Predicting kids height

[Anonymous]

IDK.

My nieces spent their entire pre-pubescent childhoods smack dab in the 50th percentile.

Now they are adults, and one is 4'11" and the other is 5'7".

I know it's anecdote, but it's interesting.

Their white mom has mostly short woman genes, and their dad (DH's brother) is SE Asian. He does have some women in his family who are tall for their ethnicity, but still.

My kid (10) has always been 25-40th for height. I'm 5'2.5", and that's just a bit shorter than average, so similar percentile. DH is 5'5", though he has those taller-than-average genes, too.

I expect my kid to end up 5'1"-5'4", and if not, more likely to end up shorter than taller than that-- but who knows?

[Anonymous]

My son was a premie, and is now 6.3. Daughter was about also about 5-6 weeks early and is 5.7. So don't think that makes a difference.

[Anonymous]

Im super interested to see how this pans out for our son. He is between 75 and 90 percentile for height at 4 years old. Dad went through puberty early and is 5'8''-5'9''. Mom went through puberty early (period at 11?) and is 5'3''-5'4'' but grew after HS 2 inches. Siblings on Moms side also grew 1-2 inches after graduation, puberty early/normal. One sibling is 6'3'' the other 5'8/9''.

You are right about shorter dads. Dad is obsessed with him being 6ft

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If PPs are correct about the growth curve, here is a calculator.

https://www.babycenter.com/child-height-predictor

No, PP, that's primarily based on mid-parental height, not primarily on the growth curve.

No it doesn't, when I adjust the parents height the predicted height doesn't change. It goes off the growth curve, I got the same results with both ways.

No. It factors in the growth curve, but it is working on parental heights. Why else would they ask you to enter the parental heights? They are not a part of the growth curve at all -- totally irrelevant to it. Mind you, I think it's probably more accurate to factor all these things in, but it's not a tool for people who just want growth curve numbers. They can just look at the chart.

From your link, for a 4 yr old boy at 40 lbs and about 41 inches (approximately 75th percentile for height and for weight):

- growth chart --> predicted 5'11.5" at 18 yrs old, regardless of parent heights
- your calculator
* if mom is 5'2" and dad is 5'4", predicted 5'9" for the child
* if mom is 5'10" and dad is 6'2", predicted 6'1" for the child (4 inches difference from that with the short parents)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the most part kids will stay on their growth curve unless there was some kind of severe lack of nutrition or other health problems. Both my older kids were ~60th percentile from six months through age 12. Younger one has been a consistent 90th percentile for the first two years. I was 15th percentile my entire live from infant to adult

The main thing that throws off growth charts is having puberty earlier or later than typical. That will shift the growth chart backwards or forwards at the time of puberty, because you deviate from the typical track.

And nothing wrong with that! But if either or both parents have particularly early or late puberty times, the growth chart tracking may not be as reliable for the kid.

[Anonymous]

If anyone wants them, the CDC growth charts page of links is here:

https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/clinical_charts.htm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - this is all very interesting! DH and I both hit puberty late as well. I didn't get my period until 13 and DH didn't stop growing until he was almost 20. He went to college at 18 at 5'8" and grew another 2" while in college.

That's not late, lol, I was 16! My 14 year old DD still hasn't either.

[Anonymous]

My DH is 6’5 but grew 3” in college, and was the shortest kid in his class til high school. My toddler son has always been in the 10th percentile. Fairly certain he’ll follow a similar trajectory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If PPs are correct about the growth curve, here is a calculator.

https://www.babycenter.com/child-height-predictor

Eh this just told me my 70th percentile daughter will be 6'4" inches tall. That is SIX full inches taller than me, and the same height as her father. I don't know many women who are the same height or taller than their dads. The straight growth curve model says she'll be my height (5'8"). So yeah, somewhere between the 2 which is a pretty huge range!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - this is all very interesting! DH and I both hit puberty late as well. I didn't get my period until 13 and DH didn't stop growing until he was almost 20. He went to college at 18 at 5'8" and grew another 2" while in college.

That's not late, lol, I was 16! My 14 year old DD still hasn't either.

Yes, 16 was late when we were kids and 14 is late now. There is an average age and it's just gotten younger over time. Late doesn't mean it's not normal. But if you are on one far side of average, what else would you call it but late or early? That's how my pediatrician described it to me...early but normal...for one of my kids.

[Anonymous]

Predicting height is tricky.

My parents are 5'5"(mom) and 5'6"(dad). My brothers are 6'4" and 6'3". My 6'3" brother was 6'2" at 14 while my 6'4" brother was short and small for his age at 14, and he grew well into 20s. They look like the same person even though they are a decade apart and had completely different growth trajectories.

[Anonymous]

I have a very tall child (96th to 98th percentile consistently). My pediatrician said that the height percentile would be stable from about 2 years old until puberty, then final height could vary depending on when DD hit puberty. I am average height with some tall relatives, but my DH's family is tall though nobody is above 6'4". DD is around 49 inches right at her 6th birthday, and I'm guessing she'll be 5'8" or 5'9", maybe 5'7" if she hits puberty early. The "double height at 2" and mid parental height formulas estimate her at 5'5", but she jumped percentiles between 2 and 2.5 y/o, so I think that's HIGHLY unlikely unless her growth slows way down. OP's kids seem pretty average height now and I doubt they'll end up at 5'8".

[Anonymous]

I’m 5’7 and husband is 5’9. At 24 months our son is in the 6th percentile for height! He eats lots of all kinds of foods. Who knows. As long as he doesn’t have some growth problem that needs to be addressed then it is what it is!

[Anonymous]

Op here - curiously I just measured my son. He turns 2 in another month. He currently is 38 pounds and just under 38” tall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son was a premie, and is now 6.3. Daughter was about also about 5-6 weeks early and is 5.7. So don't think that makes a difference.

That has nothing to do with the genes that determine their height