Joined One of Tese

Updated on November 18, 2010
R.C. asks from Kewaskum, WI
4 answers

My healthy, slim 12 1/2 year old son has not entered puberty yet, which is good and fine, but I notice that he has fallen from the 90th percentile on the growth rate chart, to below the 75th. Is this becasue he hasn't entered the puberty growth spurt yet which the charts would take into consideration since most boys are growth spurting now, or is there cause for allarm? He is very, very physically active eats well, though not lots, and gets 10 hours of sleep every night. Is it possible that when he hits puberty he will leap up to the 90th again? My husband's family are very short, and my family males are all over 6' 2"

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So What Happened?

Thanks for those good responses people! I've never joined one of these question answer things on the web before. Very cool.
Anyway, his doctor says it is indeed because he hasn't hit puberty yet and I don't need to worry. He's just taking his time...which means I get to adore my baby just that much longer!

More Answers

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M.I.

answers from Duluth on

ok, my question to you is, if your son is physically active, east well, gets plenty of sleep, and (you dont say, but im assuming) is otherwise happy and healthy, why on earth do you care what percentage he is?

you know what? those percentage charts are the most stupid rediculous things ive ever seen. their ONLY PURPOSE is to compare kids to one another. thats their ONLY PURPOSE!! the reason doctors use them is to watch a childs growth over time. generally, they like children to stay within the same numbers. a 90 to 75% drop to me is no big deal. your doctor would have said something if it was a big deal. if he had gone from 90% to 20% it might have been an issue for a minute; he might have asked if your son ate enough, or whatnot. i suppose in some cases, they would test a child for growth issues. but i see no problem with your son still being larger than 75% of kids his age.

this isnt a score of his intellegence, this isnt a score for his personality or kindness, this isnt a test. it simply means that he 75% of kids are the same size or smaller than your son. 75% of kids are smaller than him! so in the grand scheme of things, hes doing just fine, size wise. just keep doing what you are doing; you are doing a great job with your son. dont let these stupid irrelevant charts mess with you; its just a tool doctors use. its not fair, but for some reason they think these archaic things will help them find problems "before they start or get too far" or something. i mean, really, if you had a child who went from 90% to 20%, you would notice something FAR before they put him on a chart (and really, any doctor should notice it too!). its simply unfair for them to do this to parents, and not explain what they are using them for .

heres a link that will help you.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_growth-charts-understanding-t...
but like i said, dont stress over this. its not a big deal. your son is growing at HIS OWN RATE, not someone else's. and your doctor would say something if something was wrong. i think your instincts about him and puberty are spot on. YOU know your kid. YOU would know before anyone else if something was wrong with his growth. just keep up the good work! :)

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

According to what I've found:
"In boys, the growth spurt begins at 12 or 13, reaches a peak by age 14, and is typically over by the age of 19. Of course, adolescents don't all develop at exactly the same time. Some develop earlier than their peers, and others mature a bit later.".
My son just turned 12, and he's been off the charts height wise for quite awhile. He's always the tallest in his class. I just measured him and he's 5ft 5in (my height) and he hasn't had a major growth spurt (grow 4 inches in a single year) since he was 8 (he's done it 3 times at 4,6 and 8 - those years I ended up replacing his entire wardrobe at least 3 times over). I'm expecting a major one any time now, but they are so hard as the growing pains can be very painful when the growth rate is so fast.
Keep an eye on him, make sure he keeps up with his nutrition/sleep, etc, but I don't think you have anything to worry about at this point.

E.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

You just never know. I know many people who were the "tallest" among their peers until puberty. And then they gained a few more inches and stopped while others who had been average and or even short shot up way part them. Happens the males and females alike.

I don't think you need to be alarmed. If he had a growth hormone problem, you would have seen other signs of it by now.

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K.R.

answers from Minneapolis on

I would assume it's because of the puberty growth spurt. My 13 year old just went from the 50th percentile in height to the 75th, because of his recent, puberty-fueled growth spurt.

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