Free calculator
Parents’ height calculator
Enter the mother’s and father’s heights and pick boy or girl. You’ll see the adult height range they point to.
Enter both parents’ heights
It runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or saved.
It’s a guide, not a promise. A few people finish outside their range.
What is mid-parental height?
It’s the middle of the two parents’ heights. Add the mother’s and father’s heights, then halve the total.
Say the mother is 165 cm and the father is 181 cm. Their total is 346 cm, so the middle is 173 cm.
Boys usually end up about 6.5 cm taller than that, girls about 6.5 cm shorter. That’s about 2½ in. So a girl’s middle here is about 167 cm.
Most people finish within 8.5 cm of their middle, or about 3½ in. For a girl here, that’s 158 to 175 cm. In feet and inches, that’s 5 ft 2 in to 5 ft 9 in.
This is the Tanner method, from 1970. It doesn’t use age, height today or weight, so the range is wide. See the full method.
Want a narrower range?
For a narrower range, Plus uses the Khamis–Roche method. It takes what you’ve already given and adds your age, your height today and your weight today.
Centile Plus is for ages 13 to 17½, in the Centile app.
Get the Centile app
Free to download for iPhone and Android. Centile is for ages 13 and over.
Questions
Why add or take off 6.5 cm?
Boys and girls grow differently. Boys usually end up taller than their parents’ middle, and girls shorter.
What if a parent’s height is a guess?
Measure if you can. If one height is 2 cm out, the middle moves by 1 cm.
Can it spot a growth problem?
No. It’s a guide, not medical advice. If you’re worried about growth, talk to a doctor.