New Study says that Short Children Are Just as Socially/Emotionall Healthy as Taller Peers
This WebMD article discusses a recent study published in Pediatrics that claims that "short children are no more likely to be depressed, unpopular with their classmates, or have other social and emotional problems than their taller peers."
712 six-graders were tested. 28% of the children were classified as having "short stature" (they were below the 10th percentile on a growth chart) and the other children were considered "non-short stature" (anyone above the 10th percentile) And average height was considered between 25th and 75th percentiles.
The children's social and emotional well-being was measure through a number of questionaires answered by teachers and the children themselves. Short children reported slightly higher levels of being victimized or teased but there was no difference on other measures of depression, behavioral problems, or popularity.
Researchers believe that short children may interpret "everyday teasing" as more significant if their "parents verbalize their concerns about the children's height or size."
What do you think? Were you victimized by your peers for being short or something else? What would you tell your child if he/she was being teased for being short (or something else related to their body or health)? What would you consider "everyday teasing?"
712 six-graders were tested. 28% of the children were classified as having "short stature" (they were below the 10th percentile on a growth chart) and the other children were considered "non-short stature" (anyone above the 10th percentile) And average height was considered between 25th and 75th percentiles.
The children's social and emotional well-being was measure through a number of questionaires answered by teachers and the children themselves. Short children reported slightly higher levels of being victimized or teased but there was no difference on other measures of depression, behavioral problems, or popularity.
Researchers believe that short children may interpret "everyday teasing" as more significant if their "parents verbalize their concerns about the children's height or size."
What do you think? Were you victimized by your peers for being short or something else? What would you tell your child if he/she was being teased for being short (or something else related to their body or health)? What would you consider "everyday teasing?"
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by amanda on -
I think that the results of this study are probably true, and I agree that parents who draw attention to a child's faults or flaws will likely cause the child to be more aware and possibly self-conscious about that particular fault/flaw. However, I bet if someone were to study the actual intensity of the bullying/abuse that short children experience versus taller ones - they would see a huge disparity.
I don't like that the article used the term "everyday teasing" because I'm not quite sure what they mean by that. (Where is the line drawn between teasing, bullying, and abuse? It's certainly different among boys than among girls.) But I do understand what they're getting at: children tease each other. They hurt each others' feelings and aren't quite sure how to communicate their feelings. (I mean, I used to kick boys that I had a crush on). But there is something much darker to everyday teasing - actual harassment and bullying - that can leave a child severely affected.
I've seen numerous articles online about bullying and the comment section is FULL of horror stories and wounds that seem just as fresh as the day they were inflicted. People are seriously affected by bullying. Some adults still have horrible, traumatic memories and refuse, even now, to forgive their abusers even if what happened was amongst children. I know people who have very specific self-esteem issues and negative opinions toward the world due to the fact that they were bullied as children. One of my closest friends was repeatedly physically hurt (he was short and very thin) and I think, still deals with the feelings he had back then.
I'm sure if the study focused on the exact type of teasing, they would find that smaller children (especially males) receive a lot harsher abuse than other, bigger children. Being underdeveloped is a big target for some reason. And obviously if you are a smaller child, you are more likely to receive a harsher physical punishment than if you were bigger and able to defend yourself. I'm pretty certain that bullies don't seek to fight against people of equal or bigger size. If you're small, you run the risk of really being hurt physically.
So, while yes - every child is teased at some point - there are varying degrees. And I'm willing to bet that size does have an effect. And yes, some children can "take" a reasonable amount of teasing without being affected while another child who receives the same amount of teasing could be a lot more affected. But I'm not sure what the study was trying to say or prove but I'm really interested in what others have to say about this.
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