Delayed growth in boy - should I worry?

[WorriedofHampshire]

My 14 year old son is very small and slight - always has been. He is absolutely fine in all other ways - eats well, is sporty, has plenty of stamina, sleeps well, does well at school.

Recently he has become upset at his height and weight as he has been teased at school (I don't think this is malicious teasing, more affectionate).

Anyway, we went to see our (lovely) GP last for a "put your mind at rest" check up. Turns out he is 5ft 2 and only 5 1/2 stone!
Apparently there are some signs that puberty may be on its way - but she has written to the hospital and we are expecting an appointment soon. Does anybody know what we can expect? There is talk of "growth treatment" which is worrying me a little!

I feel very guilty that perhaps I have waited too long to do anything about this - but I had always just assumed that he was naturally small. (Husband, elder son and I are all fairly "normal" size).

Please put my mind at rest!

This could be me writing. DS is 11.7 though, and 135cm (can't convert, sorry). Fit and healthy in all other respects. He's just above the 2nd percentile on the growth chart, and has been since a baby. Am sick of everyone saying "he'll have a growth spurt later on" because I just don't think he will. Men in my family all 6ft+, but DH's much shorter. I shall watch this thread with interest.
School nurse told me a year or two back that growth hormone injections were last resort only, and that if DS is happy enough, then not worth it. As you say, any comments are mainly affectionate/in jest and he's very good at laughing at himself about it. Long may it last.

Did either you or you partner have late puberty? I didnt go through puberty untill I was sixteen and started after a visit to the doctor with my concerned mum who started her periods at 11 and reached her full adult height at 12 of 5ft7inches. I was the smallest and lightest child in my class up untill then.
When I did go through puberty it was a such a speed my mum had more conderns! and reached 5ft 6in myself within a year from being quite alot smaller than your son.
I say this as my ds2 is by far the smallest in the class and at 9 only weighs 3 stone. Ds3 is taller than him at 6yrs so I understand where you are coming from.
When ds2 was five he was refered to the hospital for this very reason where they charted his progress. It turned out that all be it very slowly he was growing and while there is evidence of growth they were happy. We still have to monitor it at home and go back if he appears to stop.

I suspect he is just like me though and when puberty hits him he will shoot up.
I think you have done the right thing and am sure that its just a case of in his own time. We are all different after all.

did they talk about working out bone age ? Apparently the skeleton in children can be "younger" than their actual age - and can catch up in puberty. I think 14 is still within the realms of normal for the onset of puberty - certainly boys can still be actively growing later in their teens.

i dont mean this maliciously, but imo it is not fun to be a v short man (if there is any choice).

I'm afraid I don't have any actual measurements for you, but my two brothers were very very skinny and short. They didn't hit puberty til about 15/16 and now they are both about 6'4" (although they are both still extremely lean). 5'2" doesn't sound short to me for a 14 yr old.

Where is he on the chart in the red book?

First time poster - didn't expect so many messages so soon! Thank you all for your comments.

Clam - you sound like you know just where I'm coming from! (I don't know what the red book is?)

Bojangles - I went through puberty at 13 - all very normal. Husband was a bit later - maybe that's connected? He is tall and slim but was considered very skinny when he was younger.

Throckenholt - no, we didn't discuss bone density - I guess we will when we see the specialist.

And Islingtonponce - I agree . . . Ds1 is (and I may be biased here!) tall, dark and goodlooking and I think this is causing ds2 some problems. Also girls are beginning to enter the equation and I know that when I was a teenager I wouldn't have considered going out with a shorter boy!

Thank you so much for your help - I am feeling better about things!

The "red book" (in our area) is that health record that you're given when they're babies with all sorts of immunisation/development information in it. Has height and weight graphs at the back to plot their progress.

Ah,it's blue down here! I have to find that before our hospital appointment - goodness knows where I've put it . . . But I do remember he was hovered a bit below the 50th centile.

I was the smallest in my class until I hit puberty at...1wait for it...17 !
I then outgrew everyone in my class. My dad always reported that he was one of the smallest in his class on leaving school but when he returned the following year for a school reunion, he wasn't recognised as he had shot up!!
If the hospital finds nothing out of the norm, then I'd wait and let nature do her thing! Just reassure ds that he is gorgeous no matter what size he is

I am in the same situation ds will be 14 in a week and is v small too 5'2 aswell I think otherwise healthy.He has always been small and was born 4 weeks early I am worries now although i am only 5'4 and dp not more than 5'8.

At High School Ds2 fell out with his 'old' friends from primary school because they were teasing him because he was so short.

He is now 15y 6mths and has shot up in the last 6 months - much much later than his older brother.

He is about 5ft 10 ins now and still growing and loves standing nose to nose with me, saying 'little mum'.

There is time yet. Watch your ds's feet. The extremeties grow first, I noticed, then the rest catches up!

Oh and I meant to say, for a while ds2 looked, if possible, even skinnier than usual, because he was going to height. I look forward to the day when his knees are no longer the widest part of his legs!

Agree with summer111, my brother was the same size as your ds at that age and was sent to lots of hospital appointments - which made him really upset about his height / lack of stubble and such... mum refused to put him on 'growth treatment' and it wasn't until 18 he shot up and is now 5ft 11. Sometimes best to let people develop in their own time.

my ds is skinny which does make him look very small god the worrying never stops.Luckily no teasing here yet but I know he wishes he would grow but I don't want to make a medical issue of it either

My DS1 has been seeing an enodcrine consultant since toddlerhood. he is now 10yo. He is 125cm tall and weighs about 3.5 stone. He had never reached the 0.4th centile on the growth charts until he went onto growth hormone treatment. Two years later after daily injections he passed the 2nd centile, however he was then diagnosed with a rare brain condition caused by the growth hormone. Since coming off GH 2 years ago his rate of growth has slowed and he is back down to the 0.4C and will probably drop from that soon. If your child is hovering below the 50th centile he is entirely within normal growth range and I would be surprised if he were referred to a consultant over concerns for his height.

DS was always one of the smallest in his class and took an awful lot of stick. He's almost 15, been through puberty (or certainly lots of changes have taken place) and he has grown incredibly this year. My DH is only 5'9", I'm 5'4" and DS is taller than me now and rapidly catching up to his Dad. He's never going to be tall given his parents, but he is growing at last. Obviously can't say what will happen to your DS but just wanted to say mine has grown several inches this year, and boys don't stop growing til a lot older than girls (I think even up til 20)

uptomyeyes! Is DS OK now? Were you warned of possible side effects of the hormone? School Nurse said you don't muck about with them, but she didn't say more than that.

My brother was tiny and I mean tiny as a boy, then all of a sudden at 15 he started growing and that was that - he reached 5ft 10 in days. My son is 13 and is 5ft 3" at the mo, but I am not worried he has started puberty and his feet are growing like mad so I sort of guess the next bit will be his legs!

Clam - DS1 is in fair health. He has suffered permenant damage to his optic nerve which along with the ventricles of his brain and spinal cord had been distorted by the overproduction of central Nervous System Fluid caused by GH.It is a very rare condition not previously seen in children, but it caused us some grief. He was originally diagnosed with a brain tumour which thankfully turned out not to be the case. There is also a small chance of leukemia which we were warned about.

It was a very difficult decision for us to put DS1 on GH. But he was so significantly smaller than everyone in his reception class when he started school -put it this way my just turned 2 DS3 already has a bigger shoe size than DS1 did when he went to school at 5. We had to have a school blazer and trousers made to measure. Other children were constantly making remarks about his height to him and picking him up like a doll. It affected all aspects of his life from school to swimming lessons (he was too short for the pool when all his friends started swimming lessons he couldn't)

We have finally accepted a diagnosis of Silver Russell syndrome - which is a sort of smorgasbord of symptoms but has no known genetic marker. But if you think he is now 10 and has been under the care of a paediatric endocrinologist since he was 1, you willsee it has obviously not been an easy diagnosis to make.

DS1 (14 ín May) has a hospital appointment in two weeks time at the growth clinic. He is well below five foot and is very conscious of it (he asked a girl out at Christmas and she said she would have gone out with him if only he was taller). We put away his old clothes and then a few months later his brother (5 but very tall for his age) is wearing them, which must be pretty crap for a self-conscious teenager.

Worried about what people are saying about growth hormone ¨- I was hoping that would be the solution.
Interesting to see that there are so many other boys out there going through this. DS is very tired of being told off for being in the 'older' part of the school, when he is there legitimately, but is developing more of a sense of humour about it over time.

He is having his thyroid measured every six months as well because apparently that can slow growth.

Just measured ds and he is 5'1 exactly.very slim and will be 14 on May 1st.He is happy as larry and has had girlfriends and won't entertain doctors.What shall I do?Wish I hadn't started reading this now

Hi. DS1 was like your son, shortest in class, then really grew loads at puberty, is now average. Same for his friend, although he was later reaching puberty. (neither having any medcal attention)DS2 has been monitored and investigated quite seriously, mainly because at birth he was average height and weight, then dropped down to 5th centile or therea bouts. Consultant is now satisfied he will be slightly shorter than average at adult height. What i did learn though is that a later puberty is a good thing for these boys, as they will have a longer growing period before they have the growth spurt, iyswim.