Have A Taller Than Average Child? Here Are My Top Tips for Parents of Tall Kids

Good morning everybody. You are currently listening to a Tall Girls podcast hosted by a tall girl named India. I hope everyone who's tuning in today is doing super fantastic. Before I get into this episode, I do want to say make sure you're following me on my socials at a Tall Girls podcast, on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, so that you could stay up today on all of the latest podcast episodes and catch a glimpse of my everyday life. Also, feel free to leave me your review and let me know how tall you are. I'm genuinely curious. Everything is going to be linked in the description, and please sign up for my newsletter that's also going to be linked in the description. Last week was a very busy week for some reason. I had a lot going on. I had marketing, webinars, interviews, networking events. Speaking of networking events, I went to my first real, real I guess you could say, like real adult networking event. I mean, I know that I went to a networking event during my senior year as part of a requirement, but that was like more of like for college students, and all the students were there and job recruiters were there. It was more so mingling of college students and then occasionally talking to recruiters. But this this was like a literal like industry professionals networking event. And the way that it was advertised hence why I sign up for it. It was advertised as marketing and social media social media marketing networking event, so it said yeah, social media specialists, content creators, influencers, advertisers, And I was like, this is right up my alley, Like this is something that I want to go into, and I think this could be good for me, so I signed up. I also got my friend to sign up, and I was like, yeah, like I'm excited for this, like something good may come out of this. I was like, this is my chance to network with a bunch of professionals in my industry, and you know, it could start my official career. I was wrong, Okay, not completely wrong, but here's the thing. It was advertisers only for marketers right when I went there. It was not just for marketers. It was for marketers and social media specialists influencers, but also for small businesses and entrepreneurs, actors and people in the entertainment industry and people working in fashion. So essentially what I found out. I had to put two and two together because before the event, I saw that the same company had similar events for other people in other industries. So they had one for the actors in the entertainment industry, the small businesses and the entrepreneurs and the people that were into fashion. They had that all separately as separate events like on event right, And I saw that it was at the same time in the same place. But I didn't really put two and two together because I'd never been to the place before, so I thought, oh, like, they're probably just having multiple events in the same building, but probably just different floors, That's what you would think. But no, they combined all of those industries in one room. So me thinking I'm only going there for marketers, there were actors and people in the entertainment industry there. There were small businesses and entrepreneurs that were there, and people that were into the fashion industry were in there. Don't get me wrong. I mean it could be smart to, you know, connect with other people outside of your industry because you never know, but you could have probably advertised that better when you set up these events, because nowhere and where I signed up, at least it said that there were gonna be other people in other outside industries at the same place. I mean, it was still chill, like I met some great people told him about this podcast, of course, and if you're listening from the networking event, high even how one guy tried to convince me to start a tall clothing brand. So wondering if that was a sign, because you never know. But yeah, I mean, there wasn't that many. There wasn't that many marketing leaders or marketing individuals. I mean, I feel like there was a lot more from the start, but kind of like dwindled towards the middle of it. My friend and I ended up leaving early, so I mean it was an experience. But back to the drawing board from here. Anyways, today we are going to be talking about a highly requested topic, advice for parents with tall kids. I never thought that I would be giving advice to parents on how to help their tall kids feel more confident about their height. Now I'm no certified parent, but I did just leave childhood not too long ago, so I know a thing or two about what us tall children are looking for from our parents. And I want to start off with compliments. I feel like many parents tend to write out the bat tell their tall kids that they're beautiful and their height is a gift. Don't get me wrong, you should be doing that as a parent, but that's the thing. You're our parents. We expect you to say things like that. It does have a positive impact on us, but it may not always be the most helpful. I mean, I would instead do that, like give the compliments in combination with other things, like being a good role model, especially when it comes to posture, like if you're sitting and slouching and standing a certain type of way like your kids are, especially if they're younger, are most likely going to do what you're doing, Like have you ever seen those pictures or those videos of this sign like standing in a similar pose as his father, or the daughter trying to replicate how her mom sits like. Your kids are watching you so a lot of the things, and most likely the look up to you too, both figuratively and literally. But they will tend to do the things that you do. So if they see you slouching or standing in these positions with poor posture, they're most likely going to do the same from an early age. You can also show them other role models, there are actors out there, there are athletes out there, there are business owners out there who are just as taller, maybe even taller than them, and look at them like they're successful and stuff. They're doing their thing. That means that you can also be successful and do your thing as well. So showing them that there are other tall people out there that are you know, being baddies if you will, can potentially show them that, yeah, these people did not let their height stop them, and you know you can do the same. It's also great to encourage good body image. And that's not just like giving them the compliments and stuff like that, but also talking them through the negative comments that they may make about themselves or other people may make about them. Because even if they jokingly say something bad about their height, or even if their friends or other people or even you jokingly say something about their height, like that can affect their subconscious So I would try to avoid like the haha, yeah, I'm such a clut, Like, no, that's not a joke, Like we shouldn't be using self degradation as a joke, if that makes sense, because we don't want to encourage that down the line, because even though it may seem funny, it may seem as a joke, there is a high potential in the future that they could believe that encouraging assertiveness. This is a big one because I did get a couple comments about the bullying and people and their friends or people at school making fun of their height, and I would definitely try to tell them about like how to be assertive and how to have a voice, because sometimes, like especially when I was growing up, when people were making fun of me and stuff, I would either agree with them and joke around about it, which I don't recommend, or just not really say much of anything, or be a literal bully to them. It was like two extremes. But there has to be a midpoint to that being assertive, being able to not necessarily try to fight them or say really mean things back to them, but instead saying like, I don't appreciate that comment, I don't want to be around you because you're being negative towards me. Just helping them try to voice their opinions to their peers without coming off as aggressive in any way, shape or form. So being able to say their opinion, give their opinion and tell them like this is not okay. This is not what I want, and if you're going to continue being like this, then I don't want to be around you anymore. And also, especially if they're in school and they're younger, they should also be talking to a trusted adult like a teacher or the principal or a mentor or something. And please listen to your child. One of the major things that we want to feel is hurt. We want to know that you're listening to us and you care about what we're saying. So when we're complaining or talking about our experiences with the tall life, instead of trying to give advice right away, just listen, listen to us. Rant Sometimes we don't don't necessarily need advice because we know what we need to do. We just want someone who is there for us and who listens to what we're saying. This is honestly a big thing for me because I used to play basketball. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it, But there was this pressure for me to continue playing because many coaches would say that I have such great potential and I could go places, and that kind of went to my parents' heads and I felt as though I couldn't talk to them out of fear at disappointing them. So I would just say, encourage open discussion, let them talk about how they feel about certain situations, and let them talk about their experiences, and then just go from there. And speaking of sports, actually, somebody commented under one of my Instagram posts about how she is kind of afraid that because of her height, her daughter like people may tell her daughter that she's not able to do gymnastics. And I completely understand that fear, especially if your daughter is like extremely, extremely passionate about that, But that's also kind of a reality of being told, like the health side of things, because you know, there are certain sports that after a certain point we probably shouldn't be participating in, and gymnastics is one of them, and the risk for injury is much higher. I'm not telling you to take her. I'm speaking as if she's listening, but you never know, maybe she is. But I'm not saying that you should take her out the sport or take her out the sport right away. Just see what happens. Make sure you consult with doctors and pediatricians and coaches as well, and maybe even other parents, maybe none of their parents. Just stick to the professionals, but just keep that in the back of your mind that that risk of injury is much higher, and you know, if you do choose to take her out at some point, you could also put her in something else that has lower risk of injury, but it is also similar to the sport, like maybe even dance. You know, try to find things that are similar to what they were playing originally or participating in originally, and just put them in that when it gets to the point that they may not be able to participate in that original sport anymore. And then that same person that commented under one of my posts brought up the issue of clothes, which of course is a major thing in the tall community. One of the biggest issues that any parent with a tall kid has is shopping for clothes. That's probably one of the biggest investments, both in time and money that they'll have to make because to keep up with the growth spurts every year, every few months, every season, they'll have to buy new clothes and new shoes. And the same person who I was talking about before with the Instagram comment about the sport, the gymnastics, and the clothes was also bringing up the point of her daughter wants to be trendy and listen, I get that. You know, everybody wants to keep up with the trends. Everybody wants to look like their friends and you know, be part of that crew. And I will definitely say this is probably gonna be the perfect time to teach them about minimalism. Okay, not necessarily about minimalism, but getting stuff that you absolutely need and like not over consuming, because these trends tend to last like a few weeks, a few months. The next thing, you know, oh that's just so out of style, and then you invested in all of these pieces and it's like she's not even gonna wear it again, you know what I mean. So I think that this will be like a good time early on to teach her about, you know, building that capsule wardrobe and then having a few pieces that are like statement pieces, if that makes sense. I don't know, Like my parents never really taught me about like clothing and stuff like that. When I was growing up in this way, it was just a thing of you know, at some point we couldn't necessarily afford to like buy all of these things, so I just kind of learned on my own to keep things simple, and you know, maybe that could be a good angle to come from. It's already hard enough to find clothes that fit your length, like trying to find these pieces that are trendy that also fit your length is going to be even more difficult. So it may be a good time to steer her towards the direction of yeah, just getting clothes that you know will last for a while and will always be timeless, building like a capsule wardrobe, Like a capsule wardrobe for kids. I did do some research on where to get some clothes for your tall kids, old maybe kids and gap kids fairly inclusive but can be iffy in terms of length. Target a brand called Tea Collection, Ducks and Drakes Kids Lands, and they're a bit pricey though, JCrew, crew Cuts, Bowdens, Zappos, and if you know any other brands for tall kids, feel free to share and listen. Thrifting and shopping in the women's section is always there. Those are always options too. That's pretty well, not necessarily. The thirting party didn't get into third thing till much later in my life, but shopping in the women's section was helpful for me at some point in time when I was in third fourth, fifth grade, So I would also recommend checking those out too. And you know online was talking about finding like adjustable hemped and adjustable waistbands. That's important especially with your kids still growing and developing. Anything adjustable can get you like a couple more years out of them, So I would say look for adjustable waistbands and adjustable hen Also, one hack to make your child's wardrobe last longer is diy. You can let down the hem of their jeans and their pants so you can get that extra length and you don't have to worry about buying another pair of jeans or pants for that season. Better yet, involve them in the experience a good hack in the good bonding moment. And I just want to say, do your research and find what works best for So those are the tips that I have for you today. Thank you for tuning in up to this point. If you're listening to this right now, I really appreciate it, and I appreciate you as always. Feel free to hit me up on my socials and let me know what you thought about this episode. Are there any other tips that you want me to include in maybe future episodes. Is there anything that you want to add did you find any helpful, did you find any unhelpful. I'm open to all feedback. Just feel free to hit me up and let me know. And thank you again for tuning in, and thank you again for this request. This was a very interesting episode to record. And yeah, feel free to let me know what other episodes you want me to do. And until then I'll catch in the next one. Good night and goodbye.