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Re: Handling the prepuberty bulge in kids
A buddy of mine was quite chubby from early childhood all the way into his adult life. For this, he was picked on by nearly everyone; sometimes mercilessly. This profoundly affected his personality. You could tell he really craved acceptance but feared any social setting. Quite a conundrum indeed.
I met him again some years after graduation. He had grown from a chubby little guy to a towering 6Ft. 8in. mountain. Unfortunately, he had snapped one day when someone stole his most precious possession; a souped up GTO. In his anger, he yanked a guy off his motorcycle and simply took it. They caught him by following the trail of bouncing checks to Idaho.
He paid for his crime and even made something of himself after that. But there's no doubt in my mind that the bullying he experienced as a child played a major role in his actions when he 'snapped'. And I have no doubt that the bullying was primarily motivated by his rather rotund frame throughout his childhood.
It's ironic, though; he grew to proportions big enough to break anybody who ever picked on him. Yet, none of them suffered the consequences of their actions; none of them felt his vengeance. It was a total stranger who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time that suffered most - he and a series of gas stations and convenience stores. None of his victims had done anything to him personally.
Funny how the world turns. Irony and tragedy at the same time.
Perhaps we should be more concerned with our childs neuroticism than rotundness.
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