Son not growing - really worried.

[ParkMaiden]

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

My friends son is 15 and only just started getting taller. He's been tiny for ages. My DS3 shot up 5 inches in less than 3 months aged 13 and has huge stretch marks from his skin (looks like he's been mauled by a tiger) stretching so quickly.

12 is very young to be worrying about this.

Im 5ft 11. DS1 is taller than me. His dad is 5ft 6. My partners son is a month older than DS1 and is 6ft and has been since he was 14. DS1 was v v short at that age, probably 5 2 atm. Now they're the same height. Some grow later than others. Both my dad and brother were the same so maybe there's a hereditary element to it. DS1 also didnt walk till 19 months so maybe just does everything late. He also grew v slowly and gained most height between 16-19. Hes 20 now and still looks taller whenever he comes back from uni.

@ParkMaidenthis could be one of those things he will grow out of.
Alternatively there may be a treatable, medical reason. This seem be a strange question but it’s relevant - does he have a sense of smell?
A friend has a hormone deficiency called Kallmann’s syndrome which affects growth, privates and smell; he has been treated & many aspects have resolved. Sources like the Pituitary Foundation can tell you a lot about this. Please do not panic! A paediatric endocrinologist can diagnose & treat.
Please let me know if this may be the case - the symptoms are listed on line.

My son is exactly the same age as is 152cm. It genuinely hadn’t occurred to me to be worried about his height because he isn’t particularly small. There are boys in his year who are well on their way through puberty and others who are much smaller than him. I suspect puberty will be relatively soon but I don’t know when exactly.

At the beginning of term his feet were a 3.5 / 4 but I have just had to buy him new size 5 shoes (and size 6.5 football boots!) But the 4s fit him fine just 6 weeks ago. Again - he wasn’t bothered at all.

I really think that you are worrying too much. (Although I would get the Crohns thing checked out.)

At 12.5, it way too early to start worrying.

In my experience as a mother of sons, the boys that shot up in years 7 and 8, ultimately ended up being the shortest.

Get him tested for coeliac disease.

We're all so different. My ds is 12yrs. He is 5ft 2. His friend is also 12 yrs and is 6 ft!

I’m 5’1” and stopped growing at 12 and the boys were either the same height as me or taller. He needs to see a doctor as his younger brother is the same size as him. Does he eat enough calories?

Dear ParkMaiden
Please read this recent thread on the same subject. Your son may possibly not have started puberty yet. But...if there is a growth problem, it needs to be diagnosed asap because treatment can be too late to help.
This thread is very useful - please have a look and get him checked. Nothing lost if he's fine and it will set your mind at rest.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5414941-145-year-ds-very-short-see-doctor?latest=1

Crohns certainly is a potential and does have a genetic link so worth checking that out
a friend daughter is coeliac and was diagnosed around 12

DS has a friend pretty much the same age and height and he is on vitamin D and calcium supplements via the doctor and I don’t see any harm in that either

My 4 year old daughter is also tiny, and I get loads of well meaning people say it's fine - well maybe it is but paeds have monitored her growth for a few years and we are now under endocrinology for some investigations

With a teenage boy it's much more time sensitive and critical because if there is an issue the window to sort it is much smaller

The child growth Foundation has lots of info - but you need to work out his mid-parental centile and if he's more than two centiles out it needs investigation - especially if you and his dad aren't particularly small

Also look at his growth trajectory - then get to the GP and discuss

My husband is the same height as his mother.
OP a friend’s son had the same issues and was advised to have growth hormones.
However both my brother and myself hit puberty late, and db was the size of the smaller year 7s when he changed schools at 14. He is over six foot now, he grew a lot between 16 and 17 and then a bit up until 19 or 20, and I did the same, my periods started at 16 and I grew until 19. I was the second smallest girl in my year at 14 and now I am five foot eight (the same height as my Dad, my Mum was five foot four) .
So it is probably just that he hasn’t yet hit puberty, but it’s also worth getting him checked out again in case he does need a helping hand.

Do a ‘Peak Height Velocity’ calculation on him.

This is really very specific and you have to do it exactly accurately. When measuring, put a book or table mat on his head and draw the line exactly where his head is, don’t add on any cms where his hair is, it’s extremely precise.

Get a PHV calculator online, you need to measure him standing and also sitting, this is extremely precise as I said, and I think his back needs to be fully against the wall for the sitting measurement, but please check the instructions.

This will tell you when he will get his growth spurts and what height he will be. It’s extremely accurate. Good luck x x

I think you said upthread he has semi skimmed milk- it’s only a little thing and unlikely to make much difference, but I’d give him whole milk. We switched to whole milk when our DCs were very little and we’ve never switched back to semi. Growing lads need calories- I know he isn’t growing much yet, but assuming he doesn’t have something medically wrong, he is likely to start growing pretty fast pretty soon, and will need a lot of calories!

Here is a Peak Height Velocity Calculator:

you might find a better one but it’s the first one that showed up for me;

wwwapps.usask.ca/kin-growthutility/phv_ui.php

My son is 12.5. He’s a size 5.5 feet, still has a little boys private parts (nothing has grown at all) and hasn’t started puberty. He’s about 4ft 10.
His brother who is 12 months older, is like a 16 yr old, taller than me, broad & fully developed private parts. Size 10 feet. He’s been like this since 12.5… so even in the same family with the same food & genetics, they can all be very different.

My son - same stats as yours and nowhere near puberty although he’s starting to get a bit broader. He’s autistic and takes melatonin which can apparently slow down puberty.

i am feeding him up as much as possible to be honest. I am 5’10 and my husband is 6’5 so we are trying not to worry.

Both my boys were relatively short intil 16 then they shot up now not 23 and 18 year old are at least 6ft 2 , I’m 5 ft 7, so I wouldn’t worry too much !

Ok- yeah I worry about him for some other reasons unrelated to height so I’m sure there is some transference going on! Definitely don’t let my anxiety color your thinking in any way. I do worry a lot about him.

My ds didn’t grow until he was 14.

Then again at 20!

hes 21 now and 6” but at 12yo he looked about 9 🤣

My son was tall and well built at primary school next to his mates, then at about 13 they all overtook him and most looked like men at 16 but my son still looked so young. He was quite late starting puberty but then at 16 he shot up and is now 20 and 6ft 3! I’m not tall but DH is 6ft 1. I was worried when he was 15 to be honest, comparing him to his footy team mates. Then just like that, boom!

I have three sons. When my second son was 12 he wore age 5-6 underpants and was so small/thin that I couldn’t get proper trousers for him for school (high school has specific trouser spec).
At around 14 puberty hit and wow, the speed! He literally ate constantly. He is now in his twenties and is 6‘2“
I wasn’t so worried as his older brother was slow to shoot up but without that I would have been. Wait until puberty OP, try not to stress overly.

Haha, I don’t know the size of his penis as such I haven’t seen him naked in ages, and I’ve never never mentioned anything about that to him!! Anyhow you are right about him getting a complex and we are aware we shouldn’t reference it all the time and we don’t. And I don’t measure him all the time. I have the normal wonky walk chart in pencil for him and his brother and it gets added to in a very haphazard fashion.

I agree with others saying ask your gp to do a blood test for coeliac disease. My eldest was diagnosed this year. He hadn't complained of any stomach problems. It was only picked up as due to his autism he is checked annually by a dr who measures his height and weight. He hadn't grown in a year and had lost weight. Coeliac disease damages the intestine so it can't absorb the nutrients from food so can stunt growth in children. My son is 17 so not sure if his growth will catch up now.

Thank you 🙏