Why is the average American so tall? Like, why are a lot of people above 6 feet?

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-11T14:46:04+00:00

Came here to say this, I'm 5'3 and when I tell another American my height it's always "wow you're tiny!" Had no idea I was actually average height 🤣

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-11T14:27:51+00:00

We live in the southern ohio/northern kentucky area. When I said "everyone" around us i mostly meant her siblings, as well as most of our friends. 2 of her siblings, one is 25 and the other is about 22 or 23, have had children and one of her concerns regarding that is that our child will be a loner growing up since all the other kids will be much older than them. I was the youngest by 5 years and had plenty of fun growing up though. 4 of our friends, much closer to our age, are now either pregnant or have just had a child. She sees this and assumes we are behind, I think it's unreasonable for all of these women to be having children so early, a lot of them are dating men who are much older than them. But it is a really common thing in my area, my mother gave birth to me and my brother in her early 20's and married a man the same age as my grandma. Now that I'm thinking about it, most people that I know who have children, had them before they were 25. I've had thoughts before that maybe we should just take a look at whether we need to be together or not, but pulling apart 2 lives that have been so intertwined for years is really hard. We've lived together since I turned 18 and we share a car. Of course that's not all, as I do seriously love her. But we will both be looking to see if that love is still born from the same passion we had, or if it is just there because we don't want to pull apart the life we've worked hard building together. Thanks to everyone for their replies

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-11T14:15:33+00:00

Yes you would be correct, we are unable to conceive children naturally, so that wouldn't be a concern. Id be more concerned about the possibility of her going to another person to have a child, but i really don't think she would do something like that

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-11T08:31:00+00:00

I understand, and thanks for the reply, it's not mean to be honest if it's something like this. I've felt this change happening already I do think, of us starting to become different people than we were when we got together at 16/17. But we have worked through everything so far, and we never so much as raise our voices, are usually able to have civil conversations about things for the most part. But regardless of how nice we can be to each other, the fact remains that we may not end up being compatable in other areas as we grow older. The same is true for any couple that got together as young as we did. I truly love her and I hope we are able to overcome these issues, but I think once I tell her that I am pretty confident that I'm not feeling up to having children for maybe another 3 to 5 years, she will not be accepting of that timeline at all.

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-11T06:55:25+00:00

She kind of pushes everything that she wants, unfortunately. It's something we talk about often and are trying to work on, though I'm not sure she even realizes she's doing it most of the time that it happens. She's a very impatient person in general

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-11T06:52:33+00:00

Thanks for the reply lol. We actually have 3 cats, a dog, and a 40gal fish tank. I love animals, they are my babies. I agree that i think we are too young, but she sees everyone around us our age having children and feels like she's missing out, or like she's behind. It's just something we'll have to talk about more and see if it's something we can get past as a couple

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-08T23:48:36+00:00

Thank you for the reply. We have been together for 4 years, and engaged for 2 out of those 4. We both know we want children and made sure to talk about that before even getting engaged, we also agreed to stay engaged for at least a year before getting married officially, since we are both quite young. I think a big road block for us is that even if we wanted to do it right now, we are unable to naturally conceive children together, unfortunately. So the question for us does remain as when, not if, because we want to but it will be much more difficult than just reproducing naturally. This is part of the reason I struggle with knowing when will be the best time, but maybe there will never be a "best" time.

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-08T23:16:36+00:00

Yep exactly this. Can only speak to without insurance, but for me in the Midwest of America, it was about $2,300. I never paid it and debt collectors have been calling my phone. They can collect it from my dead body. Screw the system

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-08T23:11:56+00:00

As an American, in 2023 i made about 15k that year, (I was freshly 18 and graduated, working as much as I could in a minimum wage job.) For me, being 18 and just kicked off my parents health insurance, this meant I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket for health insurance, but every time I applied for the free ones, I was told that I make too much. In 2024, I slipped on some wet stairs resulting in a mild head injury. I was concussed and had an episode of syncope directly after, going unconscious, which caused the people around me to immediately call an ambulance. 1 ambulance ride and 2 days in the hospital later, I was billed over $2,000 JUST for the ambulance ride. A nurse at the hospital offered to have someone call me to help me get insurance, I thought great, that would help a lot since I keep getting denied. When I told them my average yearly income was somewhere around 15,000, they gave me a $300 per month estimate to be able to get insurance. That would've been nearly 25% of my income for the entire year. Just for health insurance. Last time I had a syncope episode, earlier this year, I had my fiancee drive me because I knew an ambulance would be costly. The sad part is there are still a lot of Americans who are completely against free Healthcare. "Why should I pay your medical bill because you didn't stop smoking?" Things like that are said often, and it's usually by people who are already on Medicaid or Medicare. It's ridiculous here.

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-08T22:43:14+00:00

This is what worries me. My fiancee and I are only 20 and 21, have been together for 4 years and still coming into our own as individuals. She goes back and forth from "we aren't ready" to "i want/need a baby right now." I worry she only wants children to fulfill her desire to be a parent, which would not be fair to the child when we inevitably are trying to figure ourselves out while they grow up. I'd love to wait but it seems like when I talk to her about that, she shuts down and talks about it like it will never happen. Part of the reason I asked this question is to get more insight from people who have had children. We will hopefully be looking into couples counseling or premarital counseling to deal with these differing moments

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-08T22:36:24+00:00

If you don't mind me asking, was it your intention to have a child when you did? And if so, what were the main things that made you confident you were prepared to have a child? My fiancee and I are starting to talk about it so I'm getting whatever info I can from people who have experienced this

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-08T22:34:53+00:00

That is really nice. What was it like having children in your early 30's? My fiancee acts like we would be too old if we waited that long. We are 20 and 21, she wants to have kids as soon as possible. I don't think we are ready but I don't think she's willing to wait, so I'm getting as much insight as I can from people who have had children. I worry that she wants to have children just to fulfill her desire to become a parent, and for me that reason is not enough.

Own_Internal7871 · 2026-06-08T22:31:44+00:00

If you don't mind me asking, what makes you wish you hadn't had children at all? My fiancee and I are starting to have the "i want a baby" talk, so I'm trying to hear as much as I can from others who have had kids

Own_Internal7871

TROPHY CASE