Zach Roloff Says He Might Be a "Dwarf Breeder" After Fathering Three Kids with Achondroplasia

Over the years, Roloff family members have been open and honest about their disabilities with Little People, Big World fans.

Not every member of the family is a little person. And not all of them have achondroplasia. “Dwarfism” is, at best, an umbrella term.

All three of Zach and Tori’s children — Jackson, Lilah, and Josiah — have achondroplasia. That seemingly defies the odds, as even Zach’s own twin is of average height.

Zach is opening up on this topic, and directly addressing whether he is a “dwarf breeder.” His words, not ours.

Jackson Roloff is five years old. Very soon, May, he will turn six.

Lilah is three years old. Like Jackson, she is no longer the baby of the family. Unlike him, she is now the middle child.

Josiah is the literal baby among the siblings. His family will celebrate his first birthday in just a few weeks, on April 30.

Zach has achondroplasia. It is the same form of dwarfism that his mother, Amy Roloff, has. (Matt has diastrophic dysplasia)

Sometimes, two people with the same disability can have very different experiences.

For example, Jackson has issues with bow-leggedness. Because it could grow worse over time, this sweet little man required medical intervention.

Generally, someone with achondroplasia has about a 50% chance to pass on this genetic trait to offspring. (If both parents have achondroplasia, that is true for both of them, raising the overall odds to 75%)

And yet, Jackson, Lilah, and Josiah all received the trait. A coin flip landed the same way three times in a row.

While obviously any suggestion that disabled people should never have kids would be eugenics (that’s bad, folks!), it is normal to wonder what’s going on with Zach and Tori’s current streak.

Tori and Zach received intrusive questions about everything from Zach’s sperm to their children all of the time.

They have repeatedly emphasized that they are making sure that their kids know that achondroplasia is “no big deal.”

In a recent Reel on Facebook, Zach discussed the odds very frankly.

“Our doctor has a theory I could have a gene that basically says every single one of my kids will be dwarves,” Zach explained.

“I’m a dwarf breeder,” he joked. “I’m not a bad specimen of a dwarf (laughs) so it’s not the end of the world.”

In general, dwarf breeder sounds like a Dragon Age fanfiction tag, a very horny video game title, or a nasty insult to use towards a real person. Just because Zach referred to himself as such does not mean that any of us need to pick it up.

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