By Sophie Hollins stands nearly shoulder to shoulder with her mum and is the average height of a 12-year-old.
The 4ft 10 the schoolgirl has been revealed as the tallest six-year-old in the UK. Sophie Hollins towers above her friends and is nearly the same height as her own mum, who stands at a regular 5ft 2.
Sophie has a rare condition called Marfan Syndrome, which causes the elongation of her arms legs, fingers and toes. Marfan Syndrome affects the soft tissues in the body and Sophie has already had an operation on her eyes and takes regular heart medication. But her mum admits the hardest thing to deal with is the way she’s treated by other people.
“I’m very protective of her,” said mum Lorraine,38. “Some people don’t realise she’s so young and they treat her like an older child, which can be scary for her.”
Sophie is already wearing jeans in 11-year-old sizes and shoes in adult size three. She sleeps in a grown up bed and is a good foot taller than her classmates. When she was born she was already too big for the newborn clothes her mum had prepared and was wearing clothes for a four-year-old at just two.
And her height brings with it other problems. "Because Sophie's arms and legs are too long, she is quite clumsy and not very good at sports,” said Lorraine. "And at the moment, like any six-year-old, she's waiting for her adult teeth to come through. Her baby teeth have fallen out so she looks quite strange being so tall.”
Lorraine even takes Sophie’s birth certificates out with her to prove she’s eligible for child prices.
