Helen Ann Brown | Raising great short men

RAISING GREAT short males is a unique feat. Only a few parents recognise the challenge raising short males presents. We live in a culture that has developed its own standards of acceptability and greatness. The male ideal is obvious. Tall height, broad chest and perfectly toned abdominal muscles. The irony of this is that very few men fit this description; similarly, very few females fit the ideal female stereotype. Yet not matching the ideals trouble young males, maybe because of their male egos.

Boys may be short up to grade seven, that is about 11/12 years of age. I remember going for summer holidays saying goodbye to some short boys but returning to school to find out most of them had grown way above the girls.

The situation gets worse for our boys if they have tall family members in their household. It gets complex when it comes to navigating high school sports and male/female relationships. How can we help to ameliorate the trauma young males face if they are not tall? For me, as an experienced Christian parent, prayer always comes first. We should be praying about all the psychological and other needs of our children. Here is a list of profitable actions in raising those beautiful short boys.

1. Parental prayer

2. Help them to identify their talents.

3. Open the wide vista of possible achievements for them. Not everyone has to be a basketball player.

4. Surround them with affirmations but never to the extent of bloating their minds and giving them unreal expectations of themselves.

5. Help them to face the reality of their expectations. Dashed expectations are one of the most disastrous blows to our mental wellbeing.

6. Prepare lists of short men who excelled in various fields. You may use global figures but always include persons from their own community and nation.

Here is a list of examples of some global short figures:

• Gandhi was 5 feet 5 inches tall.

• Winston Churchill was 5 feet and 6 inches

• Martin Luther King was 5 feet 6 and ½ inches.

• Lionel Messi is 5 feet and 7 inches

• Bob Marley was 5 feet and 7 inches