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Original poster

Where have all these giant children come from?

218 replies

CredulousThickos · 31/08/2017 20:30

And by children I mainly mean young teens.

I am a short arse at five foot two and a half. But growing up I was about average among my peers, with maybe one or two who were 'tall', which would still be under six foot.

My teens are 13 and 15 and roughly my height. The vast majority of their mates are MASSIVE. Two of DD's friends are over six foot, the rest shorter but still much taller than DD, and all but one of DS's circle are. He is actually the shortest kid in his year.

My much younger brother is 6'4 (he's 23), whereas all three of us sisters (early to late 30s) are my height or shorter. Same parents, btw, so not that.

Is this just confirmation bias or are the next generation taller in general?

I was used to being on the lower side of average but now I feel like a proper short arse.

Is it me or has anyone else noticed this epidemic of height?

OP posts:
Witsender · 31/08/2017 21:09

They are all very skinny though, including mine.

Rubies12345 · 31/08/2017 21:09

I have heard it's the hormones in meat.

If any of these giant children are vegetarian then I guess it's not

EsmeWeatherwax · 31/08/2017 21:09

My DD's are both really tall, 5'4 at 10 and 4'10 at 8. DS is the tallest in his class too. But DH is 6'5 and I'm 6' so to be expected really. I have a couple of male cousins who are 6'9, so I'm kind of worried mine might end up around that height! Our family seem to get taller with each generation.

Prusik · 31/08/2017 21:11

Ds is nearly 8 months and according to dh's measurements, Ds is about 2cm taller than dh was at his age. DH is 6ft7 and ds is about 2.5cm above the 99th percentile Confused

BeALert · 31/08/2017 21:11

DD1 was 6' at 14.

DD2 is 5'4 at 14.

8" difference...

Backingvocals · 31/08/2017 21:11

There's quite a bit of evidence that antibiotic use generally makes people taller. And fatter.

Apparently the famously tall Dutch were famously short in comparison to other Northern Europeans until antibiotics became mainstream -
and there were extremely high usage levels in the Netherlands.

Read a book about it last year and it was interesting but that's the main bit I can remember!

Serialweightwatcher · 31/08/2017 21:11

I'm 5'4 and all my friends were around my height when we were growing up - I always remember I went out with one lad at 14 and he was 6'3 .. he had the nickname 'tree' because nobody could believe how tall he was - the other lads were all around 5'9 or 10 ... my son who is 17 is now 6'2 and 14 year old is 5'10 already ... I've been saying for years it's amazing at how tall young people are today compared to then Confused

RebeccaWrongDaily · 31/08/2017 21:12

I am 5'9.5
DH is 6'2
DD1 is 6ft1
DD2 is 5ft and not ten yet
DS is average heights, there is still time though!

it's nutrition, it's combined genes of taller people

elliejjtiny · 31/08/2017 21:13

Girls are on average 1 inch taller than their mothers and 1 shoe size bigger. Boys are the same with their fathers. It's probably a combination of better nutrition and better health generally.

My ds3 is a shorty, going into year 2 and wearing 4-5 clothes. He has asthma and is a fussy eater and I've always wondered if there is a link.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 31/08/2017 21:15

Witsender
If they are all tall and thin do they carry Marfans genes? It's fairly rare but can have associated health issues.

blameitonthebipolar · 31/08/2017 21:19

My brother who is 6ft 7 is 38 yo and has been a vegetarian since he was 9!

treaclesoda · 31/08/2017 21:19

I live and grew up in a rural area, and at around 5 foot 4 I was one of the shorter girls in my year at school. When I go to work, in a city about 35 miles away, and I walk around the city or my office, I'm a good couple of inches taller than most of the other women.

FlaviaAlbia · 31/08/2017 21:22

It must be perception, I'm the same height as you OP, at 5'2 I'm about an inch shorter than my mother and a foot smaller than my father and brother.

I've always been one of the shorter people throughout school and uni though, definitely not the average height.

FlaviaAlbia · 31/08/2017 21:23

And I prove, treaclesodas* point I think as I'm pretty sure we're local Grin

HalfShellHero · 31/08/2017 21:24

Im 5'9 my D'H is 6'4 we are in our 20"s my DS 8 years is 4'9 Shock he's gonna be mega mega tall ...

Pickleshickles · 31/08/2017 21:25

Better nutrition but mostly not smoking in pregnancy I've read.

PumpkinPie2016 · 31/08/2017 21:26

I'm only 5ft 3in talk and most of the secondary age pupils I teach in Y9 and above are either the same height or taller than me. Some of our Y10 and Y11 pupils (boys are girls ) are around the 6ft Mark!

My husband is 6ft 2 and our 3 year old son is the tallest in his preschool class so think he will be like his dad.

Lurkedforever1 · 31/08/2017 21:27

manic over feeding kids doesn't change adult height, it just means they reach it quicker.

And to the pp who mentioned clothes, it's certainly not tall clothes taking over. They're harder to find than ever because shops that previously stocked them have reduced them to stock plus size. At least you can take up trousers!

SteelyTesticlesOfObjectivity · 31/08/2017 21:27

I'm 5 10 and deal with teenagers regularly. They're fucking giants I tell you. I can go a week without seeing a seeing woman my age a who is taller than me... but 15 year olds are clearly being genetically modified...

Anatidae · 31/08/2017 21:27

thete are no growth hormones in European meat!

In 1981, with Directive 81/602/EEC, the EU prohibited the use of substances having a hormonal action for growth promotion in farm animals. Examples for these kind of growth promoters are oestradiol 17ß, testosterone, progesterone, zeranol, trenbolone acetate and melengestrol acetate (MGA).

It's nutrition, sanitation and increased general health - children with the access to a fuckton of calorie rich foods, who don't suffer from malnutrition or common childhood diseases to stunt their growth at critical periods.

2017SoFarSoGood · 31/08/2017 21:27

Glad other people have this question too. It has to be hormones in the milk or the meat or both.

Me = 5.475
DH = 5.8 (his claim) 5.65 (truth)
DD = 5.5
DS = 6.375
DGS1 = 4.0 - he is 6!

What about the size of kids feet? THEY ARE HUGE! Sorry kids, but these giant shoes cost a lot more than wee teeny ones.

DrDreReturns · 31/08/2017 21:28

SchadenfreudePersonified terminator seeds are, I believe, sterile seeds that won't germinate. So a farmer has to keep buying plants from the company that produces them instead of planting seeds from the plant he / she originally bought.

treaclesoda · 31/08/2017 21:28

Flavia Grin

wtffgs · 31/08/2017 21:29

I'm 5 foot 4 and used to feel average but I swear, either I've shrunk, or other people are just getting bigger (and I'm no waif). DD's friend has size 6 feet at 12 Shock

cantkeepawayforever · 31/08/2017 21:31

My DS is part of a very obvious genetic 'line' which includes my father, my older brother, and him - with the exception of the age at which they lost their hair, they are very, very similar in appearance and build.

My father was around 6'3", very slender until his 40s, very long legs compared to the rest of his body. He stands out in photographs of him as a young man amongst his contemporaries for his height, but his thin-ness is normal. He needed to have trousers specially made for his leg measurement.

My brother is around 6'2", very slender into his 40s, very long legs compared to his body. He looks more 'average', both in height and girth in photos of his contemporaries, though still tall. It was possible to buy him trousers off the peg.

My DS is 6'2" and still growing, very slender, very long legs compared to his body. He looks 'normal' in height amongst his contemporaries - quite tall but by no means excessively so. His thin-ness is now very unusual, and although I can find trousers quite easily for his leg length (36" inside leg), it is almost impossible to find any at that length to fit his waist (26-28" max).

So i would say that for the same genetic 'line', height is not necessarily increasing generation by generation BUT girth definitely is.

One exception, though - my mother, I and my daughter are also pretty much exactly the same height, about 5'6" or 5'7". My grandmother, however, was tiny - about 4'6". My mother was the first generation of her family to be adequately fed - she was a rations baby, so got enough calories. My grandmother was stunted by lack of nutrition in her first 10-15 years, and that was common amongst her contemporaries.