Last updated on September 29, 2020
Question:
Hi,
I keep worrying about my height, Tanner stage, etc. Every single day I go on the computer and check what Tanner stage I’m in and calculate my adult height. I am constantly worrying about my Tanner stage and how many inches I have left to grow. Does this distress contribute to my height?
Answer
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25-30).
Growth for boys takes place over a period of roughly eight years. Checking daily tells you nothing because you are not all that much different than you were the day before. You are better off checking once or twice a year, perhaps on your birthday and on the half-year mark in between. Then you will be able to note the progress that you are making.
Worry about your growth and Tanner Stage is none productive. No matter how much you worry, you won’t change a thing — other than missing out on the fun in life.