There’s no expense Robert, a Manhattan dad, will spare on the subject of helping his son achieve academically and socially — whether it’s getting orchestra seats at a Broadway show to fan an interest in improv, shelling out for tae kwon do lessons to bolster martial arts skills or encouraging honor-roll status with the reward of a caviar dinner.
So, in 2021, when he discovered that his son —then 4 feet, 5 inches tall and 12 years old — ranked in the primary percentile on the expansion chart, he was wanting to improve the child’s circumstances.
Robert, who asked to make use of a pseudonym for privacy reasons, and his wife took their son to a pediatric endocrinologist.
Various tests revealed that the boy’s short stature was not resulting from any health concerns. (Being in the primary percentile doesn’t mean a toddler has a growth or weight problem.)
After much consideration, Robert and his wife selected to present their son human growth hormone, at a value of roughly $3,000, before meeting their insurance deductible.
“We decided to place him on it for the social issues,” Robert said. “We desired to help him grow, and felt that the reward was definitely worth the risk.”
Well-heeled parents wanting to give their children every advantage are demanding human growth hormone prescriptions for his or her kids, a trend one pediatrician dubbed “cosmetic endocrinology.” Some mothers and dads are turning to the injections for medical reasons, though the vast majority of children deemed short for his or her age don’t have a medical condition that hinders growth.
Many parents are are only trying to prevent bullying or jumpstart an athletic or modeling profession.
“All of the wealthy kids are on them,” one mom, who asked to remind anonymous, told The Post.
“There are some parents who’re forcing them on their kids … Quite a lot of parents are like, ‘Oh he’s only going to be 5 feet, 7 inches, that’s bad!’”
Dr. Eric Ascher, a family medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side, said there are myriad the reason why parents may opt to present their kids hormone shots, but “desire for looks is more often what we’re treating versus health.”
“It’s thought, ‘If I place my child on growth hormones, then they will be the star football player, or have more muscles to be more attractive.’”
Ascher noted that the practice has grow to be increasingly common since 2003, when the Food and Drug Administration approved using human growth hormone to treat children with short stature of an unknown cause. It can be reportedly popular in China.
But, he cautions, there are drawbacks to this procedure.
“It’s giving the kid a negative social message at a young age,” Ascher said, adding that unwanted effects can include an increased risk of heart issue down the road.
But Robert has no regrets.
His son has sprouted as much as 4 feet, 8 inches in 14 months and seems more confident.
“He’s grown at a excellent rate and presumably from that medicine,” Robert said.
A stay-at-home mom in her mid-40s who lives in a tony suburb half-hour north of Manhattan is hoping for similar results for her son, age 10.
Kids in school tease him and call him “Tiny Tim,” so she recently began him on growth hormone, after X-rays of his hands and wrists signaled GH deficiency.
“He was like, ‘Mommy, it’s torture,’” she said. “I said to my son, ‘Feel lucky that mommy may give this to you. Daddy and I aren’t going to allow you to suffer.’”
She added, “Without delay, it’s looking like he’ll be 5’4 when he’s done growing, but when I will help my child not be 5’4, I’m going to.”
