Last updated on January 18, 2023
Question:
Hello there,
Hope you are doing well.
I have a question that keeps bothering me as I have increasingly started getting conscious about my height and appearance. I did the Tanner Stage Calculator and scored a 4.1.
For some background:
I am a 14-year-old male. My father is around 6’0-6’1 and my mother is around 5’2. I currently stand at 5’7 and 120 lbs. I never really had any sudden growth spurt similar to that of Tanner Stage 3. As far as I can remember I felt puberty had started for me when I was 12 and a half. I was 5’2 at the time. My height increased slowly until I am now 5’7, and I have felt it has slowed down a bit, even though the height calculators have always said I would grow up to 5’11 or 6′. However, unlike my height, I had rapid growth mainly in my body hair, voice, and shoe size. My voice started cracking when I was 12 and a half. When I was 13 and a half, I would say my voice was close to that of an adult — about 80% as deep as an adult male’s. My shoe size increased from EUR 37 to EUR 42. I had a very light mustache when I was 12 and a half, which then increased dramatically when I was 13. I started developing noticeable sideburns when I was 13 and a half as well as mild hair in my armpits. I had a very fine line of hair from my pubes up to my belly button, which increased dramatically as well up until now, where it seems that it’s very noticeable and has thickened. Some thin hair which was not very noticeable is expanding outward from it toward my chest. My inner thigh has a little bit of hair as well, while my pubes are a bush.
My family is above average height I would say, other than my mom and grandmothers at 5’2, my grandfather and male cousins are all above 5’9-5’10, and my grandfather’s brother stands at 6’4. My sister is 16, with a height of 5’6.
It seems to me that, everything other than my height has matched up with Tanner Stage 4 and I fear, that my height will stop soon, as all other indicators of puberty demonstrate that I am close to ending puberty. Should I have hope, that maybe I can grow a few more inches?
If you have any questions, please let me know and I will be happy to answer. Thanks
Answer:
From your description, I gather that you were in late stage 2 at the age of 12 and you have been in stage 3 from age 13. Puberty probably started for you when you were 11 but you didn’t notice the early signs. Some aspects of development are progressing faster than most boys, such as body hair, facial hair, and voice. Either you are not spending the usual two years in each stage or some of your secondary changes are skewing the results. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you which option is happening since I can’t see you. Because of this, I can’t really answer your main question about how much you will grow. You may want to discuss this with your doctor. He has the advantage of being able to see you and, if necessary, can order some tests to confirm his observation.
Question:
So, regarding to my height: Did my peak growth spurt end and I didn’t notice? Because I’ve been growing at a steady slow pace. I think it’s possible that my height will catch up soon to all the other puberty features like shoesize, hair, and voice. Maybe it’s my hairy genetics that got me hairy quickly. Maybe my height follows my mother’s side.
Answer:
I would like to answer, but I am not able to when there is conflicting information. As I mentioned before, you can ask your doctor since he is able to see you.