My husband had to take growth hormone shots for a year when he was 12. He was extremely short (all of the males in his family are 5'7 or shorter). Because of the growth hormone he managed to reach 5ft 7inches before he stopped growing. Without it, he would have been around 5ft 1inches. My husband now says he wishes his doctor had continued him on the shots for longer. At 5'7 was still in the "short" category for males in all of his grades throughout school and has a major complex about his height to this day. When my husband dated, he tried to date taller girls or girls who had tall fathers/brothers (I fit in this category). He was extremely anxious when we had our children, until the pediatrician assured him that our son would be over 6ft by the time he was done growing, and even our eldest daughter was in the tall range for her age. My youngest sister (of 4 children) stopped growing at 4ft 11in, and like my husband, she is extremely sensitive about her height. With the two of them, you can't even tease about height. Being short can bring embarrassment, anxiety, and a feeling a failure. So, if continuing the growth hormone to bring someone from 5'6 to 5'9 won't hurt them, I don't see the problem with it. They aren't making giants here. Most of the time, they are just given the shots until they reach the average height for their sex.

I take growth hormone as an adult (diagnosed AGHD - Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency). I also belong to an organization - www.magicfoundation.org that helps kids with all sorts of disorders. There are new studies out that the doctor above has apparently not read up on that growth hormone is needed throughout life and not just for growth. They are starting new protocols and not stopping it in children who had it and giving it to those, like me, who lost it due to one or more pituitary surgeries.

I think the risks the doctors really should talk about should concentrate on the lack of a hormone that you once had, you do not have any more. Usually the greatest side effects are really that you did not have the hormone, now you have it, and your body is now adjusting to it, and any synthetic is not like the one your body made and so regulating it is not the same. Hence you may get too little, too much, or not at the right time - as timing is a factor in hormones. Plus our own hormones do not come with fillers etc. Get to a competent doctor. I think it is sad that so many people are not treated and they can be.

As an average height mom of 2 very short children (who would qualify), this is such a difficult issue. It's almost a no-win situation.  Even the test to determine growth hormone levels is invasive, and maybe the testing itself can give kids a complex and idea that something must be wrong with them.  I obviously want the best for them, but at what cost?  It isn't easy being short for a male or female, and males may have a special problem in meeting partners.  On the other hand, most people have issues of one sort or another, and if the kids are healthy, then we should be happy. The most harmful, though, is the teasing from peers. I fantasize about taking my kids away from society for their adolescent years and returning them as adults with their self-esteem intact.  Aside from teaching my kids that we need to value the fact that everyone is special and unique, I'm still not sure what to do.  Growth hormone treatment is tempting but scary.

I am a mom of five, three are considered short by most standards and the other two are tall. I am listing them by their age; 1st is 6' 5"; 2nd is 5' 6"; 3rd is 5' 5"; 4th is 5' 2" first four are grown adults, and last but not least is is my 6 month old who is in the 90th percentile on the growth chart in both weight and length she is 27 3/4 inches long and tips the scales @ 19 lbs 10 oz. I am thankful that they are all healthy.

I was examined for seven years in one of the highest ranking hospitals in the U.S. The doctors there were checking, and recording my growth cycle. I was eligable for the growth hormone, which had just recently been introduced, but the doctors wanted to see how I would turnout. After examining me for seven years, they concluded that I would grow to be Five foot Six inches. I am now Five foot one.

I regret not taking the growth hormone when I had the chance, don't make the same mistakes.

I have a son who is almost 16. He has been on HGH since he was 7yrs old. The cost is very high actually upwards of $40K a year but thankfully my insurance pays for it. My son had a growth rate that would have been at best 5', with the HGH injections at age 16 he now has a stature of 5' 8" and is still growing. For us it was worth all the numerous doctors visits, blood test and x rays. But I would not recommend anyone doing it if their child has not taken to it within the first year. It is a very lengthy, time consuming, expensive process.

I am an even 5'0" tall. I come from an entire family of people who would qualify for growth hormone treatment under the aforementioned guidelines. While it's irritating to hear comments repeated over and over by the same individuals, I submit that they, not I, have the problem. I have found that if I gently and assertively ask them to stop it, they do. My friends find it funny that anybody might think that my short stature has held me back in any way. There are activities and sports that do not require unnaturally huge stature for participation. There is no reason that only large people can obtain high quality education and/or employment. If children are properly nurtured physically and emotionally, there is every possibility that even short stature will not cause irreparable harm to their psyches. On the other hand, the person with no presence of growth hormone may need treatment. I think I'm suggesting that this should be decided on an individual basis, not by a set of criteria that may not be appropriate in every situation.

Our oldest son is on GH. He was below the lowest percentile (<0) for his age when we started him on it (age 4). My wife and I were very adamant that we are not going to give it to him to so he'll be average height (I'm 5'10", she's 5'), being short is not a disease. The effects of low GH can affect the growth of the heart as well, so it's not all about height. The real indicator for us was when he stopped growing (fell of the curve as it's been said) and the pediatric endocrinologist doctors confirmed if he'd been following the CDC growth curve (even if below the lowest percentile) he most likely would not have been a candidate for GH. The ped-endo started off by checking our son's GH levels he naturally produced (this was a very long process, inject a drug to simulate sleep activity in the pit. gland, then take a couple of vials of blood over 4-hours(?)). once it was determined he did not produce enough GH, he had to have a CAT scan of his brain to make sure his pituitary gland was normal, then came the nightly shots. Now at age 6 he's on the growth chart (5th percentile height) and catching up with his peers. This was not easy on our son and very hard for mom and dad (CAT scans are terrifying for a parent b/c they have a put a child under sedation b/c they'll move during the reading). I find it hard to believe any parent would subject their child to this if the results were normal and just trying to get a few more inches.

In addition we know plenty of well adjusted men who are 5'ish. We just want a healthy son, not an NBA player.

I was always taught the children are suppose to be taller than their parents, only thing that would change that is if poor nutrition or actually medical conditions caused this malady. Every male in my family is over 6 feet tall and women are all at least 5'9. My children are currently son is 3'3 at the age of 2 1/2 and my daughter is 4'4 at 5. Nice healthy children who have only had candy at other peoples houses. Have never even smell anything fried in my house. I bake(using bread oven) bread every other day and we have no use for white rice or flour in our house. Look to proper nutrition, the worse things to give your kids........ANY food product marketed to children.

Short kids don't like being short, but there's no evidence that it causes any lasting harm to their self esteem, or leads to lack of success later in life. I hope you will check out my book for young people on the subject. "Short: Walking Tall When You're Not Tall At All" (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159643323X/) is a science book that tell short kids why they are short, and helps them interpret the scientific studies about height and success in life. Parade called it "a perfect book for short kids" (http://www.parade.com/health/mom-to-mom/2010/04/16-a-perfect-book-for-short-kids.html). The book tells young readers -- and their parents -- that if being short is their biggest problem, lucky them.

The real "problem" is that in life there will always be children that are taller and shorter than the rest of the population. Giving some people extra growth hormone just transfers the "shortest kid syndrome" to another child and spreads the problem. If a person is short we shouldn't just give him hormones to make him taller. If we do, we'll soon be giving hormones to all our children to make them normal height, because the height curves would be skewed by the children that had hormone treatment. What we really need is counseling for both the child and parents on why shortness can be good and why being short can be good for a person. (e.g. not having to worry about knocking things on your head)

If the problem is a lack of growth hormone that affects the growth of all organs and therefore the child's health then the growth hormone is a good idea after consulting and communicating with your drs. However if the child is just short and parents are worried about being teased then they should remember that tall kids get teased as well. My daughter, going into 3rd grade, is 5' and wears size 7 (ladies) shoes, and is due for a growth spurt. That puts her off the chart, which is where she has always been for height. Her weight has always been in the 50th percentile or below. Her dad is 6'6", the dr. estimate she will top out at 6' or 6'1". She gets teased and has been called a giant all the way through school. Everyone who meets her says something like "Boy are you ever tall". So the bottom line is we need to teach all of our kids (and selves) to respect the differences in all people. Not everyone fits into the same "chart" and all are just fine.

I am 4'll inches tall and was sensitive about it when I was in school. I never did get that summer growth spurt like my female classmates.

However, I also found that I had no trouble attracting men because there are plenty of men who like petite women.

I am disturbed that the article did not mention other causes of short stature or failure to thrive causes in babies and children.

Celiac disease, or gluten intolerance is a known factor in delaying and even halting growth. And, celiac disease is a familial or genetically inherited problem. Therefore, it isn't uncommon to find different family members of short stature and automatically assume that everyone is short because of "their genes".

If your child is short and has fallen behind in growth, it would be wise to ask your pediatrician to order a full celiac panel for your child. If the results are positive, a referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist is warranted.

Celiac is an autoimmune disorder whereby gluten or the protein that is in wheat, rye, and barley causes the immune system to attack the small intestine where our nutrients are absorbed. The damage often causes symptoms such as tummy aches, diarrhea, and bloating. Other symptoms can be constipation, lack of appetite, fatigue,weakness, lack of energy. There are people who have absolutely no symptoms at all but are risking their health (risk developing certain cancers) by remaining undiagnosed. Very often anemia with no cause is detected. All adults and children should also have an iron panel done.

Celiac though can be the great masquerader and sometimes just failure to grow or gain weight is all a parent or MD will notice in a child.

If a child is determined to be a celiac, then a gluten free diet is a necessity for the rest of their lives. It is a steep learning curve to understand the diet and implement it properly.

I have been on a gluten free diet for over 16 years and enjoy lots of foods that are safe. A child does not have to suffer as there are now gf pizzas, fish sticks, cakes, cookies, etc. that are now widely available.

Once a child has been diagnosed and been placed on a gluten free diet, parents and MD's commonly witness spectacular growth spurts in these children.

I forgot to mention that celiac is one of the most missed diagnoses.

A study by a celiac expert at the University of Maryland did a study some years ago and found that random testing revealed 1 in 133 people are celiac.

That would translate for the potenial for a lot of short people (though some celiacs are tall and some are even obese) Most undiagnosed celiacs are very thin or even emaciated looking.

I am 5'0" and I always have said my heighth seems to bother other people more than it does me.