to think that just because we are very tall it is not ok for everyone to mention it all the time!!!

[goatsclimbtrees]

I am 6 feet tall, my exh is also tall and I have 2 very tall sons-eldest 6ft 8 at 18 and youngest 6ft2 at 14. When I was growing up I hated being tall(have now learnt to relax about it!),because people commented on my height all the time and made me feel like a freak! Now my poor sons are experiencing this and my eldest pointed out last week that it would be very rude to mention another person's lack of stature or the fact that they were overweight to their faces, so why do people think it's acceptable to comment to him about his height all the time. He is thinking of getting a t-shirt printed with some witticism on the front to discourage people--along the lines of'at least I can reach the tins on the top shelf' or perhaps something a bit earthier!!

[SoupDragon]

YANBU. But could you just get that tray down off the top of the kitchen cupboards for me before you go....

[Cretaceous]

Don't you believe it - people are always mentioning my DS's lack of stature. He gets comments like "Isn't he sweet." "He's so dinky." He's 11yo, and I think it's really rude. And people often make comments about how they don't like short men, or how short men have a Napoleon complex.

I think that people just are rude!

[MrsC2010]

People do this to my husband and his family all the time. He is 6'5" as are two of his brothers, the other brother is the comparative short arse of the family at 6'2", his dad was 6'8" as is his best friend. People always joke about it to me ('normal' at 5'8", even though I was this height at 12 so always felt tall!) along the lines of 'what is it like being married to such a lanky whatnot' etc. So rude!

Your sons should be very happy though, I have always loved tall men!

[BackOffMargery]

YANBU.

Its the same with being slim. Being tall and being slim are coveted physical traits and so its seen as ok to comment about it. The person commenting just doesn't realise what they are doing as they may want to be tall themselves. Or that's how I interpret it anyway.

But then I am short and chubby.

And if they say nasty things then they are probably just jealous.

[mrsjuan]

YANBU. DD is extremely small for her age and already this morning we've had at least 5 comments ranging from 'ah, what a little dot' to 'she looks like a midget'

[MrsC2010]

Just realised that might come out weird, I don't mean they should be happy because I love tall men... , I mean that many women love tall men so they will be in demand! I an NOT cougaring after your children.

[OrmRenewed]

Nobody mentions it to me anymore. I expect DS will get it when he's gets to his full height. I don't think it's rude but I agree that it can be embarrasing when you are a self-conscious teen.

[Cretaceous]

MrsC2010 - so are you saying that my DS won't be attractive to women because he's so short

[AncientStarlight]

It's bloody annoying, but some people are just rude. I'm 5ft and people always seem to need to point this out to me. It's better than being average, honest

[GypsyMoth]

i could have written that post!! 6 foot here too

my 2 dd's are tall,and youngest boy looks 4 but is in fact 2!

the positive thing now,is that clothes are actually available for tall people,not so when i was young! albeit limited and a bit more expensive,but still,its acknowledged

[MrsC2010]

Sob! No! I am obviously very fickle, as the previous long term relationship I had to DH was with a lovely man an inch shorter than me. (And that isn't a "I'm not homophobic, I've got a gay friend" type comment, honest!)

I think I liked tall men when I was growing up because I was very concious of my own height, I felt I was very tall and hated wearing heels around people etc as I felt like the gargantuan towering over everyone.So going out with tall boys made me feel shorter!

Must dig myself out of hole

[mumblechum]

Depends on the person. DH and I both average height, DS (15) is 6ft 3 and still growing. He LOVES the fact that he's taller than his friends and towers over his parents, in fact the best way to get him out of a strop is to wonder if he's grown again, maybe we should measure him.. works every time

[goatsclimbtrees]

I think when I was younger I somehow felt less feminine because of my height-all my friends were petite and quite 'girly' and I could never get clothes like them or find shoes to fit--then I moved to Germany where there seemed to be many more tall women and it gave me a bit more confidence!

[mumblechum]

I'd love to be about 5ft 8.

[AncientStarlight]

Goats, my SIL feels the same about her height. She's 6ft and says she feels ungainly especially when I'm around. When I stand next to her, it's a bit like Frodo standing next to Gandalf.

[AgentZigzag]

If people are commenting on height it's because it's unusual rather than they think it's freakish.

If it was used to bully your DSs then that's something completely different, and we all know bullies will pick on absolutely anything in their quest to feel better about themselves.

Otherwise it's just another smalltalk comment the same as 'nice weather' etc, people aren't necessarily saying it to be nasty, it's boring for your DSs and you, but why take it anything but lightheartedly? I think the T shirt is a great idea

[SexyDomesticatedDad]

We got this sign for DS1 "No matter how tall I will be I'll always look up to you dad".

[mumblechum]

That's nice SDD.

I think DH is slightly disconcerted that ds can pick him up and walk around with him. Teeny bit of a change since he was a premature scrap who fit into one of his dad's hands.

[emptyshell]

My husband's 6 foot 7, I'm about 5 foot 4 - so there's a massive height difference between us (doesn't matter when we're lying down :D ). He gets the odd comment, but not masses of them and they're usually just "how tall are you" because people have this mental need to be able to quantify someone his stature as a number or something. It doesn't bother him - he's never seen it as offence or anything like that - but he's the most placid sort going and very little bothers him really!

It's a pain going around supermarkets as he's forever being accosted by little old ladies wanting stuff lifted down from the top shelves - but again he's bemused and obliging more than bothered by it!

There are two times it does get to him (and me). One is store detectives who think because he's so tall (and stocky as well) that he must be a raging criminal (the dodgy looking leather coat he insists on wearing doesn't help this one) and follow him everywhere around shops. He just finds them hilariously inept at keeping a low profile though but it annoys me since he's well known by sight around here - yet still they do it.

The other issue that worrys me greatly is the fact that if he goes out around town on a night (thankfully rare) he occasionally gets some bevvied up idiot wanting to prove how hard he is by trying to pick a fight with this big tall bloke. It's utterly pointless because he's as big a softie as they come - but it still does worry the life outta me when he goes out for after-work drinks - just in case someone tries it on.

Oh and he's forever bumping his head on things - but he IS the world's clumsiest man anyway - his finest hour was ending up in A+E with his finger end missing... loading the washing machine!

Doesn't bother us one jot really - and like I say, we do look like a right odd couple with the height difference - funnily my parents are the same, my mum's 5 foot and half an inch (and don't forget that half-inch!) and my step-father's about 6 foot 4... must be a thing for height differences going on with the women in my family.

[legallyblond]

YANBU! Its annoying, isn't it! I am "only" 5'11", so its not too bad, but my poor Mum, who is over 6', gets "oooh, aren't you tall!?" all the time. No sh*t Sherlock.

Its very odd of people, I think. All my family are v slim - imagine if I went round saying "oooh, aren't you fat" to people!!!!

[diddl]

"It's a pain going around supermarkets as he's forever being accosted by little old ladies wanting stuff lifted down from the top shelves"

That´s how I met my husband-he reached something down for me.

(I´m 5ft he´s over 6ft)

[shivster1980]

I sympathise.

I am 6 Feet tall and I have always been 'long' or so my Mum and photos tell me.

I found out recently that my brother admitted in adulthood that one of the reasons he detested me growing up was because people would compare us. In a "Ooh you're a tall girl aren't you" kind of a way. They didn't need to mention that he was therefore short by comparison that is just how he took it. Obviously some people would tell him "You will grow soon" and that was equally difficult for him - although true. There are only 14 months between us.

When he was about 14 he had a major growth spurt and overtook me within a year - he is now 6'2''

I found it difficult being tall as a teenager but have matured into it and am now happy with my height (at 30) but teenage years are difficult enough without people pointing out differences.

[shivster1980]

BTW one of my Mum's biggest fears when I was growing up was that I might marry a man who was shorter than me! WTF

I didn't by the way - although neither did I measure him on first meeting.

[GetOrfMoiLand]

Oh I have always loved being tall. Am 6 foot and was from about the age of 12.

Loved being the tallest in the class.

It's great, being so tall. DD is the same height as me and is sanguine about it as well.

Poeple comment, but it doesn't really matter I don't think - what's the weather like up there etc.

A boy at school called me a long streak of piss, though. That was less amusing.

Thing is when you are a teen something about you is likely to be commenetd on - I would rather it be something nice like tallness, rather than someone commenting about my long nose, or something

[Longtalljosie]

YANBU - I hated it as a teenager. And even as an adult, you'll get short men who think you're being tall for no other reason than to upset them.