Is my daughter’s height abnormal?

[Jasmina123]

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?

I am 5 11. Stopped growing at 11.

I would say she is unusually tall for her age and development.

Yes, I would make a GP appointment.

I have a tall daughter. She reached 5'9 at about 16, 5 years after her periods started (and stopped growing there). I am 5'2. However, her dad is 6'4.

As shorter parents yourselves and your dd already being exceptionally tall, I would want to look into it a bit further.

My daughter is also tall, compared to me and DH and over the average for her age.

But chatting to relatives, seems we had tall genes a couple of generations back so I figure she's probably a throw back to that 😄

I too know people who reached adult height by Y6 but equally I have a friend who has an endocrine disorder which had to be treated. I also have a dd who had precocious puberty which was treated with puberty blockers, so I am a bit less relaxed on this than some pp.

Of course there is nothing wrong with being tall (I am myself) but you also don't want to miss early signs if anything else is going on. This is normally checked out with blood tests and bone scans. I would be inclined to talk to the GP first without your dd present, to see if they would consider investigating at this stage. If they can reassure you, then you don't need to trouble your dd.

I guess you could get her checked again if you are worried, but if she hasn’t started periods yet, she will likely still have a fair bit of growing to do.

I know that girls usually end up somewhere between both parents in height, but my DD never made it to my height. She stopped growing aged 12 at 5’ 1 (I am 5’ 3 and fully expected to become the shortest in the family but no!)

And at the other end of the spectrum, I have a niece who is 6’ and taller than both of her parents.

At all? That’s quite unusual by 11 I think. Perhaps talk to GP first to get advice.

How did you know she had precocious puberty btw? What age does it need to be?

Those making quips about expecting the Dr to make the child shorter are missing the point that if your child does have a medical condition causing excessive growth, it might need attention- not because there is anything wrong with being a tall woman (there isn’t) but because it’s a medical condition which may cause other symptoms, and the patient has the right to know if they have a medical condition!

I would make an appointment with the GP. On the growth charts, which you can see here, DD is above the line that says “children plotting above this line should usually be under specialist review”. Everything is likely to be fine, but I would want to rule any medical conditions out.

Some people are tall. My child was 193cm at 12yo. They only grew 5cm after that.

In the absence of other symptoms (e.g. menstrual issues) you would be wasting the GPs time and really putting the focus on a "problem".

On the other hand given that her height is well outside the normal range for a pre-pubescent child and could indicate something like a pituitary tumour it would be sensible to ask for medical advice and NOT a waste of the GP's time.

This is a prepubescent 11 year old 5’9 child.

she doesn’t have “menstrual issues” because she hasn’t started puberty- which could be an indicator of a problem in itself.

yes some people are tall. It would be unusual for a child who hasn’t experienced pubertal growth yet to be taller than both parents.

if it’s normal, no harm done. If it isn’t, it needs action now, to prevent further harm.

personally I’ve known quite a few very tall pre pubertal children as a sports coach. Without exception, one or both parents has also been very tall.

On the other hand given that her height is well outside the normal range for a pre-pubescent child and could indicate something like a pituitary tumour it would be sensible to ask for medical advice and NOT a waste of the GP's time.
I honestly didn’t know it could mean something hormone wise that might need looking at but there’s no need to mention worst case scenario given that it’s the weekend and op won’t be able to go to the doctor!

No, 8 to 13 is normal and 11 the average according to the NHS for girls. Boys a year later.

In my country thirty years ago they used to give drugs to girls who were tall not to grow any taller.

Actually for her age and given you and DH's heights she is very tall and it might be worth checking out. It's probably all fine but abnormal growth can be a sign of something more serious, like thyroid problems.
My 9.5 yo is just under 5ft and is the tallest in her class, but DH is 6'1" and all the women in his family are taller than me (I'm 5'4"), so we're not worried.
Has she always been tall or suddenly grown a lot? If she has always been tall it's less of a concern. My DD has always been 98th centile for length/height so growing at the expected rate.

I would speak to your GP. I did this over the phone initially. The GP organised the bone scan and bloods and we now see endocrinologists.

Your child is unusually tall- especially for your family- so they can rule out any cause that might need attention.

Please don’t be put off by some people in the thread who don’t actually know what they are talking about. You won’t be wasting the doctors’ time.

Absolutely baffled as to why you think this is a problem or what you think anybody could do about it. Try emboldening her with body confidence and don't take her to the doctor because for sole reason you think being a tall girl is abnormal

Both my step daughters are taller than their parents, also both my nieces. I really don't think it can be that unusual

I'd have a chat to your gp. If she is showing no signs of puberty then she is very tall. Dd is 5ft 2 and was that size in year 6 still is at 17 BUT she had started puberty and was getting periods etc at 10. That's the difference to many comments on here. Most kids grow alot during puberty. She maybe totally fine but best to ask gp

I am 5ft 4. My DD is 5ft. My eldest DS is 5ft 10 and my middle DS is 6ft 4

There dad was 5ft 8 and both their grandmas only 5ft so was always confused were my middle so got his height from. Genetics go way back sometimes

Even though you are shorter than your DD you still can pass the tall recessive genes to a her. The recessive trait becomes activated and your child will be tall

1 was 5’8”at age 11
size 7 shoes
So was my friend except she took size 8 shoes
My mum thought we would have to wear men’s shoes at senior school.😫
We both stopped growing at that point.
As adults we are still the same heights as at age 11
My mum is 5’3, my dad 5’8

I was 5’9 aged 11 1/2 when I went to high school in the early 90s. I was significantly taller than all of my peers at that age and many of my teachers and was very self conscious about my height. I ended up at 5’ 11- I think I was that height by age 12, maybe 13. There were maybe 2 other girls in my school year (of approx 70 girls I’d guess) who ended up a similar height to me, but not til about age 14/15. I don’t think it’s unusual for a girl to reach adult height by age 11-13, certainly much earlier than for boys.

While not quite as tall as your dd my daughter was 5’8” at 11 then didn’t grow for years and had a final spurt at 18 and is now 5’10” - she does have taller family on her dads side though so not unexpected.