Growth Hormones for Kids

I think you just need to leave it alone.

First, his height is dictated by genetics. And if he ends up being short...so what?

Second, there's nothing wrong with him being a late bloomer. He'll grow when he grows.

I was 4'11" as a junior in high school. I was really small. By the time I graduated, I was 5'7". I topped out at 5'9", which is considered taller than average for a woman.

I wouldn't worry about this. He hasn't even hit puberty yet and he still has a couple/few years until he will. Chill out, mom.

This doesn't really answer your question but I thought I'd pass it along. I'm in the opposite boat. I'm tall and my husband is super tall and we have 2 girls. So I've worried they'll be over 6' which can be hard on a girl. I'm 5'9" and felt awkward plenty... So I researched and there are hormones to stop growth. They're a bit risky and so far, knock wood, my girls aren't trackign all that tall. But I came across a book called The Tall Book written by a woman who is about 6'2" or 6'3". What she found is how much of a driver nutrition is. I think 2/3 of height statistically is hereditary while 1/3 is nutrition. Since reading that, for one I stopped giving my girls vitamins bc they eat well anyway :), but I also have thought if I had boys on the shorter side, I'd give them lots of vitamins. I don't know that it can hurt. My sister and I and our god sisters are quite tall while both sets of parents aren't. My god sisters' mother and mine were both huge on vitamins and nutrition as kids so we all wonder if that's how all 4 girls grew so tall... Both moms are 5'2' or 5'3" and my godsisters ended up 5'10" or 5'11". Dads are 6' or under... Who knows but just a thought...

Growth hormones are for extreme cases and are hard to do. I knew a boy on them, but he was 10 years old and the size of a scrawny 6 year old and he hadn't grown in a few years. He had to get shots and there were 7 needles.

Last I knew he was starting to grow again. But again it was an extreme case.

My son is 13 and we are going through discussions with the pediatrician regarding his height. She was concerned that the when you chart his growth pattern, his has leveled off over the past 3 years. You should see it continue along the same pattern, but his is not doing this. The first step she took was to send him for x-ray of his hand to determine his bone age (she was hoping to see his bone age tracking younger than his actual and this would indicate he will likely have another big growth spurt). Since it came back on target, we are going to meet with a pediatric endocrinologist in September who will try to determine if there is a hormone deficiency or something else going.

It may be that my son will be short, but she was concerned. Her first suggestion though was not to give him growth hormone, but rather find out if anything was going on.

I would ask your pediatrician why there is a concern or if there is. Ask to see his growth chart. Until recently, we just went in every six months to measure his height so they could track his growth.

Okay first of all, it is not the "Nurse" who should be telling you this.
She is not a Pediatrician.

2) Your family, genetically, has short people. Stature/size of a person/child, is largely due to, genetics.

3) You said, that so far your son's size has not "bothered him terribly." So why, worry.

4) All children have growth spurts. BUT it is not the same for ALL kids and it is NOT the same for each gender. Kids, grow differently and have DIFFERENT physiques.
The "size" of a boy... VARIES. Boys, do NOT have to be all big and thick and bulky and huge, in order to be, a boy.
And growth spurts do not occur at the SAME age for ALL and each and every kid.

5) You said, your son does not have medical issues. He is, short/small/lanky or whatever it may be. Fine.

6) Do not give your son a hang up about his size. MANY of my kids' classmates, both boys and girls, are tiny. They do NOT have any social problems nor self-confidence problems because of it. My daughter who is going to 6th grade, has a classmate that is tiny. In fact, my 6 year old son, is taller than he is. So what. That classmate is fine, has many friends, does not get teased, does not have a hang-up about his "size" and is just a normal boy and he is involved in many sports and does just fine as compared to other boys who are bigger, than he is.

7) Then, I have a cousin, who is SUPER tall. His parents are not. They are small. But he for some reason, REALLY shot up in height, like in High School. Everyone jokes, that maybe way back in his family's gene pool, there was someone who was tall. Or, it is just the way he is. Fine. Whatever.

8) IF you even, consider "growth hormones".... it is NOT the Pediatrician that decides. The Pediatrician, SHOULD be referring you to a Pediatric Endocrinologist. But again, your son does not have health/medical issues. You just think he is small. To me, that is not a reason... to put a kid on growth hormones. And a Specialist, may not even give it to him, just because there is no medical reason, to do so.
And again, it is NOT the "Nurse" who should be telling you this or what he should take, for his size.

9) And, growth hormones, has side effects. Like anything. And is not a magic wand.

I am 4'11", my son's dad is about 6'1". All my family is 5'7" or shorter (most don't hit 5" but my dad is 5'7" and my grandfather was over 6"). His dad's family are mostly short with a few of average height. My son just knew he would be short.

When my son was a baby he was gaining a pound a week (he weighted 19 lbs at 3 months). He then tapered off. He slowly thinned down and after being in 95-99% for height and weight early on, he was average when he started school and small through most of his school years. Then one summer, he shot up 6 inches in less than 3 months (I swear it happened almost over night). No one could believe it when he went to school in late August. He is now almost 22 and is about 5'10" (maybe a bit more than that).

My point being that growth can happen differently for everyone. That said, your son does seem VERY small for his age. Talk to your doctor and get a second opinion if necessary.

I think you're talking about growth hormones. Steroids are anti-inflammatory drugs and I don't know why they'd be used for growth unless there's an underlying condition that indicates this as a treatment.

It's a little controversial since, as you say, you don't know what will happen later on in life. I don't think there's any rule about kids putting on weight during puberty - some may, but others really lose their baby fat and thin out.

When I was teaching, I had 2 boys in the same grade in middle school who exhibited the type of shortness of stature you're talking about. Both have 2 parents on the smaller side. One did some growth hormone, and one did not. The one who did not seemed to do just fine - I saw him recently (he just graduated from college) and he's probably about 5'7" and doesn't look particularly short at all. Everything kicked in during high school and college. I haven't seen the other one but his parents are still in the area and we have a very good mutual friend. If you don't get the answers you want on Mamapedia and you really want to connect, I can reach out to her.

My son was the smallest in his class, although not as short as the two boys I'm talking about, and we never discussed growth hormones with the doctor. He is now 5'9" (at least 3 inches taller than the pediatrician predicted when he was in about 7th grade). When he went into 9th grade, he lost all the baby fat in his face and really turned lean, becoming a classic distance runner.

I think there's greater acceptance of all body types than there used to be. I'm not sure you should panic over a nurse musing - they are just looking at stats and charts, and there's no prediction. If he gets sensitive about it, you can show him all the pro athletes who were so much smaller than anyone thought was possible in a professional. Doug Flutie (Patriots, Buffalo Bills), Spud Webb (pro basketball), Danny Woodhead (Patriots) are just a few who come to mind.

We have explored this issue somewhat. We have a daughter who is very short for her age, which alarms her pediatricians to no end because I'm 6' tall, and my husband is taller than I am. Our older daughter is also very tall (she's 10 and is 5'5", so she's WAY over the 99th percentile). So the fact that our youngest is in the 20th percentile for height is surprising, to say the least. The "short" women in our family are in the 5'7" range (so, not short). Every year, when we go in for a checkup, they want to do more tests on her and they want to talk about growth hormone. We've been through all the blood tests to rule out thyroid problems, liver problems, and a lack of growth hormone. She's had x-rays for bone growth tests. Bottom line, she's completely healthy and not lacking in any hormones or nutrients. She's just short. (She'll likely be around 5'2" if she stays on this trajectory.)

I guess my feeling is this. It seems wrong to subject a child to growth hormone if s/he is producing a normal amount of it. If the grandparents are short and the parents are short... the kid is probably going to be short. And that's okay! My older daughter will be freak-of-nature tall like I am, and even though I know the myriad social issues that come with being a super tall woman, I would never try to do anything to make her shorter. Whatever height a child is going to be, it's okay. There will always be people who will be shorter or taller than they are. It seems to me like there are greater medical risks in tampering with mother nature on this one, than just letting the child be whatever height they're destined to be.

Honestly, unless there was a deficiency in your son's growth hormones, I wouldn't mess with a healthy body just to add height.

I would consult with a good pediatric endocrinologist if you have further concerns.

I had a moment of thinking about this with my youngest. I talked to the doc. Then it was a shot, I think every day or every week and about $11,000 a year. Yuck, no thanks!
I am 5 foot, my H 6". DS is now grown and about 5' 10". Although he grew very slowly.
Both boys gained wt along about 5-6 grade. Then as they grew they thinned into bean poles. That's mostly how they grew all their lives. I have read that it's normal for kids to do that. It's frustrating for them but normal.

I knew some pretty short boys who ended up leading the All State boys bowling team to victory last year! Keep searching for just the right activity and let their personalities shine!

From what I know, growth hormones are used when there is a deficiency of growth hormones present, not when a person is just genetically short.

My daughter's class (age 11) varies greatly in height.