Last updated on April 1, 2022
Question:
Hi!
I am 13 years and 7 months old now. I want to know my expectations for my height and stage of puberty.
My experience is quite complicated. First of all, when I was exactly 2 years old I was 3 feet 2 inches. Doubling that I would be predicted to be 6’4-6’5. I am currently 5’4-5’5. My dad is 5’5 and my mom is 5’2. I got a check-up when I was 13 years old and I was 5’1 according to the doctor. This was strange because just 2 weeks later I was 5’3. So yeah I doubt I grew that much because I kept on monitoring myself every day and even my mom, who traveled for a while, didn’t notice anything when she go back. She was gone for like a month. I think I was 5’2 at the time of the appointment but the doctor said 5’1 so I really am not sure. Anyway, I was around 4’8 or 4’9 when I was 11 years old. I didn’t get an appointment when I was 12 so I am not really sure about my height then.
The thing is I am Asian. I noticed that I had peach fuzz when I was 13 years and 2 months old. It is pretty noticeable peach fuzz, but I think it is only noticeable because I am from India. A lot of Indian kids my age and younger have that same peach fuzz compared to caucasian people who have hit puberty earlier due to noticeable signs. I have some leg hair and a little arm hair. I started noticing that I started to grow armpit hair when I was 13 years and 4 months old. I don’t have a lot of armpit hair (not a bush), but I have some. I first noticed I had pubic hair when I was 12 years and 10 months old. I don’t remember if it was curly but it is curly now. It doesn’t extend to my thighs and there is no strip of hair from my belly button to the pubic area. My penis size is like 2.25 inches when normal. I don’t know the erect size though.
Oh and by the way, I don’t know what height genes I even got. My maternal grandfather was a late bloomer and grew until 21 and said he got peach fuzz when he was 14 or 15 and his current height is 5’10. He was 4’9 when he was 13 years old. My dad is short and I doubt I got any genes from his side of the family.
Also, I did the sitting height test and I got the sitting height of 32-33.5 inches range predicted height was like 72.7 inches.
Also, I don’t know if I have ejaculated. A few days ago, I noticed I had a spot in my underwear. It wasn’t wet or sticky. It seemed like urine but then I noticed there was this white dry thing. It was small and nothing else was wet. My underwear wasn’t wet though, only a spot on it.
Oh, and I have acne now, but not a lot. I think I am starting to get some. Also, my voice cracks less frequently now than it did like 4 months ago. It still cracks. It has gotten deeper, but not so deep. Also, my shoe size is size 9. I don’t know if my feet have grown that much. I did gain a lot of weight last year, but I exercised and I lost a lot. I don’t know if that was puberty-related. I have no noticeable stomach hair just really small hairs growing, which you have to look really close to see. Also, my nipples are dark, but they are soft. Also, my chest is not muscular like most 8th grade boys who have something pop out and look a bit muscular. I started noticing some veins but not like a lot of my classmates who are boys, but they are 14 so I don’t know.
Can you tell me the expectations for my height? My approximate fastest time of growing in height and my stage of development now? Thanks!
Answer:
You describe yourself as someone who is in stage 3 of development. It doesn’t sound like you’ve had a growth spurt yet, but since you gave such a range of numbers, it is a bit hard to tell, I suspect that you’ve just started your growth spurt.
You can use the height calculators to get some estimates on your final height.
You haven’t had an ejaculation yet, but your body is starting to produce semen. What you saw on your underwear was probably a spot of semen that had leaked out. Your first ejaculation is probably not too far off in the future.
Question:
What number would you say I am in stage 3. Like 3.1?
Yeah, I doubt that really was a full ejaculation. I was really worried that I was already in stage 4 because I remember that I never got any ejaculations in stage 2. It makes more sense now.
Based on what I told you, do you think I can reach 6’5?
Answer:
It is not likely to happen. The Mid-Parent Rule puts your maximum height at 5’11. Since you are already at 5’4, I suspect you’ll be on the high end of the range of between 5’6 and 5’11.
Question:
Yeah, I do understand that, but I doubt I even got my father’s genes, which is why I am on the high side. Wouldn’t the Mid-Parent rule not apply to me because I am 99.9999% sure I got my genes from my grandfather or some other relative who was tall? Plus, I was 3’2 when I was 2 years old. Do you know any other test other than the ones I have done and an x-ray test that would be more accurate? Instead maybe for the Mid Parent Rule since my dad’s genes don’t apply, would it be more accurate to input my maternal grandfather’s height in place of my father’s. Wilt Chamberlain’s mom was 5’9 and his dad was 5’8. According to the calculator you linked, it said his maximum was 6’5 but he grew to be 8 inches taller at 7’1. Do you think that can be the case with me since I was 3’2 when I was 2 years old?
Answer:
First, every person gets half his DNA from his father and half from his mother. Your dad, in turn, got half of his DNA from his father and half from his mother. You have half of your father’s genes. Height is controlled by a combination of genes and their interactions with each other. The Mid-Parent rule captures that overall interaction, but it can’t capture every possible combination — we don’t even know all the possible genes involved in height and their potential interactions.
There are always exceptions to the rules. For instance, a boy’s father might not have reached his full height potential because of illness or poor nutrition. While the father’s genes could have allowed greater growth, the potential was never reached. The Mid-Parent rule cannot detect and deal with such situations. Another event that could theoretically happen is that boy’s father might not be his biological father. It is not unusual for parents to hide information so that a boy grows up normally.
The result is that I have to go with what typically happens. The bone age test is the current best measurement of a person’s development progress. It can’t directly tell you how tall you will be.
Question:
Is doubling your height at age 2 an accurate enough prediction of growth with a margin of error of 2 inches? I was 3’2 at exactly age 2. A lot of people say this is accurate. Do you think so and why am I so short despite being in stage 3?
Answer:
The doubling of your height at age 2 is 95% accurate within four inches. That is, 95% of all boys will fall within four inches of the doubled height when they reach adulthood. Only 68% of all boys will fall within two inches of the doubled height.
Even though you are in stage 3, it does not mean you instantly start growing faster. The growth spurt occurs during stage 3, usually somewhere around halfway through stage 3.