In short, yes, tall babies and children tend to become tall adults. The greatest clue of what a child’s height will be as an adult is simply by looking at their parents. One can make a rough estimate for a child’s height by adding their mom and dad’s height, divide it by two and then add 2.5 inches for boys or subtract 2.5 inches for girls. However, this is just an estimate. There are plenty of tall ladies out there who can share experiences about being taller than a brother. An online height predictor for children can also be found here: https://www.babycenter.com/child-height-predictor
The most accurate predictor of a child’s future height is by calculating their bone age, which is done by x-ray. Children continue to grow until their growth plates close and are replaced by solid bone. Growth plates are the area of growing tissue at the end of children and teenager’s bones. Once growth plates close, growing stops. This happens at different ages for different kids. Those who go through puberty earlier will likely will hit their adult height earlier. For those who are late bloomers, their full adult height will likely come later. This is why some early bloomers will be the tallest kid in 5th grade, but end up being the one of the shortest in high school.
There are some other factors that affect an individual’s heights as they grow.
Gender. An average American man is 5.5 inches taller than the average female. (However, for most of the tall girls reading this, that likely has not been their experience when it comes to the dating scene.)
Nutrition. Having a nutrient deficient diet or not having enough to eat, especially in the first 1000 days of a child’s life, can lead to children not having the proper vitamins and nutrients they need to grow.
Exercise. While most children don’t get enough exercise, some studies have shown that children who participate in intense exercise at a young age can slow or change their growth patterns.
Also, there are various medical conditions which can also affect children as they grow.
