short at 16 and his mother took him to the doctor because she was so worried. She was told that there wasn't much that could be done (this would have been in the 1960s) but that she should go back when he was 18 if she was still concerned. By the time he was18 he was 6'3!

Do you honestly think it is that simple?

@Edenspirits hi OP in the same boat with my 14 year old - what was the outcome of your son? Thanks