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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

Is my daughter’s height abnormal?

117 replies

Jasmina123 · 31/05/2024 13:37

Hi everyone,
My daughter is 11 years 8 months.
very healthy, very active doing swimming and taekwondo. but I started worrying when strangers started commenting on her height.
my daughter is 5' 9".
I am thinking to take her to the GP but I don’t want her to lose confidence in this critical age thinking there is something wrong with the way she looks.
What worrys me the most is the fact that me and my partner do not have the tall genes..
I am 5' 6” and my partner is 5’ 8” and all our family members are average to short.
my mum is 5’ 1”.
shall I over come my worries and seek professionals’ advice?
is this going to give my daughter a negative image about her appearance?

OP posts:
indianwoman · 31/05/2024 13:48

Only if you keep going on about it!

cerebuswannabe · 31/05/2024 13:51

I was 5ft10 starting high school and I'm the same height. Genetics are a wonderful thing. Nothing to worry about.

Okayornot · 31/05/2024 13:52

She is very tall and given your heights she is an outlier. I probably would have a quiet word with the GP about what is normal and what might need some investigation. Your DD doesn't need to know unless further steps are required.

MumChp · 31/05/2024 13:53

175 cm at 11 yo. Yes I would consult GP.

Whycantiwinmillionsandsquillions · 31/05/2024 13:54

No don’t take her to the doctors.
I reached my adult height and shoe size by the age of 12.
People really should mind their own business.
Imagine how all those rude people would feel if you started to comment on their appearance/capabilities.
Remind me which university your son attended, oh he didn’t go did he?
Why does your child have bright orange hair when neither you nor your oh do? Strange she doesn't look like you.
Your child doesn’t speak very clearly do they? Is everything alright with them?
Are you pregnant again Laura? Oh just needing to lose weight.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 31/05/2024 13:55

I was my adult height at secondary school too. Rest of my family aren't tall but my grandfather was.

CaptainCallisto · 31/05/2024 13:57

I was 5'11" with size 7 feet by midway through Y6. I'm 39 now, and still 5'11" with size 7 feet. I was much taller than everyone else when we finished primary school, but by the time we hit Y9, I was one of several tall girls.

SherryPalmer · 31/05/2024 13:57

That is quite tall for under 12. Get her playing netball/basketball and she’ll meet loads of other tall girls and height is seen as a massive plus point.

PuttingDownRoots · 31/05/2024 13:58

My DD was on the 90th percentile at 11.
Her best friend was over a head taller than her, and taller than me! 5ft9 sounds about the same. She wasn't the only one in that class... DD has complained that she's too short for netball at Secondary school.

yarnwitch · 31/05/2024 13:59

I wouldn't worry at this stage. I have a similar age Dd who is around this height and although she stood out at primary school she's not the tallest girl in her year now she's at secondary. Children do seem to be getting taller these days, and as others have said she might just have reached her adult height early.
Doctors have noted my Dd is tall for her age when she's been seen for other things but they haven't shown any concern about it. The biggest annoyance is people commenting on it which makes them self conscious.

S0livagant · 31/05/2024 13:59

When did she start her period (if she has)?

Mytholmroyd · 31/05/2024 14:00

I was also my adult height of 5'7" at 11. I think a lot of girls reach adult height by that age.

ShaunaSadeki · 31/05/2024 14:01

I am not quite as tall (5ft 8) as you DD but I was fully grown by 12. Neither DH or I are really tall but DS is 6ft 1 and DD was really tall during primary but at 13 is only 5ft 4, not sure if she is going sprout up or not but I believe most girls have done their growing by a year after their periods start so she doesn’t have too much time left.

TheUsualChaos · 31/05/2024 14:02

She's taller than average but at her age she is probably almost at her adult height. We have similar issues with DD as she is clearly going to be much taller than me and people mentioning makes her see it negatively so we try not to make a thing of it.
It's one of those things people seem to think it's fair game to comment on, yet they don't point out short kids stature. Thin people get told how skinny they are yet the same people wouldn't tell an over weight person they look fat 🤷‍♀️

stayathomer · 31/05/2024 14:03

What’s a doctor going to do? Why are you worried?

SpringBunnies · 31/05/2024 14:04

There's nothing wrong with her. Why does she need to see a doctor about this? You'll crush her confidence if you keep worrying about it.

willowtolive · 31/05/2024 14:05

Mytholmroyd · 31/05/2024 14:00

I was also my adult height of 5'7" at 11. I think a lot of girls reach adult height by that age.

This , I was 5 foot 8 starting secondary and I'm still that height now.

Geneticsbunny · 31/05/2024 14:05

I would see a GP but only because she is taller than her dad and you, which is extremely unusual.

loropianalover · 31/05/2024 14:06

Mytholmroyd · 31/05/2024 14:00

I was also my adult height of 5'7" at 11. I think a lot of girls reach adult height by that age.

I agree. When you first read it it seems like 5’11 is super tall, but it seems like that will be her adult height and so it’s completely normal.

I was my adult height (5’7) by 11. I was definitely tallest in my class at that stage but other girls caught up, and the boys grew tall around 14/15.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 31/05/2024 14:06

Thin people get told how skinny they are yet the same people wouldn't tell an over weight person they look fat

Oh they really do, all the time.

sandorschicken · 31/05/2024 14:08

My sister was 6ft 2 in year 9. Still 6ft 2 now at 45 she's just very long. Nothing wrong with her then nor now. I on the other hand am 5ft 4. Nowt wrong with me either. Our parents are somewhere in the middle of us both. My DH is 5ft 8. Our son is 12 and 5ft 10 currently.

PearlKoala · 31/05/2024 14:08

Echoing what others have said. I was another had reached my adult height when I started secondary school. I wouldn't panic at all.

DoublePeonies · 31/05/2024 14:08

Looking at my kids classes, a lot of the girls shot up towards the end of primary, and towered above the boys.
Y7 and Y8 the boys did some growing, and by Y10, most of the girls have been overtaken by mostly of the boys.
She sounds tall given her parents, but nothing exceptional.

InTheRainOnATrain · 31/05/2024 14:08

Girls usually stop growing around a year after they start their period, so if she’s started already then it’s unlikely she’ll get much taller. It’s tall but not that tall really for an adult.

MonsteraMama · 31/05/2024 14:10

My daughter was 5'9 at 11 and is 5'10 now at 16, girls tend to hit their max height earlier than boys so she's unlikely to get much taller. She's definitely above average height but it's not like she's 7' and might have some kind of gigantism is it?

What are you hoping a doctor will do, they're not hairdressers, they can't take a few inches off. She's a tall girl, work on building her confidence as a tall girl, not making her feel self conscious by suggesting there's something wrong with her!