Does lifting weights while you're still growing stunt your height?

Short answer

No. Kids who lifted weights did not grow less in height, and bone scans showed no growth plate damage. Most injuries were accidents like dropping a weight or pinching a hand.

Does lifting weights while you're still growing stunt your height?
'Heavy weights → growth plate damage → growth stops' — does this formula hold?
A common belief is that lifting heavy things as a kid squeezes the growth plates at the ends of your bones, so you end up shorter. Many parents tell teens to skip the weight room until they finish high school. We checked this formula against studies that actually trained kids.
Height was actually measured
Strength training did not change how kids grew
One review looked at 22 experiments where kids around puberty trained with machines and free weights. Most trained 2 to 3 times a week for 8 to 12 weeks, and their strength clearly went up. Their height and weight grew at the same pace as kids who did not train.
So are the growth plates okay?
Bone scans showed no growth plate damage
Out of 26 kids with an average age of 8, 16 did strength training 3 times a week, 45 minutes each, for 14 weeks. Scans of bone and muscle before and after showed no damage to growth plates, bones or muscles. Strength rose by 13 to 45%, depending on the movement.
Fewer kids got hurt lifting than in daily life
1 lifting injury vs 6 everyday injuries
In that same study, the only lifting injury was 1 case of shoulder pain. Meanwhile, 6 of the kids got hurt in everyday activities outside training. In the review of 22 experiments, the 10 studies that tracked injuries recorded just 3 injuries in total.
Then why do kids end up in the ER?
Mostly accidents: dropped weights and pinched hands
An analysis of 4,111 people seen in US emergency rooms for weight-room injuries found that 8- to 13-year-olds had the highest share of accidents. 2 out of 3 of their injuries were to the hands and feet, often from dropping or pinching. A 20-year analysis of ages 11 to 21 found most fractures were fingers (37%) and toes (28%).
Flip side: strength training protects kids
More strength, better jumps and sprints, fewer injuries
A review of 604 kids before puberty who were new to lifting found strength went up in every case, and jumping and sprinting improved. For girls in sports, training programs that include strength work cut the risk of knee injury by up to 68%.
Bottom line: height is no reason to avoid lifting
The formula breaks at the 'growth plate damage' link
No study found that kids who lifted grew less in height. When 500 sports medicine experts were surveyed, the answer was that 'avoid lifting until the growth plates close' is false. An adult watching and teaching good form, plus preventing dropped-weight accidents, is enough.