I think I answered the questions on the Tanner Stage Calculator wrong and got an inaccurate result

Last updated on August 25, 2020

Question:

Can you estimate how tall I’ll be? I can’t really tell which option to choose in the Tanner Stage calculator, and it estimated me to be about 4.8 which I think is a bit inaccurate because I am not sure which buttons to pick. 

Details: My doctor took an x-ray of my wrist 4 months ago and he said I have around 1.5 years of height growth left and he said I still have some potential, so I think I have about a year and a bit of height growth left. I am 15 and 3 months old, I’m 5’10.5, I have only a few armpit hairs which are not coarse which I think started growing about half a year ago. I started growing pubic hair exactly 3 years ago (I am sure about this). Both my parents are 5’8. I stopped growing rapidly about 4 months ago, that’s when I started slowing down and only grew half an inch during 4 month’s time. Can you estimate where I am in the Tanner Stage calculator accurately? And perhaps estimate how tall I will be?

Thank you.

Answer:

From your description, it doesn’t sound like the estimation was off by much. It does sound like it was slightly high, but not so much as to say it was inaccurate.

Each stage of development lasts about 2 years in males. You first see pubic hairs in stage 2, so three years ago you would have been in the middle of stage 2. Rapid growth comes in stage 3, which you have gone through. The slowing down of growth is the main marker for the beginning of stage 4. Your doctor confirmed that you are in stage 4 since you have about one and a half years of growth left at the time he tested you.

Therefore, you are about halfway through stage 4. Since growth continues to slow down through stage 4 and you have grown a half-inch in the last four months, my guess would be that you will gain another half-inch before you are done. Most of the growth that you will be having in the next year will be focused on giving you wider shoulders and more muscles. Facial and body hair continues to develop even after you reach stage 5.

If some of the options on the Tanner Stage calculator are unclear, I would be happy to discuss them. I’m always looking for ways to make the choices clearer.