Boy with dwarfism endures taunts on first day of school, takes it in his stride

Mikhael puts on a brave face and still goes to school despite the tauntings.

KOTA KINABALU: On the first day of school, Mikhael's new classmates asked him why he had a big head and small body, and laughed at the seven-year-old.

His reply to them: "What can I do if God made me this way?”

Recounting this, a mother cried as she felt heartbroken and sad for her only son, who had to endure taunts on the first day of primary school because of his dwarfism.

“He was so excited about going to school," said the 30-year-old, who asked to be identified only as Tata.

"He had been looking forward to the day as he wanted to make new friends and meet his teachers.”

She said Mikhael had returned home after his first day at school on March 1 and told her that other pupils called him "big head, short body", which prompted her to post about his experience on Facebook.

“Can you imagine how I felt when I saw how sad he was, and how defeated he must have felt that day because of the non-stop taunts on the first day in a new school after moving to another district?” she said on Friday (March 12).

Tata tried to explain to her son that the children did not know what they said was wrong and that they were actually just curious because they had never seen a special child like him.

Mikhael’s self-employed father, 37, urged his son to just be as friendly to them as he could, and explain to them that he was born that way and that he was special in his own way.

According to his parents, on subsequent schooldays, Mikhael was happy some of the time and appeared defeated at other times.

However, they added, he put on a brave face and went to school although at times he needed a little more persuasion to put on his uniform and leave the house.

“So he listened to us, and tried out our suggestions, ” Tata said, adding that her son never experienced such taunts when he attended kindergarten here.

“After sharing my feelings on Facebook, I received an overwhelming response of love and support from the public, and I showed it to my son, telling him how loved he was.

"That made him smile, ” she said.

She added that Mikhael told her many of his classmates and teachers who were aware of the matter have told off the pupils who continued to make fun of him.

She said one of the boys who first laughed at him has now become his friend and has also asked others to stop making fun of Mikhael.

“His teachers are also constantly giving him encouragement, making him feel happy, and telling pupils to stop bullying others, ” Tata said.

Her Facebook post has received more than 5,000 likes and has been shared more than 2,800 times, with many leaving encouraging comments for Mikhael and his mother.

Many commenters also advised parents to educate their children well, especially when it comes to words or actions that could hurt another person's feelings.

“I feel that many of us tend to take what our children say or do lightly, especially when they are still young, using excuses like 'it’s not serious', 'they are only joking', 'they’ll learn soon enough', and ‘oh they are still children, taunting is normal’, ” Tata said.

She hoped others with difficulties could be spared her son's ordeal.

“We are used to having people stare at him and having children and even adults ask silly questions as we know they might just be curious, but please also try to be more understanding towards people who are different, ” she said.