Too tall?

[Charismac]

I know it sounds a bit odd cos height is one of those what-will-be, natural things but I am actually really worried about my DS' potential final height. He has just turned 13 and is 5'11" with size 14 feet and fairly early on in puberty (tanner stage 2). The red book height chart predicts a final height of 6'6" - 6'7". He's always been tall - he was 58.5 cm at birth, 124 cm on his 5th birthday - and it's not like there's anything I can do. I'm sure there are plenty of tall people out there who would be offended that I consider this a problem but I what if he doesn't stop there? When is tall too tall?

Are you and his dad tall? Generally it's genetic.

I'm 5'6" and DH is 6'1".

One of mine was 6ft with size 14 feet at 13, he is 21 now 6ft 4 with hands like plates and shoulders that just fit through doors, he was ten pound 6 born, i'm only 5ft and a bit and his dads 5ft 11, my nanna was really tall and all her brothers 6ft. My eldest, same dad is 5ft 10, he gets called little big brother by my 6 footer. Youngest is 13, size 12 feet and taller than me, he was 11 pound 8 3 weeks early, same dad again x they all have huge shoulders and hands too x

Being tall is awesome. I really hope you aren't projecting your insecurities onto your child. Whatever height he ends up, he'll be perfect.

Occasionally being very tall is the sign of an underlying health condition.

It might be worth contacting the Child Growth Foundation either looking on their website or giving them a call: their helpline is very helpful.

my dh is 6’6’’ - 6’7’’
I’m 6’ so I quite like that he still stands high above me. And I can wear proper heals and still have to look up a bit.
I would say that’s not too tall as he can shop on the high street without any problems.
I would put too tall at 7’ as it must be really difficult to get trousers long enough. But what can you do about it? God only knows what height our children are going to be
Save your worry for things that you can do something about. And prepare him for a lifetime of ‘what’s the weather like up there?’ jokes.

@Aquamarine1029
Being tall is awesome

I know a couple of people that tall and I don’t notice anymore. 20 years ago I was tall at 5’10 and now now I see lots of young women of that height. Lots of tall men too so he won’t be alone.

Kids are getting taller. 6ft will become the norm one day. My dc are super tall for their age. They eat very well, they love their fruit and veg, and are very sporty. It's just the way their are and I see it as a sign of being healthy and growing well.

Occasionally it can be a sign of a growth issue. An endocrine paediatrician will be able to rule this out for you for your peace of mind.

Thanks all for reassurances. Aquamarine 1029, fear not - I am airing my insecurities here rather than projecting them onto DS.

Jamtart30 I doubt we would ever get a referral to an endocrinologist but DS has seen various medical people on occasions and his height has rarely been mentioned - once when a health visitor at a babies group insisted I should be weaning him cos she thought he was 5 months old (he was 10 weeks) and in reception when they weigh and measure cos I was told my skin-and-bone boy was obese (the equation takes age into account so children off the scale get skewed results). He seems to be developing varicose veins so I'll get that checked out and raise it (discreetly) then.

In the meantime I guess I will repackage the insecurities and take advantage of him being able to reach the cupboards that I can't.

If you really worry, you can always ask for bone age x-rays and then they can determine his end height quite precisely. Has been done for my ds because he is the complete opposite, 16 and 4'7 !
But TBH I think there is nothing wrong with your boy, he is just going to be a tall person :-)

Dh is 6 foot 7. The drawbacks are limited bed choice as ones with raised bits at the end are out, him smacking his head off door frames when he forgets to duck and trips around Tesco taking longer as every little old lady stops him to ask him to help them reach the high shelves. None of which are particular hardships.

The kids are taking after him too - I'm just resigned to being the family short arse

That’s not abnormally tall. I wouldn’t worry.

6'6" is very tall yes, but not abnormally so. Your ds will be forever hearing "ooh aren't you tall!" but he'll get used to it. Being tall is very attractive and very manly. Try not to worry.