August 16, 2001
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Does Size Matter?
(No, this blog isn't going the direction you think!)
Only the following groups of people will be able to relate to today's rant:
- People who are currently children.
- People who have children.
- People who have, at some point, been children.
Has anyone else noticed that many parents treat physical development as a competitive sport? You know what I mean: "Oh, look at your boy! He's so BIG! That's great!" Or, "Your baby has teeth/walks/talks/crawls/etc. earlier than most! How wonderful!"
Why is it so fabulous to be big? My son is 14 years old and 6 feet tall. People praise me from the heavens, as if I have somehow done something wonderful in my child-raising techniques for him to acquire this feat. Shoot, I don't know why he's tall. He's got a lot of tall uncles. Don't look at me, I didn't do it -- I'm only 5'2" if I stand on a book.
On the flip side, same said son didn't have teeth, hair, or bother to walk until he was 13 months old. This was met with gasps from other mothers, as if he were somehow defective. "He doesn't have TEETH? Have you taken him to the doctor?" Well, no. His teeth will come when they feel like it. If they don't, hey, he'll be a medical miracle - a person born toothless!
He's the one in the black shirt here. Nevermind that Mr. Boy is intelligent, talented in acting and other performing arts, outgoing, healthy and one hell of a lot of fun to be around. What people usually say first is "He's so TALL! That's GREAT!"
Maybe the reason this grates on my very last dying nerve is that I'm short. Does this mean my parents were neglectful? Does it make me less of a person? I hardly think so. My brothers used to tell me that "God ran out of people dough and only had enough left to make half a person, so he made you!" Har har... big brothers, who needs 'em.
Comments (30)
Great looking kid! Even if he was short!
He IS a good-looking kid!....
....I hear the same thing all the time w/my son...he's 19, stands 6'3", weighs about 250 lbs, and also happens to be very smart...but all I hear is how big he is....
LOL! I have never understood that. Maybe they are congratulating you for choosing "tall" genes?
)
( I am 5'3", my older brother is 6'4". I don't think it's fair.
It does not matter about height I think you are a good person who obviously lovers family, children, etc. Have a blessed day.
BTW, I like your banner !!!
I can relate to being short. I am only 5'3''. Both my daughter and my son are tall. Lauraine is 5'8", and John is 5'11". I took advantage of their height and had them help me get things off top shelves. There's a boon to having tall children.:)
Love the banner. And, congrats on producing such a large son. -snicker-
(couldn't resist)
Yeah...I hate that "people dough" joke. Actually, God didn't run out of people dough...he was just saving some extra for your son.
He's cute! He's so tall! (just kidding)
Your brothers are funny.
Woo hoo- if only I could be 5 years younger! LOL I like tall guys, even though I'm only 5'1"
My parents give me a bad time about the fact my little brother is actually bigger than I am, and I'm no shorty at six-one. But he's got a bit more weight on him. Maybe I weigh more since I started working out, though...
Arggh! What does it matter!
So many things are more important, you are absolutely right. Proppage.
No. size doesn't matter... we are all shapes and sizes and that is part of what makes this world a better place...
Oh, I can relate....my daughter was born 2 months early and weighed a whopping 4 lbs. at birth. It took her a long while to 'catch up'. I constantly heard negative remarks from people about how small she was. (She is now almost 17, 5'10" and weighs in around 160, not to mention beautiful and smart!) I am 5'11" and that is the thing that most people identify me with...at work they call me 'the tall, skinny one'....Except for being a superstar in the NBA, I don't understand why being tall seems to be so wonderful??
I was 6'1 by the time I was 13 or 14...And there is one thing I have learned. Size means nothing. Actually, if I were to get into a fight with a smaller person, I would have a harder time winning. Smaller target.
You may not be as tall as me, but your presence dwarfs most. I can tell from your great writing. 
Short people are (unfortunately) generally regarded as somehow infirm, thus tall people must be more healthy. Just one of those crazy things that come from our primate heritage.
I think most people lack the basic skills necessary to observe whether a person is intelligent or funny or poetic or musical or any other attribute than that cannot readily be observed. It is a failing on their part, not your child's.
i'm tallish, for a girl, and i always wanted to be petite.
Im tall... when Im laying on my back...
Joking... hehehehe
Ever,
Set
(Im 6'1 so I guess my parents did an everage job of selecting my genes)
I (kinda accidentally) slapped a woman in the grocery store once, because I could not BEAR to hear again how small my son was...12 pounds when he was 11 1/2 months old). He weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces when he was born, but was born with an unseen birth defect of his stomach and intestines. Thank God the surgeons corrected it, and he is now a healthy, strong, 6'1" young man...who weighs all of 130 pounds, sopping wet. He'll always be slim because of his speedy metabolism and the fact that he has only half the intestines he should have. The same extreme of commenting on large babies/children is exhibited with tiny babies and children, though it's usually very hurtful for the mother, who is trying everything she can, taking her baby to every doctor possible.
Your son is a very handsome young man...dripping with charisma. It shows in the photo.
Tee (who would like to apologize to the aforementioned woman in the store, wherever she is)
God made up for only making you into half and person and stuck the rest onto your son so he'll be a person and a half. Nice looking family you have there!
Luv to you from one short person to another. Your son may be tall, but he's also handsome.
I try very hard not to relate that way to my kids. It's nto always easy. Excellent blog.
My great uncle makes a point of telling everyone in a very amazed voice that he's amazed I ever got beyond 4'11" - so it seems that size is important for some bizarre reason... And my mom proudly tells everyone how early I was toilet trained... *blinks in bewilderment* - I hope I escape this strange behaviour if I ever have kids!
Size does NOT matter. Size is relative. It's what's INSIDE the package that counts.
The Duchess
p.s. Okay. Are you RALF?
If so, FESS UP! 
The Duchess
No. Sadzi is NOT Ralf. *I* am Ralf.
I'll get on the bandwagon here and compliment your son for his attractiveness as well. He's a cutie, nevermind his height.
I sympathize not as a parent, but as a sister of a chronically short boy who has just recently hit puberty (at 14, which is not unusual at all, but you should have heard the jeers from the faster developers on the football team) and has now exceeded my 5'5" by a good inch. What is it with physical size?
*shrugs* Has to be a throwback to earlier evolutionary thinking.
Have you ever noticed how short and tall people are attracted to each other. I am very tall and find petite women to be incredibly sexy.
LOL.... people dough! XD!!!
Well, no one in my family is especially tall, but my sister got all the boobs. =(
My son is big for his age, though, so I know what you mean...