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Child Height Predictor
Estimate how tall a child is likely to be as an adult from the heights of both biological parents. Enter the parents’ heights and whether the child is a boy or a girl; the calculator applies the mid-parental height method and shows the usual range around the prediction.
- In feet and inches
- 5 ft 9.6 in
- Likely range from
- 66.2 in
- Likely range to
- 72.9 in
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Formula
How to use it
- Select whether the child is a boy or a girl.
- Enter the biological father’s adult height.
- Enter the biological mother’s adult height.
- Read the predicted adult height and the range around it.
Worked examples
A boy whose father is 5 ft 10 in and mother is 5 ft 4 in
- Predicted adult height
- 69.6 in
- In feet and inches
- 5 ft 9.6 in
- Likely range from
- 66.2 in
- Likely range to
- 72.9 in
A girl with the same parents
- Predicted adult height
- 64.4 in
- In feet and inches
- 5 ft 4.4 in
A girl whose father is 180 cm and mother is 165 cm (166 cm)
- Predicted adult height
- 65.4 in
- In feet and inches
- 5 ft 5.4 in
How the method works
The mid-parental or “target height” method, associated with the growth researcher James Tanner, averages the parents’ heights after adjusting for the roughly 13 cm (5 in) average difference between adult men and women. It needs nothing but two heights and works at any age, which is why pediatricians use it as a quick reference.
It is only a guide. Most children — but not all — end up within about 8.5 cm (3.3 in) of the prediction, and siblings with the same parents routinely differ by several inches. Nutrition, general health and the timing of puberty all play a part, and the method is less reliable when the parents’ heights are very different from each other.
If you have concerns about a child’s growth, a pediatrician can plot their measurements on a growth chart. This is an estimate for general information, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or other qualified clinician before making health decisions based on it.
Questions people ask
How tall will my son be?
Add the parents’ heights, add 5 in (13 cm) and divide by 2. With a 5 ft 10 in father and a 5 ft 4 in mother the prediction is about 5 ft 9.6 in, with a likely range of roughly 5 ft 6 in to 6 ft 1 in.
How tall will my daughter be?
Add the parents’ heights, subtract 5 in (13 cm) and divide by 2. The same parents — 5 ft 10 in and 5 ft 4 in — give about 5 ft 4.4 in.
Is doubling a child’s height at age 2 accurate?
It is a popular rule of thumb that gives a ballpark figure, but it has no more precision than the mid-parental method and tends to overestimate for girls, who mature earlier.