• Question: hi my friend is 5"3 and she is 14years old she doesnt think shes going to get any taller and her dad is 6''0 and her mom is 5''1 do you think she will grow any taller ?

    Asked by cliodhna27 to Enda, Jean, Kate, Kev, Tim on 12 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Jean Bourke

      Jean Bourke answered on 12 Nov 2012:


      Hmm, perhaps, We don’t really stop growing until we reach our 20s though of course towards the end that mainly consist of becoming more manly and womanly, our faces change and mature during that time period.

      I’ve heard that you add your parents’ heights together, divide by 2 and then add or subtract a couple of inches depending on if the child is male or female. Height, however, is much more complex, it depends on your nutrition during early childhood, hormone levels, diet, injuries, gender, etc. not just genetics. Our genetics determine our potential height, i.e. the height we might achieve, not the height we will actually become.

      Of course, we can’t work out a person’t potential height so we can’t even say how tall she could become. We just have to wait and see!

      You won’t know how tall your fiend is going to be until she’s at least 20, though if I had to guess I’d say she’ll bet a bit taller but probably not as tall as her dad.

Comments