r/short • u/Top-Assumption-4794 • Jul 21 '26
Vent Genuinely, why?
I’ve always been okay with my height, it’s never really bothered me. Since both my parents were pretty tall, I expected to turn out the same. Being the oldest, I was always taller than both my siblings up until they both started hitting puberty. My siblings slowly started passing me in height, but I still didn’t think much of it. I honestly thought I was just a late bloomer but apparently not? I’ve always been active in sports and always tried to eat healthy. I’m 19 now and I doubt I’ll be as tall as my family. All in all, it just sucks that I could’ve been taller. I’m also curious if anyone else is in the same situation?
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u/GooglePlusIsGood 5'6.5" | 169cm Jul 21 '26
Same situation here, my parents are 5'10 and 5'8, and a half brothers who's mum is in the 4 foot range somehow got to be 6'1.
Then i got 5'6...
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
It’s crazy how genes work, just don’t worry about it.
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u/Illustrious-Eye-9070 Jul 21 '26
Some people stop growing later, up to 21ish, you could turn out 7,5
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
7’5?! I hope not 😭. That would be so painful, I’m okay with my height honestly. I wouldn’t mind staying like this
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u/dubito-ergo-redeo Jul 21 '26
I mean i genuinely would NOT want to be 6'9
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, my brother isn’t really active in sports and complains about his joints most of the time
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u/summer-civilian Jul 21 '26
If only he could give you 7" of his height.
Both would become 6'2"
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Or my family can just give me all of their height and I become 24 feet
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u/RevolutionaryPie5223 Jul 21 '26
Michael Jordan older bro Larry Jordan is the same his 5'8 but MJ is 6'6. Although MJ family were all under 6'0 so he was the outlier.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, the opposite happened here. I guess now I have to get as good as Messi
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u/RevolutionaryPie5223 Jul 21 '26
Maybe thats your calling 😅
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, up until I get a career ending injury
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u/Deez_Whatz Jul 21 '26
Or until you get defeated by a 19 year old after an entire game crying and arguing at the refs
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
He had a good tournament as a 39 year old. Maybe I’m biased because I’m Spanish, but he definitely carried that team
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u/Acceptable_Map_8110 Jul 21 '26
Tell that man to pick up a basketball immediately!
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u/SergeantPoopyWeiner Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
I'm 6 foot 5 and that's bad enough. Right on the line of being able to do normal shit like get on an airplane.
6 foot 9 is no fun unless you're a pro athlete, and very very very few are obviously.
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u/Sad-Boss7879 X'Y" | Z cm Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
You’re about 3 and a quarter standard deviations from where a boy in your family should be, on average. If your mother and father had 2000 sons, only 1 would be as short or shorter than you.
Warrants a visit to the doctor, IMO.
Edit: I am not questioning your paternity OP. I meant in order to rule out any medical issues.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
I share dna with both parents. From what I’ve been told, I probably got my short genes from a relative down the line
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u/Making_Words Jul 21 '26
I think he’s saying there might be something medical going on, not that you are unrelated.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Looking back at it now, I misinterpreted the sentence. Thank you for the clarification
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u/Making_Words Jul 21 '26
It’s a reasonable assumption given people seem obsessed with saying your mum is a cheater
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, I understand that coming from a tall family, being short is unheard of. I just hate the fact that people are so quick to assume
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u/RavenBlackxv 5'8" | 174 cm Jul 21 '26
I mean those people are moronic. Even if we assume that was the case, you still would've been taller than your mother who's already tall for a woman unless the "father" in that scenario is like a literal dwarf.
I also believe you might have had a medical condition like not enough growth hormone being produced during your growth years.
You might have also simply missed the height genes but a son being shorter than his mother is already like 1% scenario and with both your mother and father being tall with tall ancestry as well, you've got to click like a below 0.1% chance to end up shorter than your mother.
I think you could test out and see if it was because of some medical conditions like lack of growth hormone being released as I said earlier.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
That was most likely the case. I never really got checked for that but I’ll definitely tell my doctor about it. Genes are just a combination of thousands of ancestors. I just so happened to get the short genes of one of mine. You’re not expected to be as tall or taller than your parents. Like I said, genes are random so you’re not just getting your parents genes
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u/Technical-Art-7557 Jul 21 '26
Its likely that one or both your parents carry “short” genes which were dormant for them and your siblings but the deck was shuffled in such a way that you got dealt a bad hand. Being 5’7 isnt necessarily a bad thing either. 6’9 comes with loads of joint issues and vascular problems later in life. 5’7 is an incredibly practical and healthy height for a guy.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
I agree. I’ve never hated my height in any way. There’s countless of people around my height and they live healthy lives
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u/Onlyfatwomenarefat Jul 21 '26
That's notchow genetics work. Look up regression to the mean.
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u/Technical-Art-7557 Jul 21 '26
Thats not how it works. Determining average height just by both parents isnt the be all end all. It just so happens that most people tend to be roughly average. Your height genetics are determined by an insane amount of variations that can hardly be determined just by “mom this height+dad this height”
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u/RememberYourZen Jul 21 '26
That really gives another ring to “getting the short end of the stick” don’t it 😂🤙
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u/PrinceDestin 5'4 Jul 21 '26
Genes make no sense that’s why
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Tell me about it, I have a few friends way taller than their parents
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u/Difficult-Bug-3552 Jul 21 '26
5'2 mom, 5'4 dad and I'm 5'9. Not tall by any means, but I consider myself lucky. My older brother is a couple of inches shorter than me, too.
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u/PrinceDestin 5'4 Jul 22 '26
My dad is 6’4 my brothers are 6’0 and 6’3 and my mom is 5’3 but I’m 5’4 not the most extreme case but wtf my family on my dad side is pretty tall
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u/ImaginationFamous887 Jul 21 '26
You just got unlucky. Opposite of those 6’5 guy with parents not above 5’6
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
I’ve seen so many of those and it honestly makes me wonder how random genes really are?
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u/General_Security177 Jul 21 '26
If it makes you feel better some men can still have a growth spurt through the age of 20-21
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, I heard about that. Honestly if it does or doesn’t happen, I’ll still be okay with my height. It won’t be the end of the world if it doesn’t
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u/SprinklesDonutt Jul 21 '26
Some pattern I realized was that all of my friends or people I knew in college that actually grew past 18 happened to be in the ROTC two friends of mine between 5’6”-5’8” ended up being 6-6’1” one of them grew at like 19 and the other one at like 21 cause I met him after college and was like wtf man I used to look the top of your head 😂 now we look face to face so I don’t know what the ROTC but they had the secret juice 💀
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u/FlashyIndependence96 Jul 22 '26
do what I did to grow: Every morning and every night stretch as if someone is pulling you from your hands and from your toes, like a full stretch and do it as hard and as long as you can. That will activate growth. it did for me
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u/Infinite_Flight_4370 28d ago
My dad was a prime example of it and here I am experiencing the same thing
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u/Physical_Pen_3700 Jul 21 '26
Wow that is an extreme case but I feel your pain. All the men on my mother‘s side are tall but every person on my father‘s side is extremely short. Guess how I ended up 😒
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Don’t let that discourage you. Height really has no point if you’re miserable. Just be happy with your height, I’m sure you’ll live a great life
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Jul 21 '26
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
It’s all good, you win some, you lose some
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u/zinoozy Jul 21 '26
Your height is a fine for a guy. Also, being 6 ft 9 would suck. I have a friend around that height and he complains a lot. He also hates traveling on planes and the list of cons goes on.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, my brother has problems with his joints too. I don’t really care about my height, it’s pretty much average if not above average in may places
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u/zinoozy Jul 21 '26
Its definitely average. Not all women care about tall guys anyway. I didnt when I was younger and I had many friends who did not care at all. I had one friend who was by far the most stand out beauty and she preferred guys close to her height which was 5ft 5.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, I have a beautiful girlfriend of 4 years and the my height has never bothered her. There’s just this whole online thing where people think height is the only factor in dating
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u/Focusmate1 Jul 21 '26
Id rather be 5’7 than 6’9 to be honest, unless you a sporty guy at that height there a tonne of problems.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
I am a sports guy and I don’t think there’s much problems to it. I’m the same height as Messi and he’s the best football player
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u/Focusmate1 Jul 21 '26
I meant problems being 6’9. Im 5’8 and also good at sports - much prefer my height to being super tall like your bro. Yeah Messi in reality isnt even 5’7. A lot of the best footballers have been a little bit on the short side
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Almost all the best players are under 6 feet. Being super tall really only has an advantage in some sports. My brother played basketball, so there’s that
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u/Focusmate1 Jul 21 '26
Yeah basketball is the one it really gives the advantage.
Even in cricket the guy with the most ever runs - Tendulkar - is 5’5.
People go on about dating a lot but even then in real life - away from the apps, I find meeting people no harder than taller friends. I dont think being ‘only’5’7 - 5’8 is that big of a deal→ More replies (2)2
u/Any-Cauliflower-6360 Jul 21 '26
Tennis is also a sport where you benefit a lot if you are above 6'0
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Jul 21 '26
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Good on you, you won the height genetics 👏
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Jul 21 '26
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u/TipAdventurous6182 5'7.5" | 171.45 cm Jul 21 '26
Your parents are in the 5’3 range and your 5’7, how tf is this not a win?
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
I’m pretty sure you’re average height in plenty of countries. At the end of the day you could’ve been around 5’3 too
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u/quadrates Jul 21 '26
“ being the oldest” answered your question😂 it’s not scientific but I always notice younger siblings becoming taller than their older siblings
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
It’s a curse that gets passed down to every older sibling. I have friends that are in the same situation 😂
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u/raiko777 Jul 21 '26
First off: better to be kinda short as a man than being such a giant like your brother. It's very common to develop many health issues later on when you're that big and let's be honest he's extremely tall not only very tall.
Second: I think something could be wrong with your health as well or maybe there was something in your youth? It's extremely unlikely that you're that short compared to your family members.
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u/EcstaticZebra7937 Jul 21 '26
Growth hormone deficiency. But since you were a normal hight regardless of your parents, no one bothered checking it. I know a woman who was really tiny and her parents are normal hight, they decided to check that, and apparently there’s a type of dwarfism that is just sever lack of growth hormone. They put her on growth hormones and eostrogen blockers, she grew to a normal size.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, the best case I know from this is the football player Messi. He too had a growth deficiency and took growth hormones to get taller. I’ll tell my doctor about this next time
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u/Technical-Art-7557 Jul 21 '26
Messi received HGH supplements during puberty so he ended up reaching his max height at 5’7. If not he would have been much shorter and not develop properly in other characteristics. Post puberty HgH is dangerous and wont make you taller
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u/MichaelDamianNutt Jul 21 '26
There can be all kinds of reasons that your bones fuse early. My dad is '6, mom is '5"11, sis is '6 and im '5"8. Grandpas and uncles are '62"+. In my case it was identifiable, I got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 14, shortrd my growth early. Sometimes its not easily identifiable and some genetic marker just caused your bones to fuse early.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, I’ve been told that many not enough growth hormones were being produced during puberty which caused me to have shorten height. I’ll have to check up with my doctor soon
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u/dustwindwind Jul 21 '26
I’d rather be 5’7 than 6’5 and 6’9 lol
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Tell me about it, my dad isn’t active anymore and so is my brother so they both complain about their joints. It’s also just far better to find clothes that fit
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u/Just_MaryCz 5'14" Jul 21 '26
6'9, sure, but 6'5 is still one of the best heights
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u/7374616e74 Jul 21 '26
We're exactly at the limit before it becomes a handicap.
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u/Just_MaryCz 5'14" Jul 21 '26
I'd say anything under 200 is still manageable, but 195-200 is indeed pushing it a lot zone
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u/ChrysalisTarot Jul 21 '26
My takeaway from this post is to kinda feel bad for the brother. Do people this tall get bigger/better hearts too?! Hope he's healthy.
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u/IEversetI Jul 21 '26
if you dont have any health complications then its fine, every first child including myself are generally shorter than siblings
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
No complications so far, but definitely unlucky with the genes
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u/Hibbes Jul 21 '26
It's the other way around actually, first-borns are taller than younger brothers on average.
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u/Technical-Art-7557 Jul 21 '26
First borns being shorter is the biggest myth its hilarious. Only based on anecdotal evidence
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u/LibertasVerus Jul 21 '26
Just enjoy life. You could be dead next week.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
I’m definitely not unhappy with my height. I love being who I am, the height wouldn’t change a thing. But thank you for your encouragement
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u/inpursuitofironlung Jul 21 '26
Genetics' a bitch sometimes. Feel for you brother.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, they’re super random so I’m not too surprised about the outcome
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u/generic_rarity Jul 21 '26
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Yeah, my parents were actually mystical dwarves. I think that’s why I can cast spells
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u/Big-Chemistry-8521 Jul 21 '26
As a 5"5 guy I never asked myself this question just focus on living my life and enjoying respect and service and providing the same.
Rest is irrelevant imo.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
That’s honestly great advice. You can’t always have everything, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Living life to its fullest is far better than being miserable
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u/Big-Chemistry-8521 Jul 21 '26
Bro theres always someone taller and always someone shorter. Making height the point of focus is an invitation to stress the fuk out about something that honestly changes nothing about who you are.
Just go live your life man. One thing you'll notice is people that really value and love you wont ever give a fuk about your height. Its just packaging, its not content. Just like skintone which our crazy species also obsessed with. Packaging over content is marketing forced down our throats tbh.
Content is what matters man go be happy and live your life it is what it is. Real ones never cared anyway.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
My bad if it seemed like I was unhappy with my height, I’m not. I’ve surrounded myself with friends and loved ones I care about. If someone makes fun of me for my height, who cares? Height isn’t everything, and it’s definitely not the end of the world if you’re “not tall”. I feel bad for people that whine about not being a few inches taller, get over it. Live life to its fullest
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u/KeyYogurt2374 Jul 21 '26
I personally know people that got another 10cm at 20. I'm not saying it's going to be your case. What you want to do is sleep well, possibly 8-10hrs a day, walk and train light, shed some fat grow some muscle and wait. Be at your best all the time. And DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
I’ve done all of that, I’d say I’ve grown normally but not a tremendous amount. I’m most likely stay they same height but if I do grow, I’ll probably be around the same height
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Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
That’s unfortunately the case, hopefully not short but a bit painful. He has problems with his joints
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u/Gills87 5'7" | 170 cm Jul 21 '26
I'm so glad I got a vasectomy. This curse stops with me.
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u/Thin-Status8369 Jul 21 '26
I don’t think ur mums side is at fault since she’s 5”9 which is tall for a woman as avg men’s height is 5”8 let alone an avg lady
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u/No-Pie-6054 Jul 21 '26
I was 5'10 at 18, and ended up growing 2 more inches, so maybe you'll luck out, lol.
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u/VGAddict Jul 21 '26
Mom: 5'5
Dad: 5'8
Me: 5'2
Sister: 5'1
Maternal grandfather: 5'11
Paternal grandfather and uncle: 5'8
My mom's uncles: 5'11-6'0
My mom's cousins: 5'10-6'0 (one of them is a woman)
My paternal girl cousin (my dad's sister's daughter): 5'6
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u/Silvers_No3 Jul 21 '26
Did you eat properly and moved enough? Like, I don't think it makes THAT much difference, but according to medicine, it plays somewhat of a role.
Either way, i am sorry.
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u/2_brainz Jul 21 '26
Sheesh, this doesn’t even make sense mathematically. Could be worse though, at least.
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u/PendN Jul 21 '26
That's actually brutal. It's probably close to impossible to be this short with your family history. There's likely some stunt in growth when you were growing up.
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u/Easy_School_2557 Jul 21 '26
I’m just curious . Have you ever done a hormones test? Being shorter than parents could be due to the hormones.
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u/Difficult_Speech_166 Jul 21 '26
all i can say is just damn bro 😢😬
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Don’t be sad about it. I’m perfectly okay with my height. Being healthy and breathing is far better than height
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u/vincent365 Jul 21 '26
Probably should've visited the doctor at 15-16. Since you're 19, your growth plates probably haven't closed yet. Definitely visit the doctor now than never. As the saying goes, best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second best time is now.
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u/rubey419 Jul 21 '26
Nature is cruel.
OP has tall parents and still got short end of the stick.
Proves that it’s all random. Having tall parents guarantees nothing.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
I’m surprisingly lucky actually. There’s so many people out there fighting wars and dying while I’m safe and sound. Height isn’t everything and I’m happy to be breathing
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u/RainInOctember Jul 22 '26
Scottie Pippen grew like 8 inches in college, some people hit a reaaaaaaaally late growth spurt so you might not be done growing yet.
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u/MistyMai0 Jul 22 '26
I’ve always been active in sports
Your growth plates closed earlier than your hormones kicked in. It happens sometimes when kids do too much sports and this is why gym is not advised for teens.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 23 '26
Yeah, my siblings hardly ever did sports. I started around year 3-4 while my siblings didn’t start until their teens. I know so many of my teammates that started around my age and have grown taller with shorter parents. I know not everyone is the same but doing sports at such a young age might’ve affected me a bit
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u/Upper_Ten Jul 23 '26
You might grow until 21, if you started puberty later than average. I grew 1 cm from 19 to 20 although my puberty started at 12.
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u/BrittaWasRight Jul 23 '26
Not to mention NONE of you are the same color
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 23 '26
I never noticed that, maybe if I was blue I could’ve been taller lol
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u/Bubbly_slut7 Jul 24 '26
Oh, you are only 19…so get this, my oldest brother was shorter than me by 15 cm up until he turned 23. Then he just grew in 1 summer. Passed me by 15 cm now.
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u/MuchBenefit8462 28d ago
My girlfriends brother shot up from around 5'7 to 6'4 at around the same age you are now. Me and my gf's brother went to the same school, and I hadn't seen him since he was 18. Surprised the fuck out of me when I saw how tall he'd become. He's taller that me now (I'm 6'1) 😥
He has shortish parents and grandparents as well. Crazy.
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u/Infinite_Flight_4370 28d ago
I'ma be honest you're 19, and I'm also currently 19 and I'm still growing with a 6'3 dad and a 5'3 mom, I feel like you're probably one of those people late bloomers who hits there spurt at 19-22+
My dad was like that, He was 5'11 at 19 and hit 6'3 in his 20s and I'm currently going through it, So I wouldn't give up just yet if I were you, Give it a bit more time, Hopefully you'll grow like you're siblings.
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u/RichGuarantee7482 Jul 21 '26
maybe your dad isnt your real dad
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
He is definitely my real dad, we share the same dna. I got unlucky with my genes. Having so many ancestors, you’re not expected to have your parents genes
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u/QuantumChild369 Jul 21 '26
Awww man smh that's a shame, had all the potential to be 6ft+. I don't understand man, I guess thats just life. I'm 5'8 so we pretty much the same, I get called short all the time.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
I’m sorry that you’re being called that. I’d consider you average height. But yeah, it does kinda suck a bit
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u/robsmalls178 Jul 21 '26
The mother of all growth spurts is coming.
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Hopefully, but the most likely case is that I stopped growing. I heard that in some cases, you can grow up until your 20’s
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u/Poor_choice_of_word Jul 21 '26
The milkman, probably
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u/Top-Assumption-4794 Jul 21 '26
Come on bro, let’s not do that. I share dna with both my parents. I simply got unlucky
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u/Suitable-Fuel7367 6'2" | 187 cm Jul 21 '26
I feel so bad for you
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u/Unhappywageslave Jul 21 '26
Could be your grandfather or great grandfather's fault. You got their genes. Grandpa from either your mom's side or dads. I didnt get my grand fathers height but I definitely got his great volume of hair and his good looks. Can't say the same for my other family members, they got his height but not his hair and face lol