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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

DS not growing - would appreciate hearing your own positive outcomes please.

35 replies

TapasGirl · 14/08/2012 07:57

I am really worried about DS1 who is 13.5. He just doesn't appear to be growing in height or build. Most of his peers are huge and continue to grow but he is so small and slight and I am getting a bit obsessed (on the quiet of course!) that he isn't going to grow.

I am tall and hubbie is really tall although we do have smaller grandparents on both sides.

I would really appreciate anyone who has had the same worries at this age but their child does grow eventually.

He is extremely consious of this and I keep telling him he will have a growth spurt but he is getting impatient and I don't want him to have issues as he is moving further into his teens.

His voice hasn't broken yet not sure if this is relevant and don't think he has body hair.

Thanks.

OP posts:
Original poster
TapasGirl · 14/08/2012 07:59

Sorry that should have said 'I would really appreciate anyone telling me about their own experiences, who have had the same worries about their teenagers not growing but it does come eventually'

OP posts:
dillnameddog · 14/08/2012 08:03

I went to a school reunion recently and caught up with this old schoolfriend. When I last saw him, he was really very short - one of the smallest in the year - and quite weedy-looking. Today he is over 6ft and really gorgeous!!! And incredibly charming and rich, but that's not the point.

I think kids definitely grow at very different points. My nephew was also very small aged 11, and is well above average aged 16.

kilmuir · 14/08/2012 08:03

I would take him to DRs for a check up.
Not wishing to sound alarmist, but may be worth checking hormone levels

dillnameddog · 14/08/2012 08:04

Good point kilmuir. No harm in taking him for a check-up.

knittedslippersx3 · 14/08/2012 08:07

My dd went out with a boy at this age and he was on the small side, now they are 16 and he towers above her. He is still very thin, he grew upwards but never bulked out. This is obviously just his build and shape. I'm sure your ds will have a spurt all of a sudden and will end up looking down on you! If you are concerned a quick check at the docs will put your mind at rest, I'm sure.

MrsCobbit · 14/08/2012 08:14

This happened my DS1 - I waited until his fourteenth birthday and when there was still no obvious signs of puberty I took him to the GP who referred him to a Paediatrician, but in the interim he started to grow rapidly - now 16.5, 5 11 and still growing. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.

3littlewomen · 14/08/2012 08:18

My DS of 15.5 was the same. His class mates towered over him and I was worried he would get bullied at school.

Since turning 15 he has shot up. We went to buy him shoes as apparently the ones he had felt tight - he had gone from a size 4 to a 7 in what seemed like a week! The same school trousers he had worn since first year (and had a good big hem on) suddenly developed tree rings as I had to let the hem down on 3 occasions over 2 months. I hate sewing so trousers really had to be flapping at ankles for me to be bothered with hem....

I worried, but whilst he was on the later side of the growth spurt he was within the norm and there are other kids smaller then him now Smile

chocoluvva · 14/08/2012 09:21

My slightly built DS hs grown 3 inches this year. I swear he grew at least an inch one week. He's overtaken his friends, but he's one of the older ones in his year.
From my experience of DD's friends and my pupils the massive growth spurt usually happens between the ages of 11 and 15. DD has two friends who were tall aged 12, but they're being overtaken by lots of their peers now (aged 16). Also, boys sometimes continue to grow till they're 20, so your DS has plenty of time.
The only concern I'd have if I was you , but you know your DS better than anyone else, so this maybe isn't relevant, is that taking him to your GP might CAUSE him to think there's a problem.

One of the boys in DD's year is small, while both his parents are tall.
Make sure your DS gets enough sleep as growth hormones require sufficient quantities of good quality sleep and plenty of nutritious calories.

Original poster
TapasGirl · 14/08/2012 09:26

Thanks for all your sound advice so far. What did we ever do without MN?
Chocoluvva - he would definitely think there was something wrong with him if we went to GP so I have to manage it really carefully. I may have a chat with his GP on my own to sound him out first.

It's great to know that there are other DS' who, although small, managed to grow at some point.

I just want it all to be ok for him during his teens.

OP posts:
hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 14/08/2012 09:32

Take him to the GP to get him in the system if needs be but my DS was tiny for years, then one summer when he was almost 14 he just shot up. We literally couldn't keep up with him clothes-wise, as soon as we bought him trousers he outgrew them. He is now a 6ft 20 year old.

RichManPoorManBeggarmanThief · 14/08/2012 09:37

My cousin was short till he was 16 and then suddenly grew to 6ft between 16 and 18. However, I would still get it checked out because if he does need any hormone therapy, it would be too late to wait until he's 18.

ColourMeWithChaos · 14/08/2012 09:38

My DS1 was short to average height right through to 14.

Then the summer between Year 9 and 10 he just grew and grew and grew.

He is now 6 ft 5 and built like a brick house.

hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 14/08/2012 09:40

Just read that back, and don't want the 'if needs be' to come across wrong. I should've started by saying...

In your situation I would take him to the GP now because I know it can take a while for them to be seen at the hospital if there is something wrong with his growth and the sooner you get started the more options you have.

NewlyMintedPeasant · 14/08/2012 09:41

My dss was unusually small and slight, at age 13 last summer I was still buying 9-10 or 10-11 years (with growing room). This summer, age 14, he's suddenly in men's medium, size 8 feet and as tall as dh (5'9). My son 2 is also following this pattern, he looks like a baby wandering around and dsd was also a tiny child but now just below average (like her mum). Dh and I also followed this growth pattern ourselves, I was 5'3 at age 15/16 but now am 5'9. Dh remembers being the smallest by far at school but is now quite average.

Has it obviously hit puberty? dss Grew a lot I noticed at the same time as his voice suddenly breaking and getting proper body hair (or so I presume from after his showers...)

NoComet · 14/08/2012 09:42

Some boys do seem to leave it very late. All through school we looked down on DFs little brother (2 years younger).

Gradually all the boys in that year shot up as Y4-Y5 boys do to their adult hight and were all taller than us. DFs brother stayed little.

Then one day I came home from university and found myself in a pub looking up at him. He honestly must have shot up at around 16-17

CMOTDibbler · 14/08/2012 09:48

Some boys do leave it late - and if he hasn't gone through puberty then he has a better chance of a late spurt. But it is best to get it checked out as my nephew (now 18) has spent his teens saying 'just a late grower' and thinking he'd be like the rest of the men in the family at over 6ft, but he never has. And is 5'3, and won't get much taller.
A bone x ray at 13 would have shown this, and let him settle to being this height

ChinUpChestOut · 14/08/2012 10:30

I read somewhere (or maybe it's just an old wives' tale) that height is inherited from the mother. My DS is 13 and has always been tall for his age (DS is now about 5'6"). His natural Dad is 5'8" and I am 5'9".

My friend's DS is 15 and is shorter than my DS, by about a head. Her DS is still waiting for his growth spurt, and I think she's taken him to the doctor as he is 15.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I wouldn't go to a doctor just yet, particularly if there aren't any other signs of puberty. When they start to get hairy and smelly is a good indicator that hormones are starting to kick in. And watch out for a huge food intake. These days, good diet and exercise tends to mean that most men are over 5'6" or 5'7", so I doubt you have anything to worry about.

herethereandeverywhere · 14/08/2012 13:11

Was just coming on to say that I remember it being the summer between year 9 and 10 (3rd and 4th year in my day!) when all the boys shot up. We went on school hols the same size or bit bigger and the boys all came back about a foot taller!

I wouldn't be concerned for another 12-18 months.

I also remember a friend's son who did trials for a few football clubs (eg: Liverpool) and was told he was too small (in his early teens). He's now 6ft although never did make it as a footballer!

Maryz · 14/08/2012 14:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Badvoc · 14/08/2012 14:08

What age did your husband enter puberty?
That could be a factor.
Also, bear I mind that children who tower over others at 13 do not necessarily still do so at 16/17! I was this height at 13!!

sleeze · 14/08/2012 17:16

My ds was tall throughout primary school and then seemed to stop growing through senior school. Between the ages of 16 and 17 he has grown over six inches and is now over 6' Dh was a late grower as were my brother and nephew so I was fairly relaxed about it. In fact Dh was 6' at age 18 but was 6'5" by the time he was 20!

Original poster
TapasGirl · 14/08/2012 21:03

Thanks so much for your positive stories which have really helped. I have read some where that your child should grow to be double the size they were at 2 so in this case he should grow to 6' 2". At the moment this seems an impossible height for him to grow to. We had to have him fitted for his new uniform today (new school year 9) and the uniform assistant thought he was going into year 7 or 8. I wanted to tell her to be quiet as know this would really piss him off.
I am worried about him being bullied because of his size and know he is concerned too.

OP posts:
basildonbond · 14/08/2012 21:10

I secretly fret about this with ds1 - he's 15.5 and about 5'9" but has never had a growth spurt as such - it's just been a gradual creeping upwards

He's convinced he's going to be tall as dh is 6'4" and he 'needs' to be tall for his chosen sport

However as the years have gone by waiting for this mythical growth spurt I'm starting to wonder if he will be particularly tall ... his voice has broken although there's no obvious facial or body hair so he's definitely started puberty

it's not helped by the fact that his younger siblings are both beanpoles relative to their peers and are obviously going to be super tall - ds2 who's 12 is almost as tall as ds1 already - eek ...

Original poster
TapasGirl · 14/08/2012 21:16

Hi BD what age did your DS' voice break? We are the same with regard to other DS' as his sibling is two years younger a beanpole much bigger than his peers and my DS' are often mistaken for twins which really upsets DS1.

OP posts:
workshy · 14/08/2012 21:37

I have a twin brother and all through high school I towered over him

Year 11 when we had the school photo he was on the front row with Yr 7&8

the time inbetween GCSEs and the start of A Levels he visibly grew and is now 6ft 4

my dad was a late grower too :)

my ex on the other hand was 5ft 11 at 13, and is still 5ft 11!