Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

that kids are getting taller nowadays

163 replies

saragoepal · 28/05/2019 16:30

Hi I have two ds who are quite small for their age. Ds1 is 12 and 143cm, ds2 is 9 and 130cm. I’d say that is somewhat below average but not that much. However they are by far the smallest in their classes, and many kids in ds2 class tower over ds1! I cannot remember that when I was their age that kids were that tall. Is this just a coincidence or are kids really getting taller these days?

OP posts:
Dickybow321 · 28/05/2019 17:08

Definitely a thing.

DS (14) is 6ft and DS (17) was 6ft at 15. They are taller than their friends but don't tower over them.

I'm tall (5'9.5) and always stood out as a tall woman, rarely meeting a woman my height. Now a lot of teenage girls I see are my height or even taller.

JurassicGirl · 28/05/2019 17:10

My dd 10yrs is 132cm 7th percentile
Ds almost 9 is 135cm 16th percentile
Ds almost 7 is 130cm 50 percentile

The percentile measurements are from memory but pretty sure they're accurate.

The women on my side are average height, men are average - tall.

All on DH's side are small to average.

PencilFace · 28/05/2019 17:10

I've thought this too. A lot of the year 6/7 girls around here are the same height or taller than me and I'm 5"6.

BigGlasses · 28/05/2019 17:11

My DD is 11 and about 145cm. My DSs are 9 and are 126cm and 130cm. I only know this as we were in halfords at the weekend and they had a chart for car seats and the boys were still under the majic 135cm. All my children are 'short' for their age but I think you are correct, children do seem to be taller than previous generations. And yes to the pp about shoe size too! my kids have by far the smallest feet of their peers!

Teddybear45 · 28/05/2019 17:13

DN at 7 is 135cm which is approximately what I was at that age (I’m 5 7) but she’s not the tallest in her class by any means; she said she’s somewhere in the middle which suggests kids probably are getting taller.

JustDanceAddict · 28/05/2019 17:13

DS is 6ft but he’s 15. Grown 20cm in 2 years!!
DD has been 5ft7 since age13.
I’m smaller than her, my mum was slightly taller than me.,

Bananamint · 28/05/2019 17:16

My daughter was167cm when she was 11 years old.She was the tallest in her (very small )school and taller than some of the teachers.

Macca84 · 28/05/2019 17:18

DD(9) was 151cm when I last measured her a month or two ago, she's my (not so) little giraffe!

BarbedBloom · 28/05/2019 17:18

I am 6ft2 and was almost always the tallest woman in a room. However I quite often see girls who are the same height as me now so I do think people are getting taller

tatasa · 28/05/2019 17:19

Another 'tallee' here, that's been outgrown by my teens and their peers. DH reckons it's growth harmones injected into animals that's subsequently transferred to the growers among us through meat. Not really convinced myself.

wildbhoysmama · 28/05/2019 17:19

My niece is 5'11 at age 16, DS1 5'10 at 14 and DS2 5' 8 at 12. They all have big feet too!
Apparently, I've heard it's attributed to the effects of the war now wearing off. The theory that lots of the tallest, biggest and strongest males were lost at war and the gene pool has only just recalibrated. This together with better nutrition, living conditions and exercise could account for it?

TinklyLittleLaugh · 28/05/2019 17:20

I’m 5’2”. DS is 12 and 5’9”. I’m basically up to his shoulder. It’s very annoying.

CaptainMarvellous · 28/05/2019 17:21

My 12 DS is 6ft 2 or 188cm. He towers over everyone (except the year 10 & 11's I guess)
I need to measure DS2 as he is also tall but not as tall
I'm 5'10 and as others have said often see young teen girls who are as tall as me

PumpkinPie2016 · 28/05/2019 17:22

My son is 5 and 122cm tall Shock

He was long at birth though and he is by far the tallest in his class (reception) by quite a long way.

I'm not very tall - 5ft 3 but DH is 6ft 2 so he must get it from him.

His class did an assembly recently where they were all stood in a line and DS happened to be in the middle - it looked quite funny in a way as he is so tall! We are in age 6-7 clothes now!

So, I don't think kids generally at taller, I guess it just depends.

honeylulu · 28/05/2019 17:22

Strangely I was discussing this with my husband yesterday. I'm 5ft6 which used to be tall, at least taller than average (5'4). But the average woman is now 5'5+ so my height is much more average these days.

Apparently it's because people are more well-fed in adolescence. Nature will restrict unnecessary growth if sustenance does not seem abundant.

KitKatCHA · 28/05/2019 17:23

My 8 year old DS is 143cm and wears age 10-11 or 11-12 clothes and has either size 5 or 6 feet depending on the shop! He's the tallest in his class. My 5 year old DD wears age 7-8 clothes and my 3 year old DD wears age 5-6.

Although my husband is 6ft4 with size 13 feet and I'm 5ft11 with size 9/10 feet so they were never going to be short!

cocomelon23 · 28/05/2019 17:24

My 9 year old is taller than your 12 year old. He is 148cm.

SmarmyMrMime · 28/05/2019 17:28

We've had several generations of good nutrition which maximises genetic potential for height.

Obese children often grow prematurely so are often over-tall but not particularly "fat" looking through the primary school years. They reach puberty and their adult height earlier than average, then the weight gain becomes more apparent when their calorie intake isn't put into growing taller. It's not a whole answer, but on a population level it is a factor.

I'm 5ft 2. The 4th generation to be about 5ft 1 or 2 in my family. It was about average for my G-Gma. I'm most definitely short, and over half of DS's y3 class have reached or exceeded my shoe size. By the end of y7, most of my pupils were bigger than me.

DS1 (8) needs age 7-8 t-shirts for length, but is at the shorter end of his class.
DS2 (6) needs about age 6 for length and is middling in his class which has a very diverse range of heights. A few are taller than my 8 yo and some are still tiny compared to DS2. There is an odd split of ages with lots of Sept/ Oct birthdays then a big drought until April onwards and lots of summer birthdays which probably exacerbates it as there are less mid-year birthdays.

Juniorwarriors · 28/05/2019 17:30

My 6 year old is 111cm and is fairly average in his class. His older brother is 142 cm at 10 years old. He is one of the tallest in his class.

WaxOnFeckOff · 28/05/2019 17:32

It also depends when they hit puberty as that makes a huge difference to growth and as they can hit it over a fairly large timespan it can account for large differences. My DSs are 18 and 17 and now 6'3 and almost 6'3. They don't look out of place with mosty of their friends but obviously there are huge differences. The differences are less now that they are all nearly full grown.

The average 9 year old (according to the red book) should be between 133 and 138 by the time they reach 10. The average 12 year old should be between 148 up to 155 by the time they turn 13.

For context my DSs were both 144 on their 9th birthday and the taller one was 161 on his 12th birthday, the smaller one was 164.5 on his. He hit puberty earlier.

WaxOnFeckOff · 28/05/2019 17:33

However, some of the boys they were much taller than have caught up and are now around 6 foot.

LovelyJubblee · 28/05/2019 17:36

OP just had a look at some measurements I took of DS

8.5 - 130cm

10.5 - 142cm (8cm in 2 years)

11.5 - 146cm (4cm in 1 year)

12 - 150cm (4cm in 0.5 year)

13 - 153cm (3cm in 1 year)

13 and 4 months (today) - 158.5 (5.5cm in 4 months!)

All of a sudden he's shot up 13 to today. Be prepared !

MsRinky · 28/05/2019 17:37

Yes, height is massively linked to not only genes but to how many generations of adequate nutrition preceed you. I come from a long line of short-arsed peasants, sadly, and my parents and grandparents certainly lived through extended periods of sub/malnutrition. Actual middle class people - those with two or three generations of affluence behind them - always tower over me.

floraloctopus · 28/05/2019 17:43

Genetics and height is odd isn't it, I mean I have 3 DCs - one is 5'5, one is 5'11 and the other is 5'10. I'm 5'9, DH was 5'10, DM and DF were 5'2 and 5'11.

Where did the short one come from?! Grin

CaptainMarvellous · 28/05/2019 17:44

DS2 is 136cm at 7 yrs 4 months which waxon has said is the height of your average 9/10 yo. Which makes sense as I buy him age 9 clothes