Did I stop growing? What can a teen do to grow taller?
I’m 14 years old and have been 5’6 for about a few months now and I’m not sure if I should be worried or not. I hit my first growth spurt back in 4th grade when I was 4’9 and grew, by the time I was in 6th grade I was 5’1 . Then 7th grade came and I grew 5 more inches. By the time the pandemic started I was 5’6. I started 8th grade and finished 8th grade (currently about to go to 9th) and still haven’t grown a single inch. The doctor says I have a lot of testosterone and should be exercising more so I did but no signs of growth yet. Is there a certain exercise or medication or any remedies I can take to increase my height or maximize it?
Community Director's note
Learn more with Dr. Siobhan Pittock, pediatric endocrinologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in this podcast:
How do kids grow? - Mayo Clinic Press
"The best we can do is take good care of our kids so they grow to their maximum potential: make sure they get plenty of sleep, eat a nutritious diet, and have healthy, realistic expectations."
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the About Kids & Teens Support Group.
Yep, a few inches, even in soccer helps. One of my daughters played soccer, on the boys team, girls soccer in a small school didn't exist back then. Hey, but it taught her (and me) to take the harder hits. We visited the ER more than once. She went on to play soccer in the Air Force, co-Ed teams. That all changed after 9/11, she was I stationed in Korea. OMG, what a wake up call for all of us. She changed her focus to creating and implementing new programs for our service members; and just retired with the highest of high honor the military awards to enlisted personnel.
Go have a fantastic, possibly 2" shorter💪stature, life that you love. Sorry, this is the mom in me coming out. GO GIVE'EM ALL YOU ARE ‼️‼️
I am 14F, 5,7 and 112lb. I used to be 99lb but i lost my period for 2 months. I gained some much needed weight and it has since returned. I hit a very early growth spurt when i was 10 during the pandemic and also began my period that same year. I grew to about 5,5. I grew slowly after that and stopped when i was 13. I have grown nothing since. My dad is 6,5 and my mum is 5,11. All of my family is tall especially on my maternal side, as i don’t have many relatives on my paternal side. Most cousins are over 6,0. Both grandmothers are shorter than me, but my grandfathers are 6,4 and 6,1. My older brother is 6,1 (16) and my younger sister (12) is catching up to my height. My mum had concerns about my breast size and very irregular period about a year ago. I have definitely gone past tanning stage 3 for breasts if that helps, but i don’t know if i have gone any further. Small breasts run in the family and i do not have high testosterone levels unlike my mother as a teen who ended up with very stunted growth. Is there any way to see if i have stopped growing? I want to grow taller than i am now but my height isn’t changing and my mum seems convinced i will not be any taller. I was predicted a heigh of 6,0 when i was born apparently, but thats a way to go, and i don’t know if females grow any more past the age of 14.
I’m currently 15 and about to enter my sophomore year. Right now, I am 5’1 and was hoping to grow at least a few inches during summer break. Now that school is about to start up again, I’ve realized that I barely grew a centimetre and now I’m wondering if I would still be able to get a growth spurt or surpass my parents height (5’4) seeing how slow I am growing.
I am 14 years old boy (turning 15 in 3 months), I started puberty at like 12. I grew to 5'4" 5 months ago but since then I've hardly grown at all. My dad is 5'8" and my mom is 5'1". I am obese, (5'4" and 66Kgs) I am worried if I will grow taller or not? Should I start exercising? Will I grow taller if I do, or am I done growing already?
@minebloxprozz, I recommend reading through the comments in this discussion:
-- Did I stop growing?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/did-i-stop-growing-at-14/
I'm not a doctor but I don't think exercising will help you grow taller but it can help you be healthier. Have you discussed your concerns with your mom and dad?
@jameshatton, I recommend reading through the comments in this discussion:
-- Did I stop growing?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/did-i-stop-growing-at-14/
I'm not sure anyone can tell you at age 12 how tall you will be when you grow up but I think you are still growing and could grow to be as tall as your dad. Do you have any older brothers, sisters or cousins that are tall?
minebloxprozz, 👋👋
Reading the Questions and Comments on this site can be quite useful... with lots of questions you have, not just getting taller. John is right, exercise is excellent for your growing body and weight.
But how tall we get is in your 🧬🧬, and your DNA you have no choices or ability to change it. This is what your mom and dad gave you, and they had no choice either. Cuz, your grandparents gave your parents their DNA. With 5' 8" dad and 5'1" mom , you have already grown taller than 1/2 of your DNA👍
I'm an experienced mom(that means I'm really old to you, 65 years old) I have identical twin daughters who are 45 and my son is 40. Their parents are 5'8" dad and 5'4" mom(me).All of their birth weight and height/length were very close. This is a bit unusual, since twins are typically smaller in weight and length at birth.
My son, Ryan, would not gain weight, like the "charts" said he should. One dr. wanted me to add cooking oil to his baby food, when he started eating solids. Gross, don't you think? I did not do it. As he grew up, he was a bit thin and shorter than his sisters were. At your age he was so skinny and shorter than you. He was usually the last guy to be picked for a team. He hated that. He started running, not for a team, by himself or with a sister. His measurements changed a lot. When he was overweight, he seemed shorter, cuz he moved like a shorter guy.
Exercise, of all kinds, was what he needed to act his height. He loved to hit and break things...so boxing, kickboxing, climbing rocks around our home. He also loved to be disobedient, so he took to running up and down the stairs in the house (there were 29 in the house), He would throw balls for our dog to get, then he would try and beat the dog to the ball (he never could, our dog was fast).
I guess you could try hanging/swinging by your arms from a tree, but I don't think it would stretch your body into getting taller, but wow think of the muscles 💪 in your arms, legs, abdomen.
Exercising is one of the few things that YOU have total control over . You say that you are obese, I think you probably don't like that. Exercising will help your weight become a strength for you instead of a hindrance.
I have one other option for you to exercise... have 3 kids and be a stay at home dad (ROTFLOL 🤪🤪) I am just kidding, but it sure keeps my 40 yr old son exercising, whether he wants to or not.
Ps. Ryan did have 2 short growth spurts...17 and 20 years old.
YOU can control your weight, thereby controlling your strength, so focus on the variety of exercising, to get and keep the body and energy you need to do what activities you want to do.
Have fun choosing what exercises you like ‼️ShelleyW
@shelleyw and John, thank you for your advice! I will consider following all of what you guys have suggested. Also, does it make a difference if I started puberty early (at 12) and I do have a little moustache but a clear beard? It doesn’t mean I’m done growing at only 14, right?
im 5’5 1/2 im 14m, i weigh 112 pounds and i turn 15 in a month and i want to know if i will grow. i never really had a growth spurt i kind of grew steadily throughout the years. in 5th grade i was 5ft in 6th i was 5’2 in 7th i was 5’4 and in 8th i grew to my height now and haven’t grown since. my dad is 5’8, and my mom is 5’5. my older brother is 5’9 if thats of any value.
minebloxprozz,
I'm just a mom, you probably have some more growing to do, at 1/4 inches 😎 ‼️You are obviously a smart young man, to even think to be on this site. I think your focus on exercising and building strength in your muscles... and your brain too(both my parents were school teachers) and you will have what you need to do whatever you choose. ShelleyW