Child Height Predictor
Predict a child's likely adult height from parents' heights.
Assumptions used in this calculation
- Mid-parental method: Assumes both parents' adult heights were reached without significant growth-affecting illness; the ±8.5 cm range reflects normal genetic and environmental variation, not measurement error.Mid-parental height method (Tanner et al.)
About this calculator
Parents are naturally curious how tall their child might end up, and while genetics is only part of the story, there's a long-established statistical method for estimating it from the parents' own heights. This calculator uses the mid-parental height method: enter both parents' heights and the child's sex, and it averages the two heights, then adds 13 cm for boys or subtracts 13 cm for girls (adjusting for the average height difference between sexes), to produce a predicted adult height along with a ±8.5 cm range. That range matters as much as the central number, mid-parental height is a genetic average, not a precise forecast, actual adult height also depends on nutrition, health during childhood, and individual growth variation outside the parents' own heights. It's a quick, widely used estimate for a question that otherwise has no easy answer until a child finishes growing, but it should be read as a broad range, not a guarantee.
Worked example
Father 175 cm, mother 162 cm, boy
Result: Predicted height ≈ 175 cm (range 166.5-183.5 cm)
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