Hello!

47 Comments

We’ve all heard of the ‘two years times two’ method for easily working out how tall our kids will be, but have you ever tried the Midparental Height Method?

While it’s a little more involved, the Midparental Height Method involves using both of the parent’s heights to work out how tall their children will be.

How to work out how tall your child will be

Most of us have tried the ‘two years times two’ method – it simply involves doubling your child’s height at the age of two to predict how tall they will be.

This method is a little flawed however, given girls develop quicker than boys. So it may be a little more accurate to double a girl’s height at 18 months, instead of 24 months.

The Midparental Height Method

Dr Meghan Martin, a doctor from Florida, recently took to TikTok to explain the Midparental Height Method, and her video has been viewed almost three million times!

@beachgem10 Midparental height is a rough estimation of a kids genetic potential for height. There are obvisouly lots of factors that inpact growth though! #growth #height #kids #prediction #parents ♬ Never Grow Up – Taylor Swift

“So in paediatrics we do have a rough calculation that we can use to determine about how big a kid’s gonna be when they grow up,” the mum-of-four explained.

“Now obviously genetic conditions and other factors can play a role in height development and so this really just gives us a general idea of genetically what their potential is.

“So you’re gonna take the height of both parents. So let’s look at my husband and I. I am 5’2 and my husband is 5’10ish. And so first you’re gonna add those numbers together. Then you’re gonna take that number and for a boy you’re gonna add five (inches) and for a girl you’re going to subtract five (inches). Then you’re gonna take your new number and you’re gonna divide it by two and that’s about how big you can expect your kid to be genetically.

“So for my boys we would expect them to be about 5’8 … 5’9 and for my girls we would expect them to be about 5’3½.

“My kids are all still growing, I don’t know if it’s gonna work out for them.”

How to use the Midparental Height Method using metric measurements

MIDPARENTAL HEIGHT METHOD

In Australia of course, we use metric units of measurements, so this method needs to be tweaked a little.

According to GP Notebook, after adding the parents heights (in cms), add 7cms for a boy, then divide by two to get the predicted height at the age of 18. For girls, subtract 7cms from the sum of the two parents’ heights, then divide by two. This height prediction can vary by 5cm each way, according to the site.

Try this out with your kids and let us know how tall they’re going to be in the comments below. Or let us know if it’s accurate for your adult kids!

  • That’s a different way to try and work it out.

    Reply

  • Wow i have never heard of this i will give it a go Thanks

    Reply

  • Not accurate for us. Our grown up children are vastly different in height.

    Reply

  • My son’s all grown up now and I can no longer remember what we worked out he should be in height.

    Reply

  • So inaccurate for all 3 of my children. Hubby and I are both 5ft nothing, all our kids are taller than us. This method works out to 25-30cm shorter than each of my kids!! The \”measure at 2yrs old and double it\” method was spot on for my kids.

    Reply

  • Who cares? Are we really so obsessed with aesthetic to prematurely degrade our own children?


    • Why is working out their height degrading them?
      I am very confused by this comment I dont see anything in having knowledge of your childs height to be degrading in any way.

    Reply

  • Our daughter turned 18 on Friday last week, I tried this and yeah she’s 179 this is accurate.

    Reply

  • Interesting read

    Reply

  • I don’t know if I can believe any method. I’d be nice to have a precise method of calculating height, but as always, the genes have the last laugh!

    Reply

  • I still prefer the at two age and doubling it. My son is already at 13 past his dads height, this midparental calculator says he will be shorter than his dad.

    Reply

  • I have 2 boys and 2 girls, all teenagers and have stopped growing. The girls are taller than me and the boys are taller than my husband. If I go off the height at 2 years old for the boys, 1 is taller and other is not tall enough. The girls at 18 months, again, one is taller and the other not tall enough so basically it is all just a prediction. It is interesting though.

    Reply

  • Haha, I remember at Mother’s Group we all latched onto this to figure it out.

    Reply

  • Thanks for sharing this method.

    Reply

  • Have tried this on my grown up children, and it hasn’t worked at all. My girls are shorter than I am by between 5 or 6 cm and my boys are same height as me. My husband was 5’6 and I was 5’2 – maybe if I leave off the extra the extra height for the boys it might work

    Reply

  • Fascinating! I’d be interested in trying it.

    Reply

  • Very interesting method!

    Reply

  • Did not know this method sounds interesting

    Reply

  • I did the 2yo height doubled for my son and it was pretty spot on

    Reply

  • Interesting concept

    Reply

  • This is fairly accurate for me, when I do the calcs based on my parents’ height – mine came out at 166cm. I’m 167cm. One sister is a couple cm taller and the other is a couple cm shorter.

    Reply

Post a comment

To post a review/comment please join us or login so we can allocate your points.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join