How Tall Will My Child Be When He/She Grows Up?

Once your baby arrives, you may wonder whom would he look like or how tall he will be and you may be dwelling on various such questions. Well, we cannot tell you about the looks about your child but here we will talk about predicting your baby’s height. Browse through the following article to know more on this topic.

Is It Possible to Determine Child’s Height?

Are you wondering how tall is my child going to be? Well, it may not be possible to determine the exact height that your child may reach in adulthood because your child keeps growing until his late teens. Also, there are various other factors such as genetics, diet, illness or growth pattern that may affect your kid’s height. However, by predicting a child’s bone age through a special x-ray may help you in finding out how tall your little munchkin may get when he grows up. But the exact height may depend on the factors that are mentioned above.

Factors that Can Affect the Height of Children

Following are some of the factors that may affect the height of your kid:

1. Hormonal Imbalance

If your kid suffers from a hormonal imbalance, he may have a stunted growth.

2. Malnutrition

Improper diet and nutrition may affect the way your child grows. In order to help your kid gain a good height, you must pay heed to his diet and nutrition.

3. Illnesses

If your child suffers from any kind of chronic illness such as severe arthritis, celiac disease etc, it may affect his growth and development.

4. Certain Genetic abnormalities

If your kid suffers from certain genetic abnormalities like down syndrome, Turner syndrome or Noonan syndrome then he may not achieve his optimum height.

5. Use Of Certain Medication

If your child is on certain medicines such as asthma medication or corticosteroids, it may affect your kid’s proper growth.

6. Some Other Factors

Sometimes apart from the above-mentioned factors, there may be other reasons that may adversely impact your kid’s growth such as climatic conditions, exercise, pollution, sleeping habits etc.

Methods to Help You Tell How Tall Your Child Will Be

If you are wondering how to calculate how tall your child will be, there are various ways to establish that and following are some of these methods:

1. You May Use Some Mathematical Calculations:

Here is a mathematical calculation that may help you in determining how tall will my child be based on parents:

• For measuring a girl- (father’s height minus 5 inches, plus mother’s height) the answer to be divided by two.
• For measuring a boy-(mother’s height plus 5 inches, plus father’s height) the answer to be divided by two.

2. You May Use Mid-Parental Method

You may add the height of both the parents in inches and then divide it by two, to estimate a girl’s height, you should minus 2.5 inches and for estimating a boy’s height you should add 2.5 inches to the answer.

3. You May Use Doubling Method

This is one of the simplest ways of assessing height by doubling your child’s height. In the case of a boy, you should double his height when he is two years of age and in the case of girls, you may double her height at one and a half years old.

4. You Should Take Your Kid For Regular Check-ups

Taking your kid for regular check-ups helps in determining how well your kid is growing and also helps in establishing any delays in growth and will help you figure out how to tell how tall your kid will be.

5. Certain Medications Or Chronic Illnesses

Sometimes the use of certain drugs such as corticosteroids may hamper your kid’s growth. Also, if your kid is suffering from hypothyroidism, arthritis or any such condition, it may affect the way they would grow.

6. Good Diet And Nutrition

A child who eats a well-balanced diet tends to grow better as compared to a child who is undernourished.

Until What Age Will A Child’s Height Increase?

Both boys and girls attain the maximum increase in height in puberty. Where puberty may begin early in girls at around 8 to 13 years of age, in case of boys it may begin around 9 to 14 years of age. Girls begin early and thus stop growing by the age of 16 whereas boys may keep growing till 18 years of age.

How To Increase Your Child’s Height Naturally?

There are various natural ways of helping your kid gain a good height such as:

1. A Healthy Diet

A diet rich in all the vital nutrients may help your child to attain a good height.

2. Adequate Water Intake

Dehydration may affect your child’s metabolism which in turn may affect your kid’s growth spurts.

3. Stay Away From Growth-Stunting Factors

Intake of certain drugs like steroids, caffeinated beverages, alcohol or smoking may adversely affect the growth of your kid.

4. Boost Your Kid’s Immunity

Help your kid build a better immunity by ensuring that he eats a good diet. A good diet helps to build a better immunity keeps and thus keeps various ailments at bay.

5. Help Your Kid Maintain Good Posture

A good posture is helpful in keeping the muscles relaxed and also aids in proper growth.

6. Exercising

Involve your kid in various forms of exercise such as swimming, running, cycling etc as exerng on regular basis helps in consistent growth of your kid.

7. A Good Sleep

The growth hormones HGH help in the proper growth of your kid and these hormones function effectively at night. A good sleep ensures proper functioning of these hormones.

8. Ample Protein Intake

protein is essential for optimal growth and thus by including more protein rich food in your kid’s diet you ensure a healthy growth.

Exercise To Increase a Child’s Height

Here are some exercises that may help in increasing your kid’s height:

1. Swimming

Swimming is a great way of stretching the spine and other muscles of the body and thus may help in achieving a good height.

2. Basketball

Basketball involves stretching and jumping which is a great way for spine elongation and thus may help in boosting your kid’s height.

3. Hanging

Hanging not only elongates the vertebrates but it also helps in straightening the spine and may aid in reaching a desirable height.

4. Stretching

It is a great way of correcting the posture and for elongating the spine to reach a good height.

5. Yoga

Various asanas in yoga helps in stretching the entire body and thus beneficial in gaining a good height.

Foods That Help in Growth of Child’s Height

Following are some foods to help your kid grow optimally:

1. Fruits And Vegetables

Fresh fruits and vegetable are very effective in boosting your kid’s growth in a natural way.

2. Ashwagandha Or Indian Ginseng

This herb not only enhances HGH hormones but it also improves bone density and thus an ideal way to gain good height.

3. Nuts

Nuts are rich in amino acids, minerals, proteins and vitamins which are beneficial in repairing the body tissues and promoting a good height.

4. Yoghurt

Being rich in minerals and vitamins, yoghurt works wonders in promoting your kid’s growth.

5.Soya

For optimal tissue and bone development your kid needs a diet rich in protein and soya is one of the richest sources of protein.

6. Whole Grains

Whole grains are an excellent source of various vital nutrients and dietary fibre and thus they help in boosting your child’s height.

7. Eggs

Egg is a good source of protein and thus helps in proper growth.

8. Milk

A rich source of calcium and protein, milk helps in the optimal brain and physical development of your child.

9. Chicken

Chicken is ideal for promoting healthy muscle and bone development in kids.

When to be Worried about a Child’s Height Growth?

As a parent, it may worry you when your kid may not be growing as expected or showing slow progress in the growth chart. Following may the reasons that may be the possible triggers:

• Hormonal disorder
• Food absorption issues
• Kidney ailments
• Thyroid problem
• Lung or heart disorders
• Nutritional status or overeating

Significant Tips To Keep in Mind

• Keep these tips handy while taking care of your child:
• Ensure that your child eats a good diet and gets proper nutrition.
• Ensure that your kid takes a good amount of water.
• If your kid may not be facing some growth issues, get in touch with your doctor.
• Make sure your child is nourished well and is healthy.
• Keep boosting your kid’s morale if he is not happy with his height.

You may use any of the above-mentioned ways of estimating your kid’s height, however, it will a good idea to get in touch with your paediatrician if you wish to know more on how to help your kid to gain optimum height.