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Teenagers

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

Original poster

Son not growing - really worried.

97 replies

ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:25

name changed because bunch of reasons.. my son is 12 and half. he has always been on the short side but from about year 3 erring on being the shortest boy in class and then just the shortest kid overall. He isn't growing. he is currently 148.3cm and pretty much the shortest boy in his secondary. I feel like almost every second day we run into a kid he went to primary school with and havent seen for a year and they have shot up.
I've been keeping track and for example he grew 1.3cm in the last 6 months (since April) The thing is (name change...) he has very very small private parts. and small feet. I couldn't care less how big his privates or his feet are but I know height especially for men is really important and linked to future success. So im wondering if the small privates is somehow indicative of a problem? my partner took him to an nhs growth specialist about a year ago and the doctor said 'don't worry come see me if things haven't changed by the time he's 14. '
It just seems so unlikely I'm tall for a woman (176cm) and my husband is average (I think 177cm) Any advice or information or experience? he is definitely not started puberty. oh also he wasn't a small baby I think 9 pounds 9oz if I can remember. TIA

OP posts:
blankcanvas3 · 14/10/2025 16:28

He just hasn’t hit puberty yet. The doctor is right. My DS was short up until about 15 and then he shot up and now he’s 17 and 6”1, but tbh I haven’t seen his private parts since he was about 10 so I have no idea if they were small or how long for

recordersaregreat · 14/10/2025 16:31

At 14.5 DB was 1.62 tall (taller than your son, but still pretty short). He's now 6'3". He hit puberty really late, but he definitely grew when it finally arrived.

Original poster
ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:34

Thanks for taking time to answer. Also this sounds stupid but someone once said sons are always taller than their mother. does anyone have experience of this not being true? I'm sure there are examples out there just hope to god he's taller than me. I know he gets teased about it aswell and he's really good with his mates, says it's just banter. just seen 3 kids he went to primary with this weekend and they are all way taller, he's maybe 10cm taller.

OP posts:
Original poster
ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:34

recordersaregreat · 14/10/2025 16:31

At 14.5 DB was 1.62 tall (taller than your son, but still pretty short). He's now 6'3". He hit puberty really late, but he definitely grew when it finally arrived.

I live in hope!! also his brother is the same height as him people ask if they are twins and he's 2.5 yrs younger so thats tough on him I know.

OP posts:
Original poster
ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:35

anyone know anything I can do, not weird stuff like breaking his legs - but supplements or dietary based things?

OP posts:
blankcanvas3 · 14/10/2025 16:37

ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:34

Thanks for taking time to answer. Also this sounds stupid but someone once said sons are always taller than their mother. does anyone have experience of this not being true? I'm sure there are examples out there just hope to god he's taller than me. I know he gets teased about it aswell and he's really good with his mates, says it's just banter. just seen 3 kids he went to primary with this weekend and they are all way taller, he's maybe 10cm taller.

My cousin his shorter than his mum now he’s an adult

Original poster
ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:38

omg it's worse than I thought - just looked on 'up against the wall' chart and he's grown 7.3cm since Oct 5 2023! so 2 years. :(

OP posts:
Original poster
ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:38

blankcanvas3 · 14/10/2025 16:37

My cousin his shorter than his mum now he’s an adult

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oh noooo

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blankcanvas3 · 14/10/2025 16:39

ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:35

anyone know anything I can do, not weird stuff like breaking his legs - but supplements or dietary based things?

Calcium and Vitamin D for growth! Vitamin D get it in liquid form from somewhere like Holland and Barrett. You can also get the two of them together in one supplement, but just watch the dose of calcium especially if he gets a lot on his diet already

PronounPenisMan · 14/10/2025 16:40

My son is tall anyway but doesn’t eat meat and has a very picky around other protein sources. So we started including a daily protein shake to take the pressure off meal times. It may be a coincidence but he has shot up since doing so

Echobelly · 14/10/2025 16:42

My brother was always titchy until he was about 14, but grew to be average height.

DS was never tiny like me and my siblings as kids but he was on the late end for growth spurt, which he hit just before his 14th birthday this summer. 12 is still pretty early for growth spurt; some boys do shoot up at that age, like my husband's nephew, but I think 13-14 is more common.

user2848502016 · 14/10/2025 16:42

12.5 isn’t that old for boys to have not started puberty yet. My DD is 14 (in year 10), 2 years ago she was taller than most of the boys in her class and they looked much younger than all the girls! By now all the boys are taller than her (she is only 5’2”)
It’ll happen for him, like the Dr said go back if he is still not showing signs of puberty by 14.
He is likely to be around your partner’s height or taller seeing as you’re tall - but obviously there are always exceptions and he could be shorter. I think saying height is important for male success is a bit damaging though, and 176cm isn’t short.

Original poster
ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:42

blankcanvas3 · 14/10/2025 16:39

Calcium and Vitamin D for growth! Vitamin D get it in liquid form from somewhere like Holland and Barrett. You can also get the two of them together in one supplement, but just watch the dose of calcium especially if he gets a lot on his diet already

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ok buying some tomorrow. we eat moderately healthy. he eats to many crap snacks to be fair but it's not like constant turkey twizzlers. roast on Sunday, eats carrots and cucumber with every meal. maybe his diet isn't balanced enough. porridge with semi skimmed no added sugar for breakfast...

OP posts:
Original poster
ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:44

user2848502016 · 14/10/2025 16:42

12.5 isn’t that old for boys to have not started puberty yet. My DD is 14 (in year 10), 2 years ago she was taller than most of the boys in her class and they looked much younger than all the girls! By now all the boys are taller than her (she is only 5’2”)
It’ll happen for him, like the Dr said go back if he is still not showing signs of puberty by 14.
He is likely to be around your partner’s height or taller seeing as you’re tall - but obviously there are always exceptions and he could be shorter. I think saying height is important for male success is a bit damaging though, and 176cm isn’t short.

I fully agree height for men shouldn't be such a thing. and ive plenty of male friends who are on the short side and successful, happy and not got issues with it.

OP posts:
blankcanvas3 · 14/10/2025 16:45

ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:42

ok buying some tomorrow. we eat moderately healthy. he eats to many crap snacks to be fair but it's not like constant turkey twizzlers. roast on Sunday, eats carrots and cucumber with every meal. maybe his diet isn't balanced enough. porridge with semi skimmed no added sugar for breakfast...

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I honestly don’t think you need to be as worried as you are. You’ll be complaining soon that he grows out of his clothes too fast! Give him a couple of years for puberty to hit and try not to panic. Also the cousin that’s shorter than his mum - She’s 6” and he’s 5”11 so it’s not as bad as it sounds!

Original poster
ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:46

loads of studies disagree though. I suppose we can mitigate the effect by making sure he is confident and has good self esteem.

OP posts:
Original poster
ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:47

blankcanvas3 · 14/10/2025 16:45

I honestly don’t think you need to be as worried as you are. You’ll be complaining soon that he grows out of his clothes too fast! Give him a couple of years for puberty to hit and try not to panic. Also the cousin that’s shorter than his mum - She’s 6” and he’s 5”11 so it’s not as bad as it sounds!

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oh my god - he just DOESNT grow out of his clothes. I wish he would!! he's still a size 4 maybe 4.5 shoe but he says he's a 5 literally out of embarrassment / bravado. im not kidding. :(

OP posts:
zen1 · 14/10/2025 16:49

My brother was less tall than your son at the same age and we had tallish parents (5’6 and 6’2). He was always short and there was even some talk in the 80s of putting him on growth hormones (thank God they didn’t). By the time he was 15, he was the same height as me (164cm). He had a late growth spurt and ended up being 5’10. His 15 year old son is only about 155cm.

Zapx · 14/10/2025 16:49

Growing 7.3 over two years is slow, you are not unreasonable at all to take this seriously. Please consider a coeliac test- this can stunt growth and is particularly difficult to “catch back up on” if it is due to this and it’s diagnosed later in the teen years.

Rumpledandcrumpled · 14/10/2025 16:52

I think this is just he’s not hit puberty. My daughter was short and chubby till 14 nearly 15, then her periods started, and she shot up six inches in about a year /year snd a half, and didn’t gain weight as she did so, it stayed the same, so she ended up 5ft 8 and a size 8. It was astonishing the transformation as it was so so fast. One year she was a chubby kid literally the next she was a slim and tall teen. Puberty makes a huge difference.

CracklingFlames · 14/10/2025 16:54

My daughter was on the waiting list for a consultant re slow growth then with five months she grew 4.5 inches and is now taller than me!

VikaOlson · 14/10/2025 16:54

ParkMaiden · 14/10/2025 16:47

oh my god - he just DOESNT grow out of his clothes. I wish he would!! he's still a size 4 maybe 4.5 shoe but he says he's a 5 literally out of embarrassment / bravado. im not kidding. :(

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That sounds like a pretty average shoe size for that age, not worryingly small anyway.

StewkeyBlue · 14/10/2025 16:55

They shoot up at puberty.

And keep growing until they are about 23.

Hibernatingsloth · 14/10/2025 16:57

Hi OP, I'm 5ft 9 and my son grew to 5ft 8 and a half...he says he's 5ft 9 but I am definitely taller!
When he was born he was a very long baby and the nurses told me he was going to be very tall.
However, he grew very slowly all through primary school, and started secondary school as one of the shortest boys in his class.
He also went into puberty quite late, which does affect height in boys.
He never really had a growth spurt as such, but continued to gradually grow in height until his early 20s, whereas a lot of his friends seemed to reach their final height by late teens.
Growth is such an individual thing.

mumonthehill · 14/10/2025 16:58

I would not worry quite yet and see when puberty starts. We are a tall family but ds18 was always so much shorter and never seemed to grow and then between 16-18 he shot up to 6 ft 4! He still only has size 10 feet though. He hit puberty a bit later and he took ages to get body or facial hair.