My SD Moms Being a parent is full of experiences when helping your kid through tough times is important to them, and will stick with them later in their adult years. They may not seem like such tough times to
an adult, but to a kid they can be pretty tough. One of the toughest things to be a kid is not being same size and stature of most of the other kids. If you haven’t been though that, it can be a hard thing to go through. Kids who are smaller than most other kids their age usually have some unique challenges. They will suffer insensitive comments, self-esteem issues, but luckily your kid has you to help her through it all.
This can be especially challenging for boys. From the time we start hitting the school playgrounds, boys are “supposed” to be the big tough guys. I can speak from experience as I am not a big guy at 5” 8″ tall. I certainly had my challenges. Unfortunately I wasn’t aware that I was shorter and skinnier than most of the other boys my age until my father pointed it out so graciously. After that the self-esteem issues came flooding in. As much as I love my father, I will never forget him saying to me “You’re not a big guy…you better watch out for the normal size boys.” You don’t want to say comments to your kids like that, as you can see…it sticks with kids. This supportive parent says….”I took daily injections of growth hormone from ages 6 through 13. I’m still a really short guy. I’m 5’2″,” explains Dr. Michael Paff, a school psychologist. “And both my kids are short, and one takes growth hormone.” For himself, Paff finds gentle humor helps a lot, but when it comes to his children, he says it’s important for your kids to feel you stood up for them.”
Support is so important when fostering your child. Try to avoid using the word “normal” around your kid. It’s a fact of life, some people are tall, some are short, and some are in the middle. Some are built like a brick wall, others are built thin. We’re all different and that’s what makes us who we are and unique.
To read more about how you can help support your smaller child. Check out this article from Cafe Moms by
