To be worried my teen son won’t grow any more?

[Tradversionok]

He’s not far off 16 and he’s 5ft 6. We are not a family of giants, he’s not shaving or anything, and he’s a late bloomer (grew 6 inches in 14 months) - but I still worry that’s it. No more in the tank. I guess I can’t know.

I worry because I can see him internalise it, brush it off but get upset by it and compare himself to his friends. And I just want him to feel good about himself. To feel confident and to find a girlfriend and feel good about that side of his life (when he’s ready etc)

obviously I boost him all the time. I think he’s wonderful and tell him. I’ve just come here to voice my anxieties.

How tall are you both?

Exactly this. This thread is a bit bonkers honestly people taking about growth hormones for a 5ft 6 guy.

When I was like 4ft 8 at age 14 the doctors rightly considered that because I’d be about 8 inches below average size woman if I hadn’t grown further. I ended up not taking the hormones and I’m now 5ft 3 which feels like a giant now given how short I was as a teen 😆 (yes I know I’m still shorter than the average!)

You shouldn’t need to ‘manage’ it. It’s an entirely 1st world problem that your son is healthy, happy but just slightly shorter than average.

Only by one inch though! Average height for a woman is 5’4.

I’m female and in my late 50s. I have ‘grown’ in the last year by doing a lot of back stretching. I am actually now 0.5 cm taller than I was in my teens/20s! I’m sure that extra height will all shrink away if I stop stretching.

OP, I think height is largely genetic, so unless you are all very short, your DS does sound surprisingly short. You are clearly concerned so I would consider contacting the GP and definitely would if he is worried. This might help:

https://apps.nhslothian.scot/refhelp/short-stature/

25th centile isn't particularly short though and would be about 5'8" for a man, which the OP's son would be a lot happier with! (He might still reach that of course.)

My son has grown two inches since he was 16 (17 & a bit now), I still think there’s more growth in him as his Dad had a growth spurt when he was 18 and he’s very like his Dad.

There’s plenty of time yet for growth.

@Tradversionok likely he will grow a bit more, nothing wrong with a man being under 5'7". DS grew an inch at uni.

FWIW, my grandad was 5'6". He was extremely handsome, the ultimate ladies man, very charismatic and made a friend wherever he went. Also very successful financially.

Yes exactly! I mean at one point I was hopeful I’d get to 4ft 11 /5ft so and that would’ve been fine, so definitely no complaints from me at 5ft 3!

So maybe he's going to be like his Dad, Unless you're worried about a potential underlying health issue .Everyone wants their children to reach their full potential in all things, for me height isn't an issue as long as he's healthy.

No you’re not. 5ft 3 IS the average height for a UK woman.

I’m 5ft 1. No that is below average height!

While my son, always the tallest in the class, stopped growing at about 16 a number of boys in the class were still growing and surpassed him! He topped out at 5’11”, my height at my peak. Tall enough for sure but he really wanted to be 6’. My DD took after her maternal grandmother and stopped growing at 12 at 5’6.5”, whereas all the women in my family were much taller. She’s the tallest of her friends though.
Your son still has time to grow.

My son same height at 14. He was questioning if he would grow. My sister is taller than me and DH brothers are taller than him but GP are short with exception of my Dad who's 6ft. So we were all unsure when he'd stop growing

I've tried do add DS growth chart. We draw on the wall. He had hit puberty by this stage whereas your DS hasn't

I'm trying to show that your DS is likely to still grow. My grew 6 inches from 14 to 20. We think he's still growing at just over 6ft.
DD on the other hand has barely grown since 14 but girls stop earlier.

My brother is 40 and 5'7 has a lovely wife, 2 children and a great job. If the only thing you're worrying about is your son's height, count your blessings

I would speak to the GP. I suspected he has another stretch to go.
My Nephews boyfriend is 5ft 6. He is very confident.

I’m on the “he’s likely to grow another inch or two” side.
Seems usual that boys do until fully out of puberty, and until around 18, sometimes older.
My own son wasn’t done until 19/20

Why would I speak to the GP???

My husband is 5'4" and it has never been a problem. I'm taller than him (5'5") but never really thought about it until I had a son. I started to worry as he headed into his teenage years. Mainly because of awful comments from women , both in person and on mumsnet etc. it upsets me that certain women still seem to think that body shaming men for their height is acceptable in this day and age. Maybe your son will have another growth spurt, maybe he won't. Concentrate on bringing up a confident, healthy and lovely human being. As it is my son did grow a lot after 15 and is currently 5'9 at almost 17 (which is taller than his parents and grandparents) and without any red meat 🙄as he has been vegetarian for many years.

He might need a blood tests to check his hormone levels. It wouldn’t hurt to check.

5'3" is definitely below average height! I'm 5'3" - it's top of the Petite range in shops 🙂

Years ago 5' 9"to 5' 10" was considered tall. He has ample time to get an extra 2 or 3 inches. I think because there are more 6 foot and over men nowadays it we think that is the norm. If you are really worried and think it is hormone related speak to a doctor.

I don't get what the issue is around male height as I'm not height-ist or anything else -ist.

Much more valuable in life are kindness, emotional skills / intelligence etc. And that a person can pull their own weight as a partner and share the mental load in all aspects of life and partnerships or teams.

My son kept growing until he was 21 (he is very tall) and I myself (f) grew an inch while I was at university.

My friend was the same as you - really worried about his son being short at 16 and late puberty. Son is over 6 foot now! I think if puberty is late growth is delayed too. Try not to worry too much, and make sure he has a healthy diet.

You don’t need to anything ist to be not attracted to tall, short or any height people. It’s something you have no control over.