# Jesus, My Kid Is Tall **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 26, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602 "2008-10-26T03:22:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/21 "2008-10-27T05:02:22Z")
At 5’ 1", I was the tallest kid in my 6th grade class - I was taller than most of the other kids all the way up through grade school. My mother, who was just over 5’ and always hated being petite, was thrilled at the thought that I was going to be a tall(er than her) person. By the time I’d reached full height, I could stretch myself all the way to 5’2". Well, at least I was taller than my mom. You just can’t tell by early indicators. My best friend in grade school was always a good head shorter than me. They used to call us Mutt and Jeff. She ended up around 5’6" while I just watched everyone grow up around me. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/22 "2008-10-27T05:43:24Z")
A couple inches taller than average? Doesn’t seem too much to worry about, things tend to even out and if they don’t it’s not like there’s much to do about it anyhow. My friends have two wonderful daughters, 6 and 10 years old, and they have always been at the top end of the growth curve - they’re perfectly healthy, normal kids, they just happen to be a bit taller than many of their friends. Heck, it could be worse! [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Robert\_Wadlow\_at\_10,\_Edwardsville\_Intelligencer\_(Edwardsville,\_Illinois),\_1928\_March\_17.png](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Robert_Wadlow_at_10,_Edwardsville_Intelligencer_(Edwardsville,_Illinois),_1928_March_17.png) And yeah, there’s some mighty cute tall women out there, as anyone who has ever watched women’s volleyball can vouch for 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CAT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CAT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CAT_1)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/23 "2008-10-27T05:46:10Z")
According to that prediction site, my son will be 6’3". I hope so. His daddy is 6’ 5", and I am only 5’ 4". My son just turned 5 last week, and is about 46 inches tall. I think he is in the 95% for his age. His weight is in the 75%. Whew…cuz we run chubby on both sides, and so far he is taller than he is heavy. Here is another [site](http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/usefultools/l/bl_kids_centils.htm), that is good for growth percentiles. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/24 "2008-10-27T13:56:18Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > One thing to watch out for is that people will tend to treat tall kids as older than they really are. It’s hard not to expect maturity out of a kid who looks 3 years older than she really is, because you look at her and subconsciously think ‘big kid = older kid.’ This was a major problem for me throughout elementary and middle school. I’d get picked on by older kids, and then I’d get into trouble with the people in authority who’d assume that _I_ was the older kid who should know better. It was pretty frustrating. It also didn’t help that I was taller than my fifth grade teacher; he was about 5’4" and I was at least 5’5". At least some of the girls in my grade were within an inch of me on either side by the time I hit middle school. Unless your kid reaches more than two or three inches taller than her classmates, it shouldn’t be a major issue. Just make sure that you encourage happiness about her height and also make sure that she’s not worrying about being fat just because her much shorter friends wear smaller clothing sizes. Size 6 may be just right for someone who’s 5’3", but it may be emaciated-small for a girl who’s 5’10" with a not-so-wilowy frame. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/25 "2008-10-27T16:00:32Z")
Welcome to my world people. My soon to be 4 year old daughter is 45" tall, which is [so off the charts](http://pediatrics.about.com/library/growth_charts/ngirlstwo.htm), it’s almost comical. And, the odds are pretty good it’s legitimate and will result in a really tall adult since the combined height of her parents is 12’10". ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/26 "2008-10-27T16:11:17Z")
I wouldn’t worry too much about it – just help her to own her height. Being a shorty, I always hated to see girls that were ashamed of their height – I would have loved to be 6’! According to many sites I found on the web, my (not-quite-9 year old) son is WAY TALL. They say he should be 4’1" – he’s 4’9" or 10". He’s taller than many of his classmates, but not by _that much_. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/27 "2008-10-27T17:23:14Z")
That what ‘cha get fer dipping yer kid in 12 Mile creek, don’ cha know. ---
**Author:** ![Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/28 "2008-10-27T17:33:31Z")
My 21 year old son is 6’5" tall. If I can jump in to the funny class picture discussion, in kindergarten, my son was not only taller than all of his classmates, he was also taller than the teacher by a head or so. Granted she was petite, but I still giggle when I look at the picture. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/29 "2008-10-27T19:33:20Z")
_sigh_ Signed, Perpetual Shortarse (quit growing in about eighth grade at five foot three point five. I have younger sibs who’re five nine and five eleventyannahalf. They both slouch.) ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/30 "2008-10-27T20:26:07Z")
Wow - that predictor puts my son at 6’5" grown up. That is pretty tall. He does seem quite tall for his age, but I live in Dutchland, home of the Supertall, so around here he is not a freak 🙂 He must get it from my side - my husband is only 6’ or so. I am 5’11", so I am guessing my “much taller than average” stats are boosting his prediction. ---
**Author:** ![spoike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@spoike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spoike)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/31 "2008-10-27T21:26:32Z")
Halloween can be an issue too, later on. I got lots of comments about being too old for trick-or-treating when I was only 9 or 10, because I was so tall. My son started to get them a couple years ago as well, and some neighbours were not all that nice last year. This year, unlike his friends, he decided not to go. He said it was too much of a hassle, so we’re going on a holiday to Vancouver instead. I also started carrying his birth certificate with me for those times when cashiers and ticket takers questioned his age (if a place has reduced prices for those aged 6-12, for example). I tried **WhyNot** ’s cool height predictor, which gave me the same height for my son that his pediatrician gave us, but when I tried to punch in my own numbers from when I was a child, it said: > [@](#): > > We are unable to calculate an adult height for your child based on the information you have provided. Please check to be sure you have entered the correct values. I knew I was a mutant! ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/32 "2008-10-27T21:36:52Z")
My baby sister is almost 6’3". I’m pretty sure she hit six feet around sixth grade. I know it was really hard for her for a while. But she learned to sew (so she could make some of her own clothes) and is now teaching high school home-ec in Utah, and happily married to her 6’8" husband. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602/33 "2008-10-31T18:34:23Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Well, let’s see. The average girl stops growing between 16 and 20. Let’s take 18 as a convenient average. She’s 3 years old and 39.5 inches. At that rate, when she’s 18 she’ll be… 237 inches. > > So your daughter will be about 19 and a half feet tall. Give or take. Awesome. She’s going to kick a LOT of ass at the Olympics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jesus-my-kid-is-tall/469602.md?page=1)