Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine insists that boys are ALWAYS taller than their mothers.

If a boy has a tall father and a short mother, the boy is likely to grow up to be medium (but may be tall or may be short), but if the boy has a tall mother and a short father, then the boy always grows up to be tall? I would love for her to explain how that happens.

For some reason in my family males are often disproportionately taller than females. My son is 5 y/o and I think he'll be as tall as me around at 10-11 y/o. The top of his head already is at my shoulder level. I am 5'3" whereas my brother is 6'3". My husband is 6'1".

Anonymous wrote:I think it is rare for a boy to be shorter than his mother, but I am sure there were examples.

My 14 year old, who was under the fifth percentile until around 5 will be passing me in height any day, we're exactly the same right now.

Well most women marry men who are taller than them. And men on average are 5.5 inches taller than women. So on average both the father and the mothers genes suggest a taller boy than mom on average. But obviously height varies from child to child which anyone can see by looking at siblings. So the OP is partially right but overstates the frequency.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, just b/c you don't know anyone doesn't mean it's true. It sounds like a wives tale.

Men are in general taller than women. Both men and women can get osteoporosis but it disproportionately affects more women than men. But in the end it's a case of genetics.

I have known grown men shorter than their moms.

Really? How many? What was the height difference? Were their mothers tall?

Of course I also think it's an old wives tale but my friend keeps rattling it off and no-one I know has ever even known of anyone who disproves it. So I'm interested in whether there are a lot of examples here on DCUM. And of course, some old wives tales are based on truth.

I knew a guy who was about 5'. His father was short as were his sisters. The mother was not super tall around 5'6 or 7.

Having shorter sons will be less common: http://sciencefocus.com/qa/it-true-son-will-always-grow-be-taller-his-mother

but given the number of short male actors that snag tall actresses/models, there is bound to be some boys who are (or destined to be) shorter than their mothers.

Were there egg donors 22+ years ago?

Anonymous wrote:My 22-yr-old neighbor is shorter than his mom.

With the use of egg donors these days, I don't think we can make assumptions about others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is rare for a boy to be shorter than his mother, but I am sure there were examples.

My 14 year old, who was under the fifth percentile until around 5 will be passing me in height any day, we're exactly the same right now.

How tall are you?

5' 4"

Anonymous wrote:I think it is rare for a boy to be shorter than his mother, but I am sure there were examples.

My 14 year old, who was under the fifth percentile until around 5 will be passing me in height any day, we're exactly the same right now.

How tall are you?

I think it is rare for a boy to be shorter than his mother, but I am sure there were examples.

My 14 year old, who was under the fifth percentile until around 5 will be passing me in height any day, we're exactly the same right now.

Anonymous wrote:OP, just b/c you don't know anyone doesn't mean it's true. It sounds like a wives tale.

Men are in general taller than women. Both men and women can get osteoporosis but it disproportionately affects more women than men. But in the end it's a case of genetics.

I have known grown men shorter than their moms.

Really? How many? What was the height difference? Were their mothers tall?

Of course I also think it's an old wives tale but my friend keeps rattling it off and no-one I know has ever even known of anyone who disproves it. So I'm interested in whether there are a lot of examples here on DCUM. And of course, some old wives tales are based on truth.

My cousin is shorter than his mom.

But of course in general boys will be taller than their mothers since men are generally taller than women, and they share some genetic tndencies for height.

As for predicting adult height, I once read that a (rough) prediction is to average out the height percentiles of the parents. So 2 50% for height parents would have kids that also fall around the midpoint for height for their gender.

My boys have been taller than I am since about eight grade.

My 22-yr-old neighbor is shorter than his mom.

OP, just b/c you don't know anyone doesn't mean it's true. It sounds like a wives tale.

Men are in general taller than women. Both men and women can get osteoporosis but it disproportionately affects more women than men. But in the end it's a case of genetics.

I have known grown men shorter than their moms.

A friend of mine insists that boys are ALWAYS taller than their mothers. I can't think of any people I know that would disprove this. Do you? (With the exception of people with disabilities that might impact their height).

Just wondering because my 5 year old is much smaller than others his age and I am almost 6 foot tall. Wondering if he will really be taller than me.