Last updated on September 5, 2025
Question:
How is it that my Tanner stages are progressing slowly?
You spoke to me weeks ago that my tanner stage 3 progressed slowly, but it seems like all of my stages progressed slowly.
- I started stage 3 at 13, but I didn’t finish it until 16.
- I started stage 4 at 16, and I am still in stage 4 at 18. Like early stage 4, i.e, my chin hairs are now growing, and I have a full peach fuzz. I have no sideburns yet, and I still look like a 16-year-old boy.
I started puberty in 2018-2019, but it seems like I began around 2020-21.
Answer:
All I have to go on are the things you tell me. I can’t see you, and I haven’t been able to track your progress. The average boy progresses through the stages about 2 years per stage. However, some develop more quickly and some more slowly. You fall in the “more slowly” camp.
The reasons can be that it is in your genes to develop more slowly. Sometimes taking medication can slow down progress. Ill-health or poor nutrition can also slow down the progress.
Question:
My father hit puberty kind of late, so would it affect my pace if I started early?
Answer:
Each person receives a unique blend of genes from his parents. Thus, you may have inherited the slowness in which your father developed, but you also started sooner than he did.