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I am 5 feet 1 inch tall, and my husband is 6 feet 1 inch. Our son, age 12, is 4 feet 9 inches, and our daughter, age 9, is 4 feet 11 inches tall. Our doctor says they are both normal for their ages and their genetic background. The boy is the shortest in seventh grade, thus he gets teased a lot. Are there any vitamins that I can give him, or am I just a worried mom?

answer:
Yes, you are a worried mom, and yes, there are some vitamins that can help—but only minimally. A popular concept is that a few shots of human growth hormone (HGH) may get your short youngster into a normal growth cycle. (Until recently, the only approved use for this hormone was for children deficient in HGH. At one point, this hormone was taken off the market due to contamination.)

We know that zinc and manganese will help bones grow longer and thicker. Give him 15 to 30 mg of zinc and 100 to 200 meg of manganese a day. Consuming at least 500 mg of vitamin C per day also allows some children to grow about a centimeter longer in a year. These are safe to try and have no side effects.

Girls are usually taller than boys from approximately 10 to 12 years of age. Once girls start their menses at approximately 13 years old, they only grow another inch or two. The boys continue to grow until they are approximately 17 years old and are sexually mature. The old adage is  generally true: To see how tall a boy will grow, double his height at age 2. And double a girl’s height at 18 months to see how tall she will grow.

Curiously, some studies done on Eastern Mediterranean men showed that phytic acid, an ingredient in unleavened bread, inhibited growth in males by as much as 3 to 4 inches.

Your worrying over your son’s growth pattern should be enough to hold him together while he is waiting to grow taller. Does your daughter look like her father and your son look like you? Those similarities might help explain the discrepancies in size. She may feel she is too tall when she matures, and he might remain too short for his desire.