Tall 4 year olds…

[missgraciea]

My 4.5 y.o. daughter is pretty tall… stands out a little at nursery but she is also in a room with children who are up to 18 months younger than her. She’s September born so not at school yet. She’s around 111cm I would say and has just gone into 5-6 clothing. I guess she’ll have grown another couple of cm by September…is she really going to stand out in Reception or are some of on here parents of pretty tall preschoolers…it’s hard to gain perspective because her best friend is absolutely diddy due to developmental stuff.

It shouldn’t matter I know, I think I’m just remembering how much I stood out at school, I was always the tallest…but actually only (just) 5’7 as an adult! Very aware of not giving her complex but she does pick up on people saying ‘gosh she’s tall isn’t she?’ Or asking what year she’s in at school…

If she has only just gone into 5-6 clothing, she is only 6 months taller than an average child. Which is nothing really!

She sounds like she will be taller than most children in her class, being both a September born and tall for her age, but not massively so. This is really nothing to stress about. Someone has to be the tallest, just like someone has to be the oldest.

My dd1 started school at 4yrs 3 months & was in size 7-8 clothing. 20 odd years ago so can't remember exact height. There were 2 other girls approximately the same height in a class of 20.

I always got the "isn't she tall" comments. But she stopped growing at 5ft 8in.

I was like you - considered tall for my age at school but ended up 5ft 7in.
My Dh is 6ft 3in.
Dd2 is 5ft 10.5in & Ds currently 6ft 2in but not sure if he's stopped growing yet.

Mine started reception at 120cm, she did stick out a bit but tbh the other kids just get used to it. No-one really notices after a while, wouldn’t worry about it, all the “isn’t she tall” comments stop after a while.

I feel you OP my son is the tallest in the year and just turned 6 - he 129cm so height of a 8-9year old.
He does get mistaken for being a lot older then he is including from other children but generally we find other parents the worst for judging such as saying he's too old to be in certain soft plays etc.

Does your school have a buddy system with an older child? That has definitely helped DS1 as when children have mistaken his age due to height.

For us we know this is just the start but we point out things he can do....he's a awesome climber, can go on rides his friends can't due to height and is brilliant at basketball

I am 5 11 and I never felt like I was too tall. I reached this hight at 13! Don't say anything to her, except how lucky she is.

I’m tall (5’10) and I love it. I was always tall but I think the key is to not make her feel ashamed of her height. My mum was always telling me how she hates being tall (only 5’7) and how it’s so unfeminine. Always compliment her height and she’ll be fine. My four year old is exactly the same - really stands out. Never a problem really but I do find myself vocalizing how young he is at a park as I find people (including myself) can be inadvertently harder on him with higher expectations as they assume he’s bigger.

DD is 6 and is over 130cm. Yes she is the tallest but there are another 3 girls in her class only an inch smaller. On the other hand there are children almost half her size. Honestly, no one in the class cares and you may be surprised at the size of some other children. The bigger issue has been some teachers treating her as they would the actual 10 year olds (who are the same height)

Both my DDs have always been amongst the tallest in the class and have stood out, but they seem to feel proud and enjoy it! I’ve always told them to enjoy it while it lasts as I was always the tallest until I was about 12 and stopped at 5”6. It took me a long time to stop seeing myself as a tall adult.

There was a girl in my DD’s reception class who was over a head taller than all the others. She mainly played with the shortest child in the class and that emphasised the height difference! I don’t think it affected her socially as the school were very good at encouraging children to celebrate difference.

Your DD will be fine, make sure that you reinforce how being tall is a positive thing, some tall women feel the need to stoop and avoid drawing attention to their height.
My DD was taller than most of her teachers by the end of year 6 which was odd, but she didn't grow much beyond 14yo and eventually stopped at 6 foot.