Growth spurts--how long do they go on?

[PeterPan]

My ds has typically grown 2-3" a year, but in the last calendar year he has grown 5 ¾" and doesn't seem to be stopping! It's making his mental health and emotional stability just constantly in flux, as he's always either tired or needing more food or needing something more to stabilize mood. When will it stop? What's the most your dc has grown in a year and did they do that AGAIN or keep going into more years?

The only time he has stopped visibly growing (up) in the last few months is when his body took a two week break to grow out a bit, hehe. Remember I had a thread about skinny boys and weight and wondering whether he'd hit 110 lb for a zipline tour? Well he has, lol. I need to put the new numbers in, as I'm sure he's still quite low on the weight percentages. But his body left width growth and went back to vertical, lol.

So what says the hive? How long might this go on? What was the most your dc grew in a year and did they continue that rapid pace into other years?

(This is for fun, I'm not currently worried, not currently having trouble keeping him fed, etc.)

Adding: The charts are saying he's more proportional!! He's now 68% for weight and 95% for height, hurray. Earlier, while he was growing vertically but not out, he was literally down at 10%ile, which was really discrepant even for him. He visibly filled out with girth, diameter of everything, and just looks better, so I'm excited about those numbers. And I'm excited that it means we can zipline together on the big ones. 😄 We'll see if it holds, but it should as it's actual bone weight and muscle, not flab. But I've been feeding him pretty ridiculously too, haha. Massive bowls of oats, 2 cans of beans, etc.

Edited September 23, 2021 by PeterPan

[Spy Car]

In my experience watching the the development of boys and young men, rapid growth often seems to continue until there begins to be a development of significant secondary sexual characteristics: hair, deepened voice, and other signs of maturity.

I believe that maturity/hormones signals the bone plates to start closing and that slows/end the process.

Kids who are less physically mature tend to grow and grow, while boys who mature early tend to peak on height early.

I'm sure there are outliers, but that is my general observation.

Bill

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Both of my boys grew a foot from age 12-13, then another couple of inches at 15-16, then older son had one more inch at 18-19. The age 12-13 spurt was challenging for everyone.  The other spurts were only noticeable because we had to replace entire wardrobes---mostly because shoulder broadening really happened at 15-16.  For my younger son we had to replace trousers also because he filled out more. He still has a BMI of <18, but everything distributed differently.

[PeterPan]

23 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

deepened voice

Hmm, this is starting to happen, though he still has quite the range. No hair that I can tell. I don't inspect every spot, but when I ask he says none.

 

18 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

He still has a BMI of <18,

Yup, ds is still 17.5, even with the weight up, lol.

18 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Both of my boys grew a foot from age 12-13, then another couple of inches at 15-16, then older son had one more inch at 18-19. The age 12-13 spurt was challenging for everyone.  

Ok, this makes sense. The growth charts smooth it all out, but that's how it feels like he's just in a really growth stage. That's a good point about the shoulders broadening. That would definitely push him over to a tall men's at that point, because he'd have the width plus the arms. That's the thing I keep thinking about, that I shouldn't buy much in men's (which are really the same as the size 18 he's wearing anyway) because he's gonna move over to talls. Dd was only in a regular misses a very short time before she moved into talls.

So when does *shaving* start relative to all this? I haven't seen a hair in sight. Not that I want the inconvenience, but what I dream of is the mental health stability (from peaking and rounding the curve of the puberty growth). He's not currently on meds, and I was told that even if he were totally stable (before puberty) that this rapid growth would mess everything up. (I have no clue.) I'm really really close to pulling the trigger on meds, only because he's pretty close to maxing out what I want to do with supplements. But I also don't know whether we get him through some growth window, see where he's at, and then we go ok he's fine on his supplement mix, don't mess with meds. Kwim? 

To do the meds, I would have to baseline him off the 5HTP, which would be an incredible mess, and I'm not guaranteed a better result or a more stable kid. So if we get through the current mess safely (which I don't know how long it will continue), then I can assess where we're at with that. But growing PLUS baselining PLUS trying a med, that seems really nuts to me. I have a very small tolerance for danger frankly. 

That was a ramble, sorry. This growth thing just blows my mind. He's stable and nice, then he grows, then it's all a mess again. I got a two week break while he took a trip, and it was like GLORY.

Edited September 23, 2021 by PeterPan

[Katy]

9 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Both of my boys grew a foot from age 12-13, then another couple of inches at 15-16, then older son had one more inch at 18-19. The age 12-13 spurt was challenging for everyone.  The other spurts were only noticeable because we had to replace entire wardrobes---mostly because shoulder broadening really happened at 15-16.  For my younger son we had to replace trousers also because he filled out more. He still has a BMI of <18, but everything distributed differently.

Yep, this.

[RootAnn]

My son has grown 4"+ in each of the last two years. His voice deepened & stabilized over a year ago -- after dd#1 left to go back to college for Christmas & before we saw her again at the end of last summer. He has mustache peach fuzz but not beard growth so far.

He temporarily dislocated his kneecap this summer playing baseball & had x-rays to check for damage. The orthopedic person said his growth plates are still "wide open" and she anticipates at least another 4" of growth. Our pediatrician independently opined he has awhile to go (4-5").

I have not noticed a huge food uptake or increased need for sleep. He outgrows his pants quickly and I had significant issues finding him shoes that fit for baseball.

[elegantlion]

24 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

 

Kids who are less physically mature tend to grow and grow, while boys who mature early tend to peak on height early.

 

 

Ds' voiced changed and he starting growing a moustache at about 12-13. He was then wearing a men's size 9 shoe. That's where his feet stopped growing and he's about 5' 7" to 5' 8". This is normal for men in our family. He's about the same height as his dad and my dad were. 

[Carrie12345]

I really don’t remember specifics with my oldest, other than that he grew more than 6” in just a few months, which doesn’t include other, smaller spurts. He grew slower after that, but still kept going to 6’3 or 4.

Current 14yo has gone up FOUR shoe sizes (maybe 5; ask me tomorrow) during Covid, and gained more than 10lbs in a year, which is a lot for still being *skinny*-skinny. He’s not here to check height, but I don’t think he’s jumped any less than 4” this past year. And he’s absolutely nowhere near where I expect him to stop. The older 3 were all 17 or 18 when they seemed to reach full height. My husband got late growth spurts, even into college. And I was my full 5’8 by 15, if not earlier. 

One of my daughters is “only” about 5’6, and she was by far the runt of all my babies. 14yo hasn’t caught her yet, but I fully expect him to pass her soon and keep going to at least 6’. He has the same body type as his older brother.
 

[catz]

My son kept growing taller until he was almost 18.  That said, his first growth spurt around age 12-14 was the worst and caused the most air headed behavior.

And my kid's weight percentage has always been super low compared to height.  His ped never worried about it so I didn't either.    

[PeterPan]

2 hours ago, RootAnn said:

My son has grown 4"+ in each of the last two years.

I wonder if my ds is having make up growth? We have been getting him myofunctional therapy for chewing. He was having difficulty with chewing and it caused him to fatigue before he was full. He's now eating MASSIVE amounts of food compared to what he used to eat. Like I just took him 2 cups of rice, a full bag (10oz?) green beans, and 2 potatoes quartered and roasted. He used to eat just a FRACTION of that before the therapy and was constantly hungry. Now he's eating in quantities like that for every meal and then hungry again in 2 hours! And it's never just nibbling junk; he craves FOOD.

I just think maybe the almost 6" in a year is conspicuous, but it makes sense as makeup growth. When I extrapolate out the growth charts, he should just grow 4" this coming year, which would mean the 6" was making up for when he couldn't eat easily before. 

1 hour ago, FuzzyCatz said:

That said, his first growth spurt around age 12-14 was the worst and caused the most air headed behavior.

I love it, air headed, lol. What I hate is that he goes into this kind of dysregulated sensory seeking mode. I'm going to try a new self regulation curriculum with him that focuses more specifically on recognizing dysregulation. I thought I was well read, but it had even in just the intro things I had missed. 

1 hour ago, Carrie12345 said:

he grew more than 6” in just a few months,

Ouch! Ds would never get out of bed if that happened, lol. 

3 hours ago, elegantlion said:

Ds' voiced changed and he starting growing a moustache at about 12-13. He was then wearing a men's size 9 shoe. That's where his feet stopped growing and he's about 5' 7" to 5' 8". This is normal for men in our family. He's about the same height as his dad and my dad were. 

Hmm, well this will get interesting! Ds already wears an 11 and measures by the computer at the store as 11E. Neither dh nor I are particularly tall, but my father is. 

Well I'm kinda liking this make up growth theory. It would explain a lot. I'll just keep feeding him to tolerance and see what happens. 

3 hours ago, RootAnn said:

I had significant issues finding him shoes that fit for baseball.

I don't know if that sport requires special shoes, but I get ds fitted at a running store. They have scanners that computer measure as well as cameras to record you walking on a treadmill, etc. Then they make custom inserts. His feet (and dd's for that matter) are really unusual (high on top, flat, pronated, etc.), so it takes some skill to fit them.

[prairiewindmomma]

A few thoughts:

1. Hair started below the belt, then armpits. Face hair happens last…a few random hairs at 14 that become fuzz at 15. By 16 they have needed to shave a few times a week, but it’s not like fully adult male face hair. My husband can grow a good Viking beard, but says he was 25 until his beard hair was fully in.

2. You are feeding him a ton of carbs of rice is the base, plus potatoes. You might consider adding more meat if you can get it in him. It will keep blood sugars more level and ease the mood swings.

3. Know that there are XL socks for shoe sizes 12-15. If he is already at 11.5, he is ready for them. Normal socks are just slip and bunch and wear out quickly on larger feet. 

[Arcadia]

DS16 was 157cm at the start of 6th grade and 181 cm at the end of 8th grade. So about 9.4” growth. His feet is 25cm long from heel to toe tip and corresponds to US size 7.5 men for Nike shoe size chart. He prefers oversized shoes though. DS16 has a beard and no mustache, DS15 has a mustache and no beard. 

[RootAnn]

27 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

I don't know if that sport requires special shoes, but I get ds fitted at a running store. 

Cleats. But they can't be metal cleats at his age. We went to a specialized sports store in The Big City. They had exactly one pair of cleats that was within a half-size of what he needed. We took them. Nothing else bigger than that size. They could have ordered the size, but didn't have time before practice started.

[Sneezyone]

Following. My DS is still in the middle of it. He comes home moody nearly everyday (and they ran out of pizza for lunch today so that wasn't good either). I have to catch him in the golden hour between school and dinner for discussion because after he hits the bed around 6/7, he's out for the night. He hasn't grown much in the upward direction this year but he's filled out A TON. Trapezius muscles...check. Delts...check. Very broad and defined in the chest now. We have him in adult medium shirts and a mens 10.5 shoe. His whole wardrobe has turned over in the last year. DS can nearly grow a full beard! 

As for food...

DS claims to never be hungry but it's become a joke because he orders and eats salads and then polishes off everything everyone else ordered but can't finish. A full 8oz ribeye with veggies and a baked potato would be no problem for him. He would wash it down with a bowl of cereal.

Edited September 24, 2021 by Sneezyone

[prairiewindmomma]

Many Nike stores have digital foot scanners. They can scan your foot and give you the appropriate size for that style of shoe. Notably, although my younger son measures a 8.5 with a Brannock device (that metal slide thingie we all know and have used), the Nike scanner really does put him into a 9.5 for most but not all shoes. You don't want to go into a store? No problem--Nike also has an app called Nike Fit where you can take a photo of your feet. Here are the details: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/nikes-app-is-getting-a-new-sizing-feature-heres-how-it-will-work.html

I do find that we went through a lot of shoes through the growth spurt. It was pretty typical to change a full adult size every month or two for a while. Dd went from an adult 4.5 to a 10 over the course of a year.  

[Carrie12345]

3 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Ouch! Ds would never get out of bed if that happened, lol.

Ds wound up struggling with Sever’s and missing most of a baseball season, so yeah! Not a fun time.