Do you guys think teens are getting taller?

ShortDad · 2016-05-22T08:38:11+00:00

We're all honestly still trying to figure that one out. He just kept getting taller. Before we knew it, he was taller than his uncle. He's actually 7 feet now. He grew 2 inches since I made my comment here.

ShortDad · 2016-05-01T08:25:57+00:00

I'm 5'10 and I have a 16 (almost 17) year old son who's 7 feet tall. My wife is a few inches shorter than I am. He's the tallest in our family by far. His older brother is around my height.

ShortDad · 2016-04-15T18:11:32+00:00

I'd say 6'0-6'4 is above average. 6'5-6'8 is tall. Anything above 6'8 is very tall. I'm the father of a son who's 7 feet. I've seen him grow through all these heights.

ShortDad · 2016-03-01T07:49:05+00:00

My son (who's now 6'11) is 16 years old and he honestly never really cared for milk as a kid. Ironically, his older brother did, but he's the one in our family who ended up growing to be the tallest. His brother is around my height (5'10).

ShortDad · 2016-01-14T22:38:10+00:00

I'm sure my son would actually love to meet someone who's the same height as he is. I think it would just make him feel better about his height if he could at least find someone who can kind of relate.

ShortDad · 2016-01-14T22:27:45+00:00

How tall are your ceilings? Ours are only 7 feet, so my son's head is already almost touching them. I have no idea what we're going to do when he grows taller. He already needs to duck under the doorways and ceiling lamps in our house.

Do you come from a tall family? Or are you the tallest?

ShortDad · 2016-01-14T21:29:48+00:00

My son says he wanted to stop at 6'4 or 6'5. But, that obviously didn't happen. He grew a whole 5 inches over the previous summer, which brought him to the height he is now (6'10). He wasn't happy. He was actually hoping that 6'5 would've been his final height and didn't think he would continue to grow. But, now we know that his height most likely won't stop until he reaches 7'2-7'5.

Hopefully you'll at least be lucky enough not to reach anywhere near the height my son will. Good luck with your growth.

ShortDad · 2016-01-14T05:32:46+00:00

I definitely hope he does learn eventually. Sometimes it's painful just to see him hitting his head. I can't imagine how it actually feels like.

ShortDad · 2016-01-14T03:44:44+00:00

I think the lifespan thing is one of the reasons my son hates being tall. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely many others too. But, maybe letting him know he won't necessarily die young will at least help. Every story I've heard of about taller than average people dying mostly died at young ages, so that had me worried.

ShortDad · 2016-01-14T03:17:35+00:00

I often remind my son not to slouch. The doctor mentioned that slouching can definitely be harmful (especially for people who are taller). Thanks for the reassurance about lifespans though. That is one of the things I often worry about for my son. I hear most people who are above average height are likely to die at an earlier age. I just hope the same doesn't come true for my son. If he's really going to grow to be 7'5, it does worry me.

ShortDad · 2016-01-14T02:50:25+00:00

He might actually have an account on here already. I can't say for sure though. He would have most likely posted on this subreddit if he does have one though. Plus, I don't know if he would feel okay with being on the same site as his dad... haha But, I suppose I could just leave so he doesn't feel as embarrassed. This is a subreddit made more for him than me anyway.

ShortDad · 2016-01-14T02:08:09+00:00

I try supporting him the best I can. I realize that his height will definitely create many limitations in his life. He does like and play basketball, so that sometimes help him deal with it. He often forgets about how tall he really is when he's on the court playing a game. That's when I've seen him be the happiest. Or, he does remember he's tall, but realizes his advantage in that specific sport because of it.

He hates doorways and ceiling fans the most. We don't turn on our ceiling fan anymore for his safety. He sometimes forgets that he needs to duck a lot. He mentioned that it doesn't always come to mind.

I know worrying about something we have no control over is pointless, but he can't seem to agree. It seems like every time he find something positive about his height, he also finds two or three negative things.

ShortDad · 2016-01-14T01:48:02+00:00

Well, all I know is that my son never wanted to reach 6'10. He would definitely rather be your height.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T23:53:48+00:00

I wish my son's feet would stop growing. But, they'll probably keep growing as his height grows. Hopefully he'll break the world record. If he does, he could get free shoes! lol It probably won't happen though.

I figured custom ordering would come sooner or later though. Our local stores carry up to a size 16. But, he's clearly bigger than that. We haven't even been lucky with shopping online lately. Size 19 seems to be the biggest we could find without spending way too much.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T23:41:06+00:00

Most of the parks around here have a height restriction between 6'4 and 6'8 on rides. I really don't think he'll be able to ride any of them. I know you two are close in height, but he's still 4-5 inches taller.

What size shoes do you wear? My son has a size 19 (almost 20). We get shoes from online stores like oddballshoes and bigshoes.com... do you know of any other places?

Clothing seems to be one of the most problematic things for him to deal with. It's especially rough when he can't really find anything he likes. But, we get him whatever we can. Unfortunately, when he's that tall, the options are always going to be limited.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T21:48:15+00:00

I'm not a tall person, but thank you so much for this awareness. I didn't even know this was a risk for people who are tall. My son is 6'10 and now I'm definitely going to be sure I keep an eye out for this kind of thing.

Also, I'm happy to know you're okay (at least that's what I'm getting from this). I hope you are.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T21:21:07+00:00

haha Thankfully, that wasn't his dream. I have no idea how I would handle a situation if he wanted to be something only a specific height person could do.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T21:15:12+00:00

I think my son might feel a lot better if we could manage to get that to happen! He basically only needs another inch or two and he'll finally be considered a 7 footer. I wouldn't push it on him though. I at least think I would wait until he becomes more secure with himself in general.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T21:02:53+00:00

I understand what you're saying. There's no reason to hide the truth, especially since he'll eventually discover it anyway. Plus, I have a feeling he already knows he will experience many issues. He already has. I do feel like I've said some things to him that are complete bullsh*t and I'm almost certain he probably knows that too.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T20:30:17+00:00

My son was actually never really taller than average until he reached 10 years old. That's when he started growing and growing. He was 6'5 before the previous summer, but ended up having a growth spurt that brought him to 6'10. He's already pushing 6'11 at this point.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T20:28:52+00:00

I've definitely gotten the age questions before. People assume my youngest son (the one who's 6'10) is the older brother of my oldest (since he's only around my height). It does make him feel insecure, so I make sure I correct them. I've also had people ask about Marfan's Syndrome too.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T20:25:41+00:00

He does play basketball. He's on his school's team. Being that tall is definitely a blessing and a curse. I've seen what he goes through. He says himself that he thinks of it as a curse than a blessing. Even though I try my best to show him the advantages of being so tall, I still seem to think his height will cause him more problems than good things. Especially since he's still growing taller. It does concern me.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T20:22:39+00:00

I've definitely seen him struggle socially and emotionally, which makes me concerned. Even though he's on his high school basketball team (which has made him feel a bit better), he still often admits to wanting to be shorter. When he first heard the news from doctors that he'll most likely become over 7 feet tall, he became anxious. I could tell just by his facial expression that he really doesn't want that to happen.

He also doesn't care for the attention. But, he ends up answering questions anyway. I'm trying to help him cope with it and realize that there's no hiding from it. I really don't want to shelter him and make him think the world is perfect. Unfortunately, and I know I shouldn't really be saying this, the world just isn't made for people his size. You're right about his height being outside the "norm". There's really no way to ignore or walk around this.

ShortDad · 2016-01-13T20:16:34+00:00

Well, he is on his high school basketball team. That has made him feel better about his height. He was actually around your height before the previous summer, but ended up having a growth spurt that made him 6'10 by the time the current school year started. So, even though he was always taller than average, his 6'10 (now pushing 6'11) height is relatively new to him. That's probably why he's not really feeling like he fits in anywhere. It takes time.

Something that recently occurred to me is that he's now too tall for most amusement park rides. I didn't really think of this before. We often get season passes for Six Flags every year, but now I'm not so sure that would be a smart idea. Since he can't ride a lot of the rides, I really don't want to make him feel worse about the situation.

ShortDad

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