Late bloomers are wiser. Both neurology and experience show that as we get older we get better at planning, decision-making, and keeping things in perspective. When that accumulated wisdom meets a later-in-life career opportunity, magical things can happen.
The advantage of being a late bloomer is that by the time success strikes, you've got your bearings about you. You know where you're going. You take success for what it is without getting turned in circles so easily. By that point, you've spent enough time outside that you can read the stars.
Most late bloomers start off as an average or even above average height as infants and toddlers. But around their third or fourth birthday, they start to slow down on their growth. While they still grow a normal amount each year, it's often not as much as their peers.
The construct of late bloomers is not only outdated, but can also be toxic to those who do succeed later in life, after the age they're 'supposed' to reach a milestone. Such people may struggle with feelings of failure, negative self-comparison to others, and even the sense that they've been forgotten or left behind.
Delayed puberty is when boys have little to no genital growth by age 14, or girls have no breast development by age 13, or no periods by age 16. You may also hear this called being a “late bloomer”. Delayed puberty may happen in children who have chronic medical conditions.
Adult testosterone levels vary from 250-800 ng/dL, and most boys with delayed puberty have testosterone levels of less than 40.
This wide range in age is normal, and it's why you may develop several years earlier (or later) than most of your friends. Sometimes, though, people pass this normal age range for puberty without showing any signs of body changes. This is called delayed puberty.
Late bloomers also learn resilience.
They become good at handling setbacks, replanning, and managing their own expectations. It's why late bloomers are often happier and more successful than their peers who enjoyed early success.
Fact is, late bloomers are very smart, but not necessarily in ways that are seen from society's early achievement conveyor belt, which tends to see only SAT scores, grades and elite college admissions as proof of smart. Another myth is that late bloomers just need to work harder and apply more grit to their tasks.
Late bloomers are trained innovators—thanks to failure.
They've gotten used to a world with no patience for their growth, and they've struggled against a system that doesn't work for them. That kind of training, however unwelcome, breeds incredible resilience.
Delayed puberty in boys is when puberty does not begin by 14 years of age. When puberty is delayed, these changes either don't occur or don't progress normally.
They tend to grow most quickly between ages 12 and 15. The growth spurt of boys is, on average, about 2 years later than that of girls. By age 16, most boys have stopped growing, but their muscles will continue to develop.
Around age 13, with a surge in testosterone, most boys are taller, heavier, faster, stronger, bigger, and more powerful than most girls.
Chill, Most Geniuses Don't Peak Until Their Late 30s Anyway
As we discovered on io9, a new study by the National Bureau of Economics Research found that successful scientists and inventors generally peak in their late 30s. Genius, such as we know it, is more likely to come with maturity in at least those fields.
In most cases, delayed puberty is simply a matter of growth changes beginning later than usual, sometimes called late bloomer. Once puberty begins, it progresses normally. This is called constitutional delayed puberty, and it runs in families. This is the most common cause of late maturity.
Just look at Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs. They were all late bloomers who wrote their names in the pages of history.
Early bloomers may start to notice changes in their bodies as early as age 10, whereas late bloomers may start at age 14. Of course, these changes could easily fall anywhere in between. Those who started on the later side, can expect to keep reaching new heights until the age of 18.
The timing of puberty is different for each child and relies mostly on their genetic make-up. In other words, if you were a late bloomer, for instance, there's a good chance your child will be, too. Likewise, the tendency is the same for early puberty.
Stage 5 is the final phase. Development typically ends in this stage. Girls reach physical adulthood. Pubic hair may extend out to their thighs, and some girls may have a line of hair up to their belly button. Most girls attain their peak height by age 16, but some may continue growing through age 20.
Conclusions: Final height is influenced by both height and the age of onset of the PGS in normal maturing children. A normal but early puberty exerts a negative effect on final height. A delayed PGS exerts a positive effect on final height.
On average, boys reach puberty later than girls, and researchers have found that the differences in the onset of puberty could explain around half of the gender differences in grades. “Pupils who reach puberty earlier perform better. This applies to both boys and girls.
it is the same probability for everyone except if you are malnourished during puberty… the average growth assuming this is male is 2–3 inches per year for 2 years. although I was also a late bloomer and grew a little over 4 inches per year for 2 years.
(For elite men, who peak from ages 27 to 29, there's a two-minute slowing annually, also starting at 35.) The good news is recreational runners can hold a faster pace until age 50, when both women and men have similar decreases in speed of almost three minutes per year.