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Such a tall young man!

(34 Posts)
CanadianGran Fri 29-Sept-23 22:39:59

I went into my local jeweller's the other day and was greeted by a young man new to the business. I know he is the son of the owners, and is now working in the shop.

My goodness, he is very tall, and it is very hard not to remark on it! In fact, I just looked him up since I know he played basketball. He is 6'10"

I wonder how many times a day he hears remarks about his height? And I wonder if it can be very frustrating at times; fitting into cars, having counter-tops at uncomfortably low levels, ducking through doors, etc.

Do you know many extraordinarily tall people, and how do they cope with live amongst the average?

Joseann Fri 29-Sept-23 22:45:35

I wonder what shoe size he is, or whether he has them made specially.

Skydancer Fri 29-Sept-23 22:52:24

That is exceptionally tall. But it seems as if people are getting taller. When I see a bunch of students I always think how tall they are these days. At 5ft 4in I was considered fairly tall back in the 70s.

maddyone Fri 29-Sept-23 23:02:25

That is extremely tall. I’m sure his height will cause him a few problems as he goes through life as you have mentioned. All his trousers and jeans will need to be specially made, shoes may well be a problem, even buying a bed to fit is probably difficult.

MayBee70 Fri 29-Sept-23 23:16:34

I knew a lovely lad who was very tall. I made a remark about his height one day and he said to me that people wouldn’t dream of commenting on someone being short, unless they wanted to upset them, but that people thought it was ok to say something about someone being tall. He looked so sad when he said it and I’ve never commented on someone’s height since.

Rosie51 Fri 29-Sept-23 23:32:37

MayBee70

I knew a lovely lad who was very tall. I made a remark about his height one day and he said to me that people wouldn’t dream of commenting on someone being short, unless they wanted to upset them, but that people thought it was ok to say something about someone being tall. He looked so sad when he said it and I’ve never commented on someone’s height since.

One of my grandsons is 6'6" tall. He may not have finished growing. He is such a polite, lovely lad he simply smiles when people comment on his height but I know he is self conscious about it. Luckily we have persuaded him not to stoop to try and minimise it and he does have uncles and a grandfather who are tall, but an inch or two smaller than him. It's absolutely true that very few people would comment on other's short stature with the ease with which they comment on tall stature. For the uninitiated comments such as "what's the weather like up there" have been heard uncountable times sigh

SueDonim Fri 29-Sept-23 23:56:18

We know a young man who is 6ft 8in. He ducks as he goes through doorways and daren’t fling his arms upwards with our low ceilings! My 6ft 4 son was delighted to meet someone taller than him. 😂

Both my brothers are 6’5 and my sister was 5’ 10 which was very tall for a woman born post-war.

Rosie51 Sat 30-Sept-23 00:17:53

SueDonim

We know a young man who is 6ft 8in. He ducks as he goes through doorways and daren’t fling his arms upwards with our low ceilings! My 6ft 4 son was delighted to meet someone taller than him. 😂

Both my brothers are 6’5 and my sister was 5’ 10 which was very tall for a woman born post-war.

As a standard doorway is approximately 6'6" my grandson instinctively ducks in every doorway. My husband is 6'4" and my sons are the same or an inch taller excepting my "short arse" son who is only 6'1" so grandson is used to being around tall people.
Goodness 5'10" is very tall for a woman, even today 5'8" or 5'9" is considered tall. I have nieces that are that tall but may be still growing.

Redhead56 Sat 30-Sept-23 00:55:52

Our son is 6’6 inch and knocks his head often being in the building trade his height is advantageous but also a hindrance.

Litterpicker Sat 30-Sept-23 01:27:27

My grandson is over 6ft at 15 and size 12 in shoes. I’m not sure when boys reach their full height?

I was reading just this morning about the ‘giant’, Angus MacAskill, born on Berneray in The Western Isles in 1825. His family left Scotland for Canada when he was 6 years old. He grew to be 7’9”. He apparently had no underlying medical condition. There is a museum about his life in Dunvegan, Isle of Skye.

Rosie51 Sat 30-Sept-23 01:49:24

It used to be said boys definitely stop growing by 21, but my husband grew 3 inches after 21 so who knows? I just hope my 19 year old grandson who is already 6'6" has stopped. He hasn't grown since he was 17 so fingers firmly crossed.

grandMattie Sat 30-Sept-23 05:13:47

I’m 75 and am 5’10” tall, a giantess for my generation. It is amusing to relate that I’m the shortest in the family, although my sons are nowhere near 6’10” tall.
The worst when growing up was dancing with “dwarves”…. Mortifying! 😂

Oreo Sat 30-Sept-23 09:29:02

Being considered too tall must be just as bad, maybe worse as being considered too short!

Dee1012 Sat 30-Sept-23 11:32:54

MayBee70

I knew a lovely lad who was very tall. I made a remark about his height one day and he said to me that people wouldn’t dream of commenting on someone being short, unless they wanted to upset them, but that people thought it was ok to say something about someone being tall. He looked so sad when he said it and I’ve never commented on someone’s height since.

My son is 6"8 and often said the same, he was 6"4 by the age of 14 and dealt with many insensitive comments - quite often by teachers at that age!
His partner is 5"0 which also leads to various remarks.... usually from those who believe they are being funny!

Theexwife Sat 30-Sept-23 11:45:16

My daughter had a tall friend, almost everyone she met would comment, most just saying “You are so tall” as though she hadn’t noticed.

It seems to some that it is okay to comment on a person's height, imagine if people started saying, “You are so fat’.

I think it is rude to comment on all aspects of personal appearance

Jaxjacky Sat 30-Sept-23 11:58:44

I remember feeling odd at school, I’m 5’11’ unusual then as a girl, I got all the jibes ‘what’s the weather like up there’ etc. I’m glad my parents constantly reminded me not to slouch, my son is 6’3”.

Kalu Sat 30-Sept-23 12:28:01

We often visited the Netherlands where my 6ft 2in DH was met by many taller individuals.

A friend’s son was accepted for a tennis college in the US. After his first year he was considerably much taller which according to my friend was due to certain supplements in his diet. I have no proof of course.

Stansgran Sat 30-Sept-23 12:37:57

I was 5'8 but am shrinking. I was one of the taller ones in school- we went into prayers by height at school but there were two or three others behind me at age 10 or 11. My two friends out of school were the same height and this was in the Fifties. My friends mother said we were so lucky to be tall and that we would end up as super models! I did tell people who commented on my height that in my friendship group I was average and really that I thought they were short. I have tall grandchildren( tall daughters and sons in law) but have a sister in law and brother in law who have a complex about their height. I blame my mother in law as she never stopped talking about the” problems” of being tall for clothes. I made all my own in those days mainly because I loved fashion as in Vogue fashion but when she started on my children and about how awful it was to be tall I had to tell her that if she mentioned it to them ever she would find she had lost two grandchildren .

B9exchange Sat 30-Sept-23 13:22:27

I have been very short all my life, just about touching 5' and believe me, people do comment a great deal on my lack of height, with nicknames like 'Lofty' and 'good things come in small parcels'. We consider it rude to comment on width, so why is it acceptable to make fun of height or lack of it?

Skydancer Sat 30-Sept-23 14:05:40

Theexwife I agree with you. Many (most?) people have physical characteristics they would rather not have. The worst thing is when people make a comment. We can all be sensitive.

Iam64 Sat 30-Sept-23 14:32:14

I’m 5’8”, tall for my generation. I was this height by 14, got teased and called long tall sally. I stooped briefly then decided I’d have to get on with it.
Mr i was 6’6”, a typical gentle giant. I was shocked when we first got together by the endless comments like - cold up there? Also the way some men tried to goad or provoke him. He was skilled at avoiding, defusing, he helped my 16 year old 6’4” nephew deal with similar stuff.
Height is beyond our control. It’s one of those mysteries as to why some people enjoy making derogatory comments or ‘jokes’ about it. Peter Crouch says the bulk of abuse during his football career were about his height

Callistemon21 Sat 30-Sept-23 15:19:45

I wish I was taller (5' 4" now because I've shrunk an inch).
DGS is well over 6' at 15 and still growing.
My MIL was 5'9" which was very tall for a young woman in the 1930s and I think she got teased a lot.

Yes, it I beyond our control but I notice that very short people get comments too.

AreWeThereYet Sat 30-Sept-23 15:30:49

Nowhere near that height but all my family apart from my mother are over 6 foot. I'm the shortie at 5 ft 9in but even I used to get the 'what's the weather like up there' remarks. In my heels I was 6 ft 4in. I was lucky to have a father who would always remind me not to stoop but it was hard. I had to stoop even to hear a conversation amongst friends unless we were sitting down somewhere quiet. Clothes have never fitted properly. Most of my young life I was 'Beanpole' or 'Lanky', not that it ever bothered me. In a world of hot pants and mini skirts I had long legs that could stop traffic. There were few men tall enough to dance with easily - one of the reasons I gave up dance lessons. I was always quite shy and would have given a lot to be able to sink into the background but towering over most people gave me nowhere to hide. Still, everyone has a cross to bear and being tall is probably way down the scale of things you have to live with 😁

JaneJudge Sat 30-Sept-23 15:40:03

My son gets told he is tall almost every 5 minutes. I think he'd be delighted to meet someone 6ft 10! smile

joannapiano Sat 30-Sept-23 16:50:08

When my grandson was 3 my daughter phoned in a bit of a panic as her GP said that her son was abnormally small for his age. He is now 20 and 6’2”. His sister is just under 6’. Our 17 year old grandson is 6’3”. My mum, born 1920, was always considered tall as she was a slim 5’7” and took size 7 shoes as a teenager.