Very short for his age

[lorevangeel]

My ds is a very small 13 yo, close to 4’ tall and also very skinny. He had some medical issues, which means he has a growth delay and he is expected to catch up later. It hasn’t bothered him too much, until now because he knew he would catch up. However, lately it does bother him and I think it is because his friends have growth spurts. Any of you are in a similar situation of having a very short kid?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My ds is a very small 13 yo, only about 4’ tall and also very skinny. He had some medical issues, which means he has a growth delay and he is expected to catch up later. It hasn’t bothered him too much, until now because he knew he would catch up. However, lately it does bother him and I think it is because his friends have growth spurts but also because his litte sister has become taller. Any of you are in a similar situation of having a very short kid?

Well, yes. But it was our daughter. She "grew up" to a whopping 5', however.

Our older son was fairly short (not as short as our daughter, but short) and we were told he would most likely have his growth spurt (which, compared to girls, boys have a later one) around his senior year of high school. And, sure enough, he hit it after graduation. He's about 5'8" now, as is our younger son and he, also, didn't "spurt" until he was around 18. Actually, same thing for my husband - he was pretty short all the way through high school and he finally grew (barely taller than our boys).

 

[Minniedap]

My son was about 4'6" when he entered high school. It wasn't until his junior year that doctors discovered he had a large pituitary tumor. Once they removed it he did grow to be about 5'8". I felt he missed out on a lot in high school because of it. Now he is an adult and all is good. It sounds like your son's medical issues have been taken care of, so he will grow. Have you considered growth hormone? My son's Endocrine doctor said she regrets not giving him some.

 

[superme80]

That was my husband. He started high school at 4'11". He is now 5'7 1/2". He has his growth spurt between his sophmore and jr year of high school.

 

[Skippy918]

I was really short too back in 8th grade. All the other girls had gone through their growth spurts except for me. I was 4'10 and everyone else was a full head taller than me. It was hard. I hit my growth spurt between 9th and 10th grades.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

My DH was short and skinny as a child. I have a novelty baseball card of his giving his stats as 4'8" and 75 lbs. I assumed he was about 8 years old - he was 13! In the same year, his sister, who is 2 years younger, was over 5 ft. tall and almost double the weight. DH said he finally grew between his junior and senior years in high school; he is now a perfectly normal 5'8", 165 lbs. Ironically, between him, his brother (4 years older), and his sister, he was the longest and heaviest at birth; now he's shorter and lighter-weight than them.

I was just the opposite - always tall as a child; 3 ft. at 2 years old, and I hit 5'2" by 6th grade. 3rd tallest kid in the class. Never grew past that, though!

 

[nene0182]

My son is also very short for his age. We always knew he wouldn't have much of a chance, I'm 5'1" and his dad is 5'4". He has nothing medically wrong with him though. Now that he is in middle school, it is starting to bother him more (especially when his cousin that is in 1st grade is taller then him, though he is a big kid). As cheesy as if sounds, we just stress not worrying over thjngs you have no control over and to be proud of the person you are. It's tough some days though. For example went to buy him new shoes at a large sporting goods store head and he was mortified when his size was listed under the "preschool" section.

 

[bdcp]

My youngest DS was 4'10" when he was almost 15. He was tested and finally it was determined it was just genetic. His bone age at 15 was 13.5 which explains a lot. He just turned 29 and he's 5'8" and about 130 lbs. His sr year in HS he grew about 4 inches and added a couple more in college. He also has a slight build and has always looked younger than he is. When he started HS, he had kids who didn't know him asking him if he was a smart younger kid due to his size. I think what bothered him more was his older brother was 5'1" at 12 and by the time he started HS, he was 5'7" and now 6'1". Even though they're only 28 months apart, oldest DS was 10 inches taller than younger DS until youngest DS was about 22. There's still 5 inches between them, but oldest DS is taller than everyone else in the family. He got it from two great-grandfathers, while younger DS is built more like his other great-grandfather. Funny thing is at birth older DS was 6lb 8oz and 20 inches and younger DS was 7lb 15oz and 19.5 inches. After 6 months of age was when the difference in growth really appeared.

 

[lorevangeel]

My son is also very short for his age. We always knew he wouldn't have much of a chance, I'm 5'1" and his dad is 5'4". He has nothing medically wrong with him though. Now that he is in middle school, it is starting to bother him more (especially when his cousin that is in 1st grade is taller then him, though he is a big kid). As cheesy as if sounds, we just stress not worrying over thjngs you have no control over and to be proud of the person you are. It's tough some days though. For example went to buy him new shoes at a large sporting goods store head and he was mortified when his size was listed under the "preschool" section.

You're son sounds very much like mine... How old and tall is he? Mine is also in middle school, and dd is also bigger than him...

 

[nene0182]

You're son sounds very much like mine... How old and tall is he? Mine is also in middle school, and dd who is in the 1st grade is also bigger than him...

He's about 4'. Not sure of his exact height but he was super excited last summer and we went to a theme park and he had reached 48 inches. I know he hasn't grown much since then. He'll be 12 on Wednesday.

 

[ronandannette]

My ds is a very small 13 yo, only about 4’ tall and also very skinny. He had some medical issues, which means he has a growth delay and he is expected to catch up later. It hasn’t bothered him too much, until now because he knew he would catch up. However, lately it does bother him and I think it is because his friends have growth spurts but also because his litte sister has become taller. Any of you are in a similar situation of having a very short kid?

Yep. At 18 my DS is 5'2" and appears to have topped out. He's always been short and and has grown very slowly, but I have to admit we all hoped (he most of all) he would end up taller. It could have gone either way - I'm 5' and his DDad is 6'. He routinely is mistaken for a much younger boy, even now that he has a bass-tone voice and sideburns!

 

[aaarcher86]

Yep. I've got a 45" 39lb 9 year old. Very tiny! She gets picked on, but we just tell her to ignore it. What's do bad about being small?

We are going to put her in some kind of martial arts though. She's got a real nasty bully in her class who actually pushed her not too long ago. I want her to feel confident in sticking up for herself, and if absolutely necessary, be able to kick a bigger kids ***. It's not going to get any easier as she gets older.

 

[lorevangeel]

He's about 4'. Not sure of his exact height but he was super excited last summer and we went to a theme park and he had reached 48 inches. I know he hasn't grown much since then. He'll be 12 on Wednesday.

Well then he's very similar, mine is also close to 4', just a bit older as he's 13 since some time. He's often mistaken for a 1st grader or even younger (sister and her friends are taller). Does your son get mistaken for younger too? Does he bother with it?

 

[samheatherwhite]

We have the exact opposite going on at our house. DD is 7 and in the first grade. She is already 52 inches tall and wears a size 5 women's shoe! I am afraid she is going to be taller than everyone.

 

[aprilchem]

Another short kid mom - my son just turned 8 and is 40 lbs and 44". He is the same size as his 5 year old sister, and often gets mistaken for her twin.

It doesn't seem to bother him much (he has a big personality and is much more "popular" at school than his brother and sister), but it is difficult for him sometimes when he's doing something and people mistake him for a much younger child. For example, I've sent him into the store to pick something up for me, to the post office, etc. and people assume he's 4 or 5 and basically ignore him; he's very well-spoken and pretty mature, so once he can get their attention he does just fine. Or they'll ask him if he's in preschool, which he finds very offensive.

 

[mefordis]

Opposite here - I have two very tall girls - 11 year old who is already 5'4" and a 6 yr old who is 4'3". What can you do? It's hard the other way, too. I am concerned about them being ridiculed for being too tall. I just let them know how beautiful they are and how lucky they are to be healthy. And I remind MYSELF of that.

I have finally realized that everyone gets picked on. Even if you are average and blend in, they find something to pick on. You can't win with kids.

 

[mefordis]

We have the exact opposite going on at our house. DD is 7 and in the first grade. She is already 52 inches tall and wears a size 5 women's shoe! I am afraid she is going to be taller than everyone.

I'm right here with you! See my post above. Mine wears a 4 right now but will soon be in a 5 I'm certain.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

I have twins who turned 17 last month. Just went to see the Dr. for a meningococcal shot and DS is 5'11" and DD is 5'2". They told us DD has leveled out and DS will probably grow several more inches. It bothers DD at times since DH & I are tall and she looks out of place in the family unit. I tell her that she must have got DMIL genes because she's 5'1". She thinks that's funny and they always commiserate together about how short they are.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My son was about 4'6" when he entered high school. It wasn't until his junior year that doctors discovered he had a large pituitary tumor. Once they removed it he did grow to be about 5'8". I felt he missed out on a lot in high school because of it. Now he is an adult and all is good. It sounds like your son's medical issues have been taken care of, so he will grow. Have you considered growth hormone? My son's Endocrine doctor said she regrets not giving him some.

My youngest dd did growth hormone from K-6th daily. She is about 5'2" today as a SR in HS. When she was in K, kids thought she was a preschooler. Two yo's were taller than her.

I will say the first thing she did was gain weight when she started growth hormone shots.

 

[Dawnlight]

My 11 year old son is shorter than his twin 9 year old sisters. We've been to an endocrinologist to check if there were underlying issues, but all checked out. I'm really hoping that he will catch up with a growth spurt as his 3 older brothers are all very tall and he feels like the black sheep of the family where height is concerned.