How tall will I be? How tall will my child be? These are questions often asked. A combination of genetics and environment determines the height of a person.
The precise contribution of these two factors is complex. Some studies show that genetics contributes 60%-80%. A child’s height is based on the height of their parents, but not as extreme as their parents’ height.
Many factors contribute to how tall a person is when they grow up. One of those factors is nutrition. Another factor is the health of both the parents and their age during pregnancy.
Infants and toddlers grow the fastest. They grow much more during their first two years than at any other time in their lives. After that, they still grow a little bit, but not as much. They grow again and go through a second growth spurt at puberty before starting to decline to nothing around 15-18 years old for girls and boys.
How to predict your child’s height?
There are different ways to predict the height of a child. Your child’s height may be different from what you predicted. You can use these ways to predict your child’s height:
1. The bone age method
This method of measuring a child’s bone age is used to determine the child’s future height. The Greulich-Pyle Method uses the bone age from radiographs of the left wrist and hand. The method compares the radiographs with a complete atlas of data (radiographs) of different bone ages.
Doctors use the bone age to find out how many more years the child will grow. They also use it to know what time puberty will start and when they will be tall. If there are any problems with their growth, doctors can find that out too. The bone age is more accurate than other methods because it uses an X-ray to predict height.
Also Read: Exercises To Grow Taller: Does It Work?
2. The Khamis-Roche method
This is one of the most accurate ways to predict a child’s adult height without knowing the age of their skeleton. Usually, it looks at the age, gender, weight and height of the child and how tall their parents are. This is best for children between 4 and 9 years old.
3. Growth Charts
Countries like the United States have charts of how children’s bodies grow. Many different charts show how a child’s body has grown over time, and one can compare those curves to see how well their child is doing. We can look at measurements like the height and weight of a child, and then enter them in these charts. These charts compare to the average values of these measurements for children of the same gender and age. Children’s growth curves are generally constant, so these charts are good enough to predict their future height.
Other Methods to Predict a Child’s Height
1. Average height method
Genetics play a huge role in how tall a child will be. They might not be the same, but most of the time, they will be within 4 inches of their height when they are done growing. You can measure your child and then use this to predict how tall they will be when growing.
- Take the height of both the father and the mother of a child.
- Add them up and find the average.
- Subtract 7.6 centimetres or 2.5 inches from the average if it is a girl and add that same amount to the average if it is a boy.
2. Multiplier method
The multiplier method is an easy way to figure out how tall your child will be. But it has not been proven in studies.
- Measure your boy’s height when he is 2 years old and your girl when she is 1 year and a half old.
- Multiply those heights by a factor of two, or double them if you want a more accurate answer but do not need one right now.
Factors That contribute to Child’s Height?
Genes play a big role in how tall your child will be. The rest of it depends on many other things like gender, nutrition, the surrounding environment, balanced diet and physical activities. Some things are more important than others. For example, genes are more important than the weight of the child.
1. Heredity
Heredity is the most important factor in determining how tall your child will be. It affects 60-80% of the height. But it can also be changed by what you do to help your child grow up healthy and taller.
2. Nutrition
To make sure your child grows up to be tall, you must feed them healthy food. If they eat healthy food, their body will grow well. Malnutrition or an unbalanced diet can cause stunted growth in a child. That is why it is important to regulate what they eat for better development.
3. Sex
Boys are usually taller than girls. Boys’ and girls’ growth curves are different. Girls get big fast until they grow up, but boys grow after they’re done growing up. This is why there’s a height difference between boys and girls.
4. Physical activities
If you are a boy or girl, then the number of physical activities you do will affect your growth. If you are more active, your growth rate will be slightly better than if you are not. Physical activity can keep you healthy and make it possible for you to grow steadily.
