Last updated on August 25, 2020
Question:
I am 14 years old, at the end of stage 4 puberty or entering stage 5. My mom is 5’5 and my dad is 5’7. When I was nearly 12 years old, I grew 4 1/2 inches from 5’1 3/4 to 5’6 1/2. When I saw my doctor she said her guess was that I would end up at 5’10 because I have always been in the 50th percentile to 75th percentile for height. She said I was an early bloomer. Right now I am 5’8 3/4 to 5’9. I have a little bit of hair under my armpits and hair shaping a triangle above my private parts. A tiny bit of hair covers my inner thigh. I have to shave about twice per week. I can’t grow a fully developed beard yet; I have more than peach fuzz but not a full beard. I am a half-inch to 3/4 of an inch taller than my checkup last spring with my new doctor. Do you think I will get to 5’10?
Answer:
From all that you’ve said, you are definitely near the end of stage 4. Only a bone-age test, where they x-ray your hand would be able to say with any certainty if you have any growth potential left. My guess from your description is that you’ll see about 1/2 inch more growth at maximum. But it is hard to tell just from a description. All things considered, I think your doctor did a good job guessing your final height even if you don’t quite make it to 5’10”.
And yes, you are definitely an early bloomer. Most boys are 17 years old when they reach the stage you are at. Early bloomers tend to be shorter than their peers. Children grow roughly 1 to 2 inches every year until they hit their growth spurt in adolescence. Since you started earlier, you also started at a smaller size and will thus tend to finish at a smaller size as well. But all isn’t bad. The average height of a man is 5’9″ so you will be just a hair above average when you are done.
Question:
Thank you for your answer. I hope I will get to 5’10, but if I don’t, oh well. I’m lucky to beat my mom and dad in height. So you are basically saying that I won’t get to 5″10?
Answer:
I can’t say for certain because human development has too many variables involved. I can say that the vast majority of boys, once they are in the last parts of stage 4, don’t gain much height. Most of their bodies ‘ efforts go toward enlarging the chest and widening the shoulders. Only an x-ray can tell if your growth plates are still open, allowing for the potential for additional height. Even then no one could absolutely state exactly how much more you would grow. What I and everyone else does is base our guesses on what happens with most boys.