Teenagers can be brutal on themselves, and when you’re that age, everything feels magnified, especially when it comes to your appearance. If it makes you feel “less than,” it can eat at you every single day. For his son, it isn’t about grades, friends, or sports. It’s his height.
This 48-year-old man spent a few short years married to his 46-year-old ex-wife, and following their divorce, he stayed out of her life and that of their 16-year-old son.
Several years ago, he reconnected with his son, and they’ve managed to build a wonderful bond. Not too long ago, his son expressed to him that he’s feeling bad about how short he is.
For reference, his son is only 5’4″ while he is 6’5″, and his ex is 5’8″, and everyone figured his son would be taller than he actually is.
“He brought it up to me a few times and finally asked if he could see a doctor to find out if he’s still growing. I run it by his mom and she basically laughed it off, told me I was feeding into the insecurity, and joked that he could be a ‘short king,'” he explained.
“We went to the doctor, and they did an X-ray. Turns out his growth plates are closed. He’s done growing, and 5’4″ is going to be his final height.”
“The doctor said he’s perfectly healthy, there’s no medical issue, it’s just genetics. My son took it pretty hard. He told me he feels like something’s wrong with him, and he doesn’t know how people are going to treat him for the rest of his life.”
Well, when his ex-wife found out that he took their son to see the doctor, she became furious with him. She feels that he had no right to do that, as the diagnosis is crushing for their son.
He’s left wondering if it was wrong of him to take their son to get a medical opinion after all, considering how mad his ex is.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
I think he tried to be a good parent, getting to the bottom of his son’s height. He showed up, he took his feelings seriously, and he gave him answers. His ex can be angry all she wants, but pretending that their son might still grow taller would’ve just dragged out the hurt.
What do you think?
You can read the original post below.
By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
