Height Based on Parents' Height: Complete Chart

Two parents' heights can give a useful starting point for adult-height prediction, but not a verdict. The tables below apply the mid-parental method across 36 common mother-and-father combinations. Choose the chart for the child's sex, find the mother's measured height down the left, then find the father's measured height across the top. The crossing cell is the estimated center of the child's adult-height range in both centimeters and feet/inches.

Parent-height chart for boys

Each cell uses: (father's height + mother's height) ÷ 2 + 6.5cm. The table is horizontally scrollable on a small screen.

Parent-height chart for girls

Each cell uses: (father's height + mother's height) ÷ 2 − 6.5cm. Sex here means the male or female reference used by this population formula; a clinician can advise when that reference is not appropriate.

Source and method: the American Academy of Pediatrics' HealthyChildren guide describes the mid-parental method as the parents' average plus 2.5 inches for a boy or minus 2.5 inches for a girl, and calls it a rough estimate. This site's metric convention uses ±6.5cm, the rounded metric equivalent used by its calculator. Feet/inches are converted from the displayed metric results using 2.54cm per inch.

How to use the charts without false precision

Measure both biological parents without shoes if possible. A remembered height may be rounded up, and adults can lose height over time, so a current measurement is better. If a parent falls between two headers, interpolate rather than choosing whichever answer you prefer. For example, halfway between two columns shifts the estimate halfway between the two results.

The answer is a target center, not the child's final measurement. HealthyChildren says the method may miss by about four inches, or roughly 10cm, in either direction. That uncertainty is far more important than the decimal shown for unit conversion. A result of 176.5cm does not mean the method can distinguish 176cm from 177cm.

The common question “How tall will I be if my dad is 5'10" and my mom is 5'5"?” works out to about 5'10" for a boy and 5'5" for a girl. If the parents are 5'4" and 5'6", the corresponding targets are about 5'7.5" and 5'2.5". A 6'1" father and 4'11" mother produce about 5'8.5" and 5'3.5". These direct answers are useful orientation, but none is a promise.

What can move the result

The matrix cannot know which combination of thousands of height-related variants a child inherited. Siblings have the same two entries in the table yet can finish at meaningfully different heights. Grandparents and the wider biological family matter indirectly because their genes can reappear in a child even when the parents' midpoint looks ordinary.

Timing matters too. Early or late puberty changes when the growth spurt starts and stops. A current height measured accurately over time can therefore add information that the two-parent formula lacks. Clinicians look at growth velocity and the pattern across repeated measurements, not only one dot or one family average.

Health and environment can limit the height a child reaches. Long-term undernutrition, some chronic diseases, hormone disorders and certain medicines can affect growth. Normal sleep, adequate food and appropriate medical care support normal development; they do not create extra inches beyond an individual's biological potential. No supplement, stretch or workout can guarantee a taller adult height.

Limits and when to ask a clinician

This chart is a statistical estimate, not a measurement of future height. It has not been clinically validated for you or your child, does not include current height or puberty, and cannot replace a pediatrician. It is unsuitable when either biological parent's height is unknown, and it should not be treated as a diagnostic screen.

A pediatrician can plot accurate serial measurements on the appropriate growth chart and decide whether the growth rate needs attention. Seek professional advice if height crosses percentile lines over time, growth slows unexpectedly, puberty seems unusually early or late, or there are other symptoms. Bone-age imaging and laboratory testing are clinical tools, not steps to order from an online table.

Frequently asked questions

Use the table that matches your question

General educational information only. This page does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are concerned about growth, speak to a pediatrician or family doctor.