Do super tall children always become super tall adults?

[MrRected]

Ds1 was 61cms at birth. He has always been tall but now that he is 12 he really sticks out. He reached 6ft tall at 11y10m (184cms).

Can anybody tell me - from a physiological perspective if this means he is going to be a very tall adult? The calculators say he will be 200cms - I feel quite sad for him as this means he will always stand out like a sore thumb. People gape at him now and he hates it.

Or is there a chance he will be normal height?

[CoolStoryBro]

No, not necessarily. DS2 is 12 and 5'11. He also looks very old for his age as is already growing "manly muscles" as we describe it to him. DH was just like this and stopped growing at 13. He is 6'2" .

[CoolStoryBro]

Also, the pediatricians have a guesstimate calculator of height, depending on where they are at 2 years old. I will find it for you.

[ViviDeBeauvoir]

I only have anecdotal evidence for my answer.
I was the tallest girl in Primary School aged 11 and was 5'6 aged 12. I'm now 5'9 so although I'm tall I'm not out of the ordinary.
He may be super tall or he may stop growing earlier, like I did.

[CoolStoryBro]

Upon googling, I read a quick article that said that once a boy's voice has broken and they need to begin to shave, then they are pretty much their fully grown height. However, DS1 fits into that category and our Dr took an xray when he broke his collar bone and said he still had a few more inches to grow.

[MrRected]

So there is hope :-)

[exexpat]

Not necessarily. How tall is your family? Both my DCs were very tall for their ages from birth, followed the 98th-99th centile line. But DS hit puberty at 12, and now at just-turned 15 is not quite 6ft and hasn't grown for six months. He is taller than his father and all the other men in the family, but not as tall as you might have expected from the growth charts (I knew he'd stop growing early, though, as that's the pattern in both my and DH's families).
DD is also very tall for her age (5'3" at 10) but I expect her to stop growing at age 12 like I did. What's the pattern in your family?

[MrRected]

I don't know about patterns - we have no grandparents to tell us. I am average. DH is 6'3, so hopefully he is just an early developer. He was 100cms on the dot at 2.

Time will tell.

[Madmog]

My daughter has always been really small for her age and we were told that we should look at heights for the rest of the family. No one is above 5'7" for my husbands parents and siblings and my Mum is only 4'10", so that seems to follow through for us.

[BanjoPlayingTiger]

My dh is 2m tall. He doesnt get stared at as much as you'd think.

My dh didnt stop growing until he was 21, and was about 180cm at 18, but 2m at 21.

It really isnt as tall as youd think. There are a lot of men that are only a little shorter than my dh. So try not to panic about him being giant. I think very tall kids stick out more than very tall adults.

[CatAmongThePigeons]

I was 5'8 at 10, 5'11 at 13 and I'm still 5'11 as an adult. My DH is 6'4 so I expect my children to be taller than average.

I have noticed that a lot of children are taller than in the past, they don't stick out so much nowadays IMO.

[RichManPoorManBeggarmanThief]

DH was also 6ft at age 12, and is still 6ft now. Ds looks like going the same way- he's just over 1 metre tall and almost 3, so he's tall compared to most other kids his age, but will probably not end up a particularly tall adult given his genes (I'm 5'7'')

[Trills]

Not always. Some people just happen to do most of their growing early on and then slow down or stop.

You are being a bit silly to feel sorry for him - 6ft 6 is tall but not freakish for an adult. He will grow into his height.

[WhatHo]

MrRected My daughter will be between 6'1 and 6'5 (200cm), so I have to say that every time I hear about tall men I am pleased. Being tall, especially for a man, is a blessing not 'abnormal'. I am less happy when I hear people worrying their kid is going to 'stand out like a sore thumb' just because he is tall.

My husband is also 6'5, and believe me, other than finding it slightly uncomfortable on a plane, he does not stand out especially. He is a superb cricketer and surfer and never had a problem getting a date

Also, we are all getting taller - I am 5'11 and was tall for my year, DD1 will be tall for her year, not obscene. Same goes for your DS.

Finally, I was at school with a 13 year old who was just under 6ft and already shaving. He was the tallest and strongest in his year. By the time we left, he was one of the shorter ones. It depends when your son hits puberty.

[Snowflakepie]

I think puberty age plays a big part. I was the tallest in my class aged 10, 160cm. I'm now 164cm. But fairly early developer overall. The calculation my mum was told was to double the height at age 2 years 9 months. That would have made me 174cm so clearly wrong!

DD would come out at 180cm by the same measure. She is a full head taller than everyone else in her year group but I expect it will slow. DS is 60cm tall at 10 weeks old so we'll see. DH is 178cm and is the shortest of his brothers. My dad is about 186cm. So tall is there!

I think most women prefer a tall man tbh. Your son won't be at a disadvantage. Taller men also tend to do better in the workplace and are assumed to have more 'authority' so to speak. I would prefer tall over short any day. Nightmare for school trousers though!

[FortyFacedFuckers]

I was 5 6 at age 11 but I never grew any bigger, you might find he will stop growing soon.

[CharlotteBr0nteSaurus]

I'm not sure how tall I was when growing up, but I was always the tallest in my year school, including the boys, until 11. I think I was about 5'5" when I started secondary school

I slowed down and am now a tallish 5'9", rather than being remarkably tall like when I was a child.

[Debs75]

I was always the tallest at primary school. taller then the boys and most teachers. I am now only 5'7" so not even tall by adult standards.
DD1 was very tall. Aged 3 in age 5 clothes, aged 6 in age 9-10 clothes. She is now 5'7" at 17, still time to grow but probably not.

I think you are being unfair saying he sticks out like a sore thumb. Yes 6' at 11-12 is tall but not at age 18. His growth may settle down and he will notice school friends catch up and even pass his height.

[mysteryfairy]

I think if you rather than just ask for anecdotes you should speak to your GP, perhaps without DS to start with.

My DS2 had the opposite issue in his early teens when he was absolutely tiny and had also plummeted down the growth charts from above average to below the lowest curve. Our GP referred him to an endocrinologist. One of the first things they do (v straightforward) is bone age from an x ray. If your DS had this you might find he has a bone age well ahead of his chronological age and is unlikely to grow much more which would give you reassurance without the need for anything more. There are a huge variety of children in an endocrinology outpatients clinic but I certainly saw some children who were very tall and would assume they were there for that reason, though as DS was at other end of spectrum I'm not sure what intervention they could make and whether it would be something you would want for a child.

[MrRected]

Thanks for that pearl of wisdom Trills. As a mum I do worry.

I don't say anything to him. He does get tired of people constantly going on about his height - i know he does because he tells me so. To clarify, when I say he sticks out like a sore thumb is just a turn of phrase.

[tobiasfunke]

I wouldn't worry about it as there's nothing you can do about it and it's impossible to predict.
DH and DBIL are both 6' 1". DBIL was tall from he was a small child.
DH was average and then had a massive growth spurt when he hit puberty.
It's a good thing to be tall especially for a man. I am a short arse and I hate it.

[Yonihadtoask]

Not necessarily.

DS was tall since birth. He was always in clothes 2 or 3 years older than his actual age.

However at 15 he seems to have slowed down, or even stopped growing in height. He is now (I think) 6ft 1". I am 5ft 9" and his dad is 6ft 2".
he does, however, have huge feet - 12. But his feet have stayed the same size for the past 3 years, so I am hoping that is it.

Some DC have their growth spurt earlier than others.

DSS is a year older than DS, and at one point was shorter than DS. But he shot up almost a foot in one year, and now towers over all of us.

Don't worry about it. More and more people are tall nowadays. It's a good thing :)

[EyeoftheStorm]

DH is 6ft 5 and Australian where it seems more common to be taller. He always gets comments but because he thinks being tall is a positive thing he's not bothered. I always joke that I grew a couple of inches (am average) after I met him because he never bent down to me, I always stretched up to him.

Being tall can be brilliant. DH has presence because of his height. On holiday, we were walking along the street and he was talking on his phone and laughing. A little old lady grabbed my arm and hissed: Is he a film star? I replied (while trying not to bust a gut laughing): No dear, just Australian.

In your DS's place, if someone says, you're tall, he just replies with a smile, and you're small.

Give him some comebacks. I have 3 DCs who will probably be very tall and I always make it seem like the best thing to be. I want them to walk tall and be proud of their height. May be as a teen it's hard to be a bit different, but as an adult it can be great in love and work life.

[WhatHo]

MrRected oh god, people always make stupid comments about &everything^. If he had red hair or interesting coloured eyes they'd comment. When people say to me, "gosh you're tall," I just say, "yes, I grew." It reminds them that, y'know, these things happen.

[Ponders]

I have anecdotal stuff too.

When I started secondary school I was shorter than average - less than 5' probably - & there were girls in my year who were already 5'5 - 5'7. But they never got any taller, while I shot up at 14 & ended up at 6'

DD1 was always tiny (10th centile) & grew very very slowly but is now 5'7; DD2 was 75th centile - she is 3 years younger than DD1 but was only slightly shorter throughout childhood. She is now 5'7 too

So very tall children might or might not end up very tall adults.

HTH