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.

Boys can grown into their 20s. Even DDs grew up to age 18+, as did I. I was 5'5" at 15 and 5'7" at 18.

I think he will still grow a little bit, an inch or two. I am only 5’1” and my boys are only 5’6”- it doesn’t hold us back! We come in all shapes and sizes.

The main thing here is building his confidence in other ways. In the physical appearance front, he can still be fit and toned. He’d do well to have something else he is good at that makes him feel confident: a sport / musical instrument / tech skill etc.

Yes at 5’6 half of women at least will be shorter than him. I know many average or short men in happy marriages and LTRs.

How would you know it worked? You have no way of knowing if he’d have grown at the same rate without the red meat.

I think 16 is too young to be worried about this (if he’s otherwise showing signs of puberty), my son is just turned 16 and 5’7, he only really hit puberty this year (hair growth, spots, deeper voice etc) he’s grown a lot this year and I’m assuming he still has a fair bit of growth left, I’ve got photos of friends in y11 where the boys are same height as us girls, they definitely weren’t by the end of sixth form, most grew substantially more.

It sounds like you are doing great, in that you are re-assuring him that his height does not matter.

My two sons are both very low on the percentiles, (they are 4 and 2) but DH is 6'2 so it is hard to know where it goes.

My ex said he was in his words 'tiny' until about 15yo but finished off at 5'9

5'6" is not particularly short I think 5'7" is about average. Make sue his diet is nice and varied, I was still growing at 18.

Try not to worry, help him become a lovely young man who has good self esteem and concentrate on whether he is healthy, eating a good balanced diet with the protein and vitamins he needs, and if he is exercising. These things are important generally to succeed at life but they will support also him growing.
Spriting and High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) both cause the growth hormone to spike. Diet is important as high insulin can block growth hormone release, and he will need good nutrition to grow. Sleep is essential as that's when the hormone is released.
I definitely agree with other posters who suggest hobbies to help him gain confidence.

5'6" is OK. Tom Jones is 5'6" and many other well known people. Plenty of quite dishy actors are shortish, not noticeable unless they are standing on the same level next to someone who is taller.

At 16 he will probably still grow a bit, may even reach 5'8or 9" by 18 which is the average age for boys to stop growing.

I remember when my son was at school, 12-13, he towered above friends at just over 6 ft but in a few years he had stayed the same (still is at 47), and several towered above him!

It doesn't matter, your son is not abnormally short by any means (think Tom Hollander and Ronnie Corbett, both well below average height), he'll be fine.

Im pretty sure he will. My own ds grew tons after 16.

My ds was about 5”7 at that age.

Hit 17/18 and grew again to 5”10/11.

that’s not particularly tall compared to the males in my family (all 6” + including my 14 yo DN) but IME boys definitely have a second growth spurt.

even my brother who’s 6” grew at 18 from 5”9 ish.

My DN went from 5ft6 at 15 to over 6ft by 18. We were all a bit concerned but he was just a later grower.

in contrast my 12 year old is already 5ft8. And hates it, he towers over his friends and is desperate to slow down.

I have the opposite issue with DD who is 14 and has had a massive growth spurt so is 5 ft 11. She’s really insecure about it and worried she will be 6ft. Everyone wants to change something they cannot e.g I would die for straight hair but many would want my curls. It’s just one of those things. 5 ft 6 isn’t too bad for a man anyway.

OP, if he hasn’t started shaving then I think he’s got more growing to do. I hit puberty quite late and kept growing quite late. I shot up from 5ft 4 to 5ft 8 when I was 16 (as a girl). My brothers had late growth spurts too and are around the 6ft mark. My son is also very average and I’m expecting to shoot but later. But also, health is far more important than actual height. If he’s a healthy weight for his height then you need not worry too much as height is not everything.

Fwiw op I've noticed that shorter men are often quite attractive because they always stand up very straight which makes them seem really confident. Whereas some of the really tall men I know (6ft3+) are all hunched over like they're trying to hide themselves at are less attractive because of it.

That said your son will probably still grow a bit anyway and just be a normal height for a man?

I come from a family of giants ( DH 6'5", DS 6'6", and I'm 5'10".
Everyone wants to be tall until you're older then you have a bad back and clothes are a nightmare. Ditto being an athlete with injuries.

I'm a retired CEO and all of my fellow male equivalents are short. I've never met a tall one.
The red book was spot on for my DC or within an inch.
If it helps my DH was 5'8" at 15 and his parents were tiny.

Average height for a man is between 5’9 to 5’10, average is over stating it a bit.

My son was 5 feet 7 for about 3 years, including when he left high school. By 19, he was 6 feet 5.

Please don’t worry about it. He could have a bit more in the tank yet but even if he lands at 5’8 that’s hardly tiny - Tom Holland and Zac Efron are both 5’8! It’s something you have absolutely no control over at all. Focus on his interests, his personality and ensuring he’s a great well-rounded guy and this really isn’t a thing that should hold him back at all. My DH is only 1 inch (2 in certain shoes, as he always reminds me!) taller than me and it’s never ever bothered me.

I'm surprised it has gone that tall, I knew it was increasing because I worked with actors my whole career- even they are only about 6 feet on average, and have always been taller than the population generally- I would have expected average actor height to be 6'1" or 2 if %'10" is average, interesting.

How tall are you and his Dad?

DS was premmie and always very small. Began school as oldest in year and smallest in school. Age 2 clothes at 5. He had 2 major growth spurts. First at 14, second at 16. He definitely grew a bit more at about 19.

DH and I both tall, same height, but one grand father was 5ft 6 and cousin is 5ft 5.

He may well still grow but on the other hand, some people are shorter! And that's fine too! Is he from a tall family? If so then chances are he'll grow more. Then say sons are never shorter than their mothers although I don't know if that's true or not.

My brother was a late developer and had a growth spurt at about 16/17. He's actually my half-brother and all the women on my stepdad's side are teeny-tiny (under 5 foot) so I know my mum was also a bit worried he'd be really short. But he's just under 6 foot these days.

I know what you mean @Tradversionok as I've felt similar with my DS. It's not about having height biais yourself but the awareness that society in general still views being tall as a man specifically as desirable and successful and not wanting your DS to feel negative about himself because of this or others towards him.

My DS has a medical condition which may have affected his growth but to be honest both sides of his family aren't tall and that's maybe where he would have ended up anyway, we'll never know. He was very aware of this and self conscious in his mid teens but as he's grown older it does seem less of an issue for him.

I hope your DS feels similar as, regardless of what people may say, it is hard for them particularly at that age, and for you being aware of this and trying to boost his confidence.