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You might wonder when do men stop growing? Now, if you have a teen son, you may be wondering when they will stop growing and reach their max stage of growth. But remember, growing is not just increasing in height. Growing is all about developing heights, puberty, and other complex changes. As your child grows, you can observe that they will experience some complex and surprising changes in their body.
Most parents have questions about when their son’s growth in puberty begins and what they should expect in terms of changes and growth spurts.
Some other questions may include knowing if your son is growing properly and exactly when will their son stop growing?
A growth chart is a tool that tracks a child’s physical growth (weight, height, and body mass index) and other development. You can even look at the growth charts for your son. Moreover, they ensure that the child gains inches and puts on weight. They also check for increased head size or brain development (an indicator of healthy brain development).
When Do Men Stop Growing
Male growth has a unique and specific timeline. In some cases, it may differ by one to two years. However, this timeline is not only followed by growth but also by physical maturation. On the contrary, girls usually start and end puberty earlier than boys.
Once pubertal growth starts, the process usually begins for about four years. By this time, most of the significant increase concludes. However, boys usually start with puberty at 11 or 12 years. Most boys are done growing by the age of 16 years. Also, some boys do not reach their full adult height even when they are 18 years old.
However, girls’ puberty starts at 8 years to 13 years. Puberty in boys begins about a year or two later, between 9 to 14 years old, with an average age of 11 years.
Most boys start with puberty at a late age. If you do not see signs of puberty in your child, you should immediately contact the doctor. The doctor may advise diagnosis or treatment.
Signs Of Puberty
As said earlier, puberty is not about growing in height. It includes physical development. However, some changes may seem strange or uncomfortable for your child to talk about. So it would be best if you had a general sense of what to expect to answer questions of your child, what is happening in their body.
1) Early Signs
Puberty’s first sign in boys is the testes’ enlargement and the darkening of the scrotum and thinning of its skin. One more pubertal development sign is pubic hair at the base of the penis.
2) Some Other Signs Of Puberty In Boys
Usually, more physical changes happen when boys begin puberty in quick succession.
- Testicles begin to grow, and the scrotum darkens and hangs lower.
- Pubic hair below the abdomen becomes thicker and more abundant. It follows underarm hair, thickening of leg and arm hair, and facial hair. However, the chest hair appears at last.
- The penis will grow first in length and then in width, and complete grow by 13 to 18 years during puberty.
- In this time, the boys will begin having wet dreams or nocturnal ejaculations. Boys tend to masturbate frequently, which is normal.
- The voice will deepen when puberty begins.
- Boys tend to develop pimples or acne during their pubertal growth.
How Does Puberty Affect Growth In Boys
Average boys go through a growth spurt during their puberty period. However, they can go through their puberty at different ages. It is seen that, on average, boys grow three inches per year during this period.
Boys stop growing with the end of puberty. However, the age of a boy when going through puberty 1does not affect his average height.
Moreover, they fall under two categories:
1. Early Bloomers
They start puberty around the age of 11 or 12 years old.
2. Late Bloomers
They start puberty at the age of 13 or 14 years.
In both categories, boys stop growing by the end of puberty. However, a late bloomer will be at its peak pace to reach the average height to make up for the lost time. Delayed puberty has no effects on the growth of a child.
However, during puberty, boys gain more than 92% of their average adult height and other body hair, chest hair, pubic hair, and penile growth.
Other children start puberty late and gain the exact inches in height.
Growth Spurts
A growth spurt is a period when your baby will experience intense growth. Many boys face their most significant growth spurt in their average age of 11 years.
Boys usually have a growth spurt when they are growing during puberty. In this period, boys grow at least 25% of their overall growth. Also, during this time, boys develop breast tissue. It is widespread for men to have breast development during their puberty.
In the latter part of puberty, boys face the growth spurt about two years after the onset of puberty.
On average, they usually grow about three inches per year and mostly stop growing by the time boys are 16. However, they may grow until they are 18 to reach the final adult height in some cases.
Boys’ growth spurt decreases and may continue to gain peak muscle mass and have foot growth.
What Affects Your Child Height
A child’s height is mostly determined by genetics and is usually done by the combination of the child’s mother’s and father’s genetic makeup.
Even some peer-reviewed studies say that the hereditary characteristics are made by 80% of the child’s growth pattern, and the rest 20% comes from environmental factors. Also, the teen’s growth pattern is determined by genetics.
For instance, shorter parents tend to have shorter kids, and likewise, taller parents tend to have taller kids.
Moreover, nutrition may also affect your child’s height. This is why a balanced meal and good nutrition are crucial for body growth.
Moreover, your child may experience increased appetite, during puberty and most importantly, you should not restrict your child’s calories during this time.
However, in some cases, due to an imbalance in their growth hormone, your child may grow abnormally quickly or slowly. These cases are severe, and you should immediately seek professional medical advice.
Growth Delay
There are many reasons that delays affect growth. It can be:
- Medical conditions affecting thyroid
- Growth hormones
- Insulin levels
- Sex hormones
- Other genetic disorders and down syndrome
Boys tend to have lower growth rates which are overweight. Even malnutrition during childhood can also be a significant cause of growth delay.
You can identify the growth delay during infanthood. So it would help if you kept visiting the child’s pediatrician, by which he can track the growth.
Do Boys Grow Faster Than Girls
Boys and girls have different growth rates. Boys generally grow fast during their teen years, and they also tend to be taller than girls. That is why growth charts for boys and girls are different.
However, other concerns for teen development are enough sleep, balanced meals, and physical activity.
Do Men Grow After 18
Boys stop growing by the age of 16. However, if your son is a late bloomer, you may notice an increase in the height of up to an inch. Generally, by the age of 18, all men stop growing.
Their testosterone 2starts to develop during their growth spurt period, and all other development gets completed since the growth plates get fused.
Growth plates are a layer of cartilage found on both sides of the longest bones in the body.
Concerned About Your Teen’s Growth
When it comes to boys’ growth during puberty, there is a wide range of average growth. Boys start puberty as early as 9 years or as late as 14 years.
If your son is showing first signs at his 9 years or is not showing his puberty at the age of 14, you should consult their pediatrician3.
If they find some issues, they may advise diagnosis or treatment. They may even ask for testing, including hormonal assessments and even x-rays to measure skeletal growth and development.
They will also refer you to a specialist if they have serious issues. It can be a pediatric geneticist or a pediatric endocrinologist.
Bottom-Line
Both kids and parents worry about the growth that occurs during puberty. Especially if they compare their development with peers, they may feel anxious or self-conscious.
So both parents and the kids need to have more research about the development during puberty. Even this should be included in academic research institutions to talk about it freely and for educational purposes.
- Spaziani, Matteo, et al. “Hypothalamo-Pituitary axis and puberty.” Molecular and cellular endocrinology 520 (2021): 111094. ↩︎
- Barbonetti, Arcangelo, Settimio D’Andrea, and Sandro Francavilla. “Testosterone replacement therapy.” Andrology 8.6 (2020): 1551-1566. ↩︎
- Sisk, Blake, et al. “Pediatrician attitudes toward and experiences with telehealth use: results from a national survey.” Academic pediatrics 20.5 (2020): 628-635. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Suchi
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