Height Predictions: Vital parenting information from Eyewitness News

Predicting how tall your baby will grow to be, can be tricky work. There's the formula called the mid-parental height predictor Dr. Joe Matusic refers to; for a boys height that means adding six inches to the mom's height and averaging with the father's height. For a girl that means subtracting six inches from the dad's height and averaging with the mother's. Then, plus or minus 2 inches you have your projected height. But, Dr. Matusic says genetics can throw your calculation off sometimes... and the other wrench in making height prediction is, puberty.

Dr. Joe Matusic, MD Pediatrician
I've seen boys grow 6 to 8 to 10 inches during puberty and girls stop growing a year after their period. Sometimes a year and a half after. There are exceptions. But it's generally one year to one and a half years after their period.

Dr. Matusic says he has seen boys who have been shorter than average before puberty and then experience a sudden growth spurt. But if that's not happening, there are other factors doctor's will begin looking into; familial delay and growth hormone deficiency.

Dr. Matusic
If everybody's average, that child should be average. But if everyone's average and that child is substantially below, then I get more concerned than if the child is below average and their parents are predicting average and the child is below average... but oh year our uncle was 6'6 or 5'2 that sort of brings in that family's delay pattern where maybe this child is going to be shorter.

So if you're interested in predicting your child's height, measure them properly. Make sure their heels are against the wall, standing straight up but not stretching and make the calculation. And checking the height yearly with your doctor is just another reason to make sure you give your child the benefit of a well child visit, every year.

Ultimately, if you're concerned about your child's height, talk to your doctor and make sure you give an adequate family history to help their diagnosis.