Can son's excessive growth be halted?

[Extralongtrews]

My boy is 16, v skinny and now 6 ft 6. He's always been tall but I'm starting to worry he might have giantism. He could grow for another two years. Some boys grow into their 20s.

The doctor will most likely fob me off but am I right to be concerned? He's a bit of a misfit anyway and doesn't need to stand out like a sore thumb any more than he already does.

Anyone with experience of this?

I asked DH, he was about 6’5” by 18 and only grew another inch after. He says: “don’t worry, being tall is great 😁”

Are you really calling your son who is a “bit autistic” a “misfit”?

Woah! My DS1 is 6’5 and 16, skinny too. He loves his height and is never ridiculed for it. Maybe help him be confident in who he is rather than think about trying to restrict his height. DH is 6’8 and this is one of this favourite things about himself. They are both just tall, big people on DHs side of the family. It’s highly unlikely the doctor is going to be able to restrict his growth further, this is normally done before puberty starts, once it’s happened I think it’s hard to do.

Thank you for all the replies everyone. I might have to get my head round a 6' 8" son then.

@TheLassoWay yes life is difficult for him. This thread is only about height but I do worry about him a lot.

I’m sure he’ll ‘grow into’ his height as he gets older and it’ll be an advantage to him. I know it can feel uncomfortable to be anything other than average everything as a teen.

@Spud90 my DS dad was 6'7" but DS seems to have settled at about 6'3" (he's nearly 18 so don't think he will grow much more)

My son is 16 and 6ft 9! I am 6ft and his dad 6ft 4 so he was always going to be tall. He is slowing down in his growth now!

I’m beginning to think that height is a bit like house temps on Mumsnet - details are stretched to say the least. And I meant the pun.

I think if all the previous posters really know multiple men over 6ft6, I would suggest they are the anomaly.

Average height for men in this country is 5 Ft 10.

I hope your son can be happy with his height, whatever it ends up being.

I mean unrelated men.

The average height is 5ft10 because people with White English origin (who form most of the population) do tend to be shorter as a population. If your background is from elsewhere you need to use that as a benchmark.

This.

You can't be 'a bit autistic', you are either are or you aren't: neuro-diverse or neuro-typical . It's completely disrespectful to those who have ASC to suggest they're misfits. Parent to a child with ASC/ ADHD here and I'm offended.

Also parent to another child - 16 and tall. The best thing is to try and get him into a sport/ the gym and build some muscle to help him feel more confident and strong.

I'm glad to hear there are numerous offspring 6'6 plus, hopefully it is becoming less rare. DC's dad is exceptionally tall even by this thread and my DC don't want to be as tall and I think if they knew there was something they could do about it, they would.

How tall are family members? Lads today are getting taller, so probably just normal if it's a tall family. Pituitary gigantism is unusual, but if he's disproportionate to the rest of the family it might be worth speaking to your GP. Is he well on through puberty? If so it would make gigantism less likely, and would also make it more likely he might stop growing sooner.

My brother is 6'5", he had a massive spurt between 15 & 17, grew 8" in 18 months, then stopped. Ds is 6'1" & grew nearly a foot in the same time, he was kind of in the middle in height at school, then shot up.

What size shoes does he take? I found that when ds feet stopped growing, his height growth slowed down & stopped.

I know this thread is a few weeks old but OP you said yourself that height runs in the family and you are tall as well. Tall mum + tall dad often results in even taller kids. A good example is Trump’s youngest kid. Trump was apparently 6’4” when he was younger and Melania is 5’10” or so. Their son was 6’7” at age 15.

Is that right, I didn't know that. DD is autistic and almost as tall as me (5'8) at 11.

"A bit autistic"?!
He's either neurodivergent or neurotypical OP.
Is he diagnosed? If not you are being very offensive. If he is, you need to stop worry about him not fitting in and start learning about what an autistic teen may need from his mother, rather than hoping he fits in with everyone else.

oh give over with your lectures. you're not in charge of the world.