Anyone have a super-tall kid?

[Jaimee]

DS has been complaining about his height lately. Not much I can do about it lol. He just turned 10 on 2/25 and he was 5 ft 1 last time we measured (a few months ago) probably another inch taller now. He wear's size 11 mens shoes He's at least 6 inches taller than his closest friends (there is another boy in his class who is almost as tall as him though). He said he's sick of everyone thinking he's older than he is (it's been happening since he was a toddler..). He's also really smart. He said someone in his class accused him of being 14 the other day because he's so big and always gets 100 on his math and spelling tests lol.

I see this stuff as positive, but I supposed it's just hard being a little "different" than everyone else. I don't really know what to tell him I'm 5 ft 9 and his dad is 6ft 6 so he's going to be tall. Any words of wisdom?

 

[DutchsMommy]

How tall was he when born and growing up? I am curious as DS is tall for his age but as he is my first I really don't have anything to compare to. He was 24 inches when born and is now just turned 6 and 52" tall - I guess that would be 4ft4.

 

[Jaimee]

He was only 22 inches when he was born (but was 10 1/2 lbs..) He's always been the biggest in his class. I'm not sure how tall he was when he was 6, but looking at him with his classmates he's always a head taller than everyone.

 

[transparant]

YES! My DD (9) is in 3rd grade and is the size of an average 7th or 8th grader. In fact - she's taller than my oldest sons girlfriend who is 18!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not certain of her exact height - but I'm guessing its around 5'2.

 

[Kathi OD]

My DD was 5'10 in the 6th grade and wore a woman's size 10 shoe. She hasn't grown one inch since (she's almost 30 now). She was 22.5 inches long when born. In elementary school, she was always the tallest and kids used to say that she flunked (their word, not mine) because she was so big.

DD #1 was 24 inches when born, wore a man's size 12 shoe in the 5th grade and was probably around 5ft tall - not exceptionally tall for a 10 year old. At 28, he's only 2 inches taller than his sister, but he wears a size 14 shoe.

Don't know where they get the feet.......DH wears a 10 and I wear a 7.
The height is a mystery too. DH is 5'10 and I'm 5'3.

 

[KathyTX]

DS has always been the tallest in his class. There were years when he was younger (maybe 9 or 10) when he didn't like the attention that came with being a little different. Some of his friends were really late bloomers, and there were some years when the height difference between him and them was pretty comical.

At 14, he's pretty cool with it now. At 6'4 (and still growing), he's still the tallest among his friends and classmates, but a few of them are growing tall enough that they don't look like they're a lot younger than he is.

My best advice is to not make a huge deal of it to him if it makes him self-conscious now, and know that he'll soon get to an age where the kids like to have something unique that helps them stand out in a crowd a bit, and he's likely to embrace his height then.

(Good luck shopping for those HUGE shoes he'll probably need, though. Zappos and their great size ranges have become my friend when looking for those size 14s!)

 

[CrazedDisFan]

My 10 year old daughter is 5 foot 3 inches. She was a tiny 16 inches when she was born. I am 5'6" dh is 6 foot. Her 13 year old sister is 5'2".

The teasing has begun and it stinks. I feel so bad for her. Luckily she has an outgoing personality and lets it roll off her back. She has a ton of friends and her best friend in about 7-8 inches shorter than her. The bf is the shortest child in 5th grade, my daughter the second tallest.

 

[DutchsMommy]

Hardest thing I find - as you mentioned Jaimee - is people thinking he is older than he is and then wondering why he still acts up or behaves like he does (answer being he is 6 not 10!!!)

 

[transparant]

Hardest thing I find - as you mentioned Jaimee - is people thinking he is older than he is and then wondering why he still acts up or behaves like he does (answer being he is 6 not 10!!!)

I agree!

 

[Pin Wizard]

My 14 year old 6 foot tall son feels short next to a kid in his class. The kid is somewhere around 7 feet! He ducks down when going through doorways. Seems every sports team coach wants him on the team.

 

[Aidensmom]

How tall was he when born and growing up? I am curious as DS is tall for his age but as he is my first I really don't have anything to compare to. He was 24 inches when born and is now just turned 6 and 52" tall - I guess that would be 4ft4.

My 6-1/2 year old is 42" tall, which is maybe about 2" or 3" on the short side of the average kid in his class. I think your child may be facing some of the same stuff the OP's child is in the future.

There is a 6 year old girl in my child's first grade class who is as tall as me (I'm 5'1"), I have no doubt that poor girl is going to have a hard time with teasing and stuff later.

OP, I am sorry that your son has to deal with stuff because of his size. Though mine is on the opposite end of the spectrum, I still understand the difficulties. Other kids just have a hard time comprehending that others don't always fit the "average", and really they are just trying to figure things out when they make remarks (we get the opposite - a couple days ago he was asked by a 5 year old on his baseball team if he was in kindergarten, and when he answered no, the kid said, "Oh, so you are in pre-K". He wouldn't believe my son when he said he was in first grade).

 

[Kitty 34]

My sons are 6'6, 6'4, and 6'2. My youngest was almost 6'3 in the 8th grade!

 

[CathrynRose]

He was only 22 inches when he was born (but was 10 1/2 lbs..) He's always been the biggest in his class. I'm not sure how tall he was when he was 6, but looking at him with his classmates he's always a head taller than everyone.

Danny was at age 10. But everyone seems to have caught up (he was also 22 1/2 inches long at birth - 8lb 6oz....... the exact same as Shaquille O'Neill. )

He's in 7th - everyone seems to have caught up - BUT he still has HUGGGGGE feet. Enourmous. He's still got sprouting to do to match his size 12 mens!!!!! feet (at age 12!)

 

[ilovepcot]

I was 5'6" in 4th grade AND had braces. Boys said I looked like metal wrapped round a pine tree. I'm still 5'6" tall...never reached the 6' mark everyone *just knew* I'd reach. And my poor daughter...she's only 4'8" tall and was picked on for being so little all through school. It's rough when kids stand out from what's considered "the norm" by their peers.

 

[Katy Belle]

My oldest DS has always been tall. It seems now that he's in 7th grade he's slowing down a bit and others are catching up a bit. He'll be 13 at the end of April and he's 5'11", maybe and a half by now! He wears size 14 EEEE shoes. and his feet are still growing.

I agree that the hard part is people perceiving them as older or expecting him to be a "bad kid"because he's so big. A few weeks ago at church the Sunday School teacher, who is about 5'1", commented, "Even the GIANT boy is very good." Like she was prepared for him to be BAD. Irritating.

Adults come in all shapes and sizes, so there's got to be some tall kiddos!

Katy

 

[DizneeMommy]

My son is very tall, too! He turned 10 this week, and is something over 5 feet tall--haven't measured in a while--he comes up to my chin and I'm 6'. He wears a size 10 shoe (for now). He's the tallest in the entire 4th grade--and LOVES it. Of course, I'm 6', DH is 6'5", and his uncle (my brother) is 6'8", and many other relatives 6' or over, so it's "normal" around here to be tall! My DD6 is already the tallest kindergartener in the school--she's taller than all but 1 of my first graders!

It is hard sometimes, especially when they were younger because people assumed that they were both much older than they actually were. (I even had one stranger in a public restroom ask me why DS wasn't already potty trained as I was changing his diaper--and he was BARELY 2!! Needless to say, she got a blank stare from me and an earful from my sister-in-law who was with me.) Our pedicatrician has always cautioned us to remind people not to expect more of them simply because they look older and are more advanced academically. DS may look several years older, but he's still only a 10 year old boy socially and emotionally. Even I sometimes have to remind myself!

 

[westernmom]

This thread is actually very reassuring. My 5 year old (5 years and 3 months) is 50.5 inches tall. He's in preschool and everyone thinks he's in 1st or 2nd grade. To compound this, he's much younger emotionally.

As our DS is adopted (and we have very limited medical info on the bio parents), I've always had a little worry in the back of my head that perhaps there's something medically wrong. (Even though DS's pediatrician says no.)

It really helps to read about other kids who are super tall. Thx OP.

 

[golfgal]

Hardest thing I find - as you mentioned Jaimee - is people thinking he is older than he is and then wondering why he still acts up or behaves like he does (answer being he is 6 not 10!!!)

That is the hardest thing for tall kids.

My 14 year old 6 foot tall son feels short next to a kid in his class. The kid is somewhere around 7 feet! He ducks down when going through doorways. Seems every sports team coach wants him on the team.

DS15's best buddy in our old town is 7' tall, they looked pretty funny together since DS was the SHORTEST kid in the class. DS15 is now a whopping 5' 4" tall as a sophomore in high school, having grown 6" this past year. That has it's set of issues as well. DS was 21 1/2 inches long and 8lbs 1 oz when he was born.

 

[luv2nascar]

my DD who will be 13 in July is 5'7" and my little one who will be 5 end of June is 44" already. I'm 5'7" and my DH is 6'3". Tallness runs in our family so I expected it.

 

[4greatboys]

My oldest son is 6'2 and wears normally a 14/15 shoe. I don't really count that as super tall but considering Im 5'3 and his dad is 5'6 I would say he is a tall guy.