Please let children be children.. If only someone I know had had a happy childhood, among relatives, school premises and passing strangers, things would have helped in better shaping of his personality. Showing the path consisting of bitter tastes and humans isn't healthy when the person involved is far away from adulthood.
It sometimes happens that people who don't really matter to you can hurt you despite not being in contact.. How does it feel that you are the most neglected kid among your relatives because you are shy enough to not approach others or you are not the first one to take an initiative.
Or perhaps you are a below average looking and skinny child, and seem out of sync than others of your generation who were the quintessential cuddly toys that their aunts and uncles like to see. How it does feel when you are not good in sports, in boys' case, not good enough in cricket, are made fun of, your batting skills are a sadistic pleasure to derive, and you lose respect among the most looked forward to members of your cousins gang..
The same uncles and aunts who went gaga over the talents and looks of the other kids suggested your mother to feed you properly because you were too weak!
How it would have felt to kids who at the end of the day, are kids after all... all that is needed was to comfort them after facing a wounded psyche.
Growing up slightly in such cases doesn't make things better.. All the taunts thrown unintentionally might blow up some kid's psyche enough, to make his self confidence wounded for the rest of his life. A former shy kid still remains the same old 10 year old, who still finds it difficult to interact with his relatives..
He covers his arms and always wears full length, full sleeves shirts to not let people watch his skinny arms.. People gape in wonder when they see him covered like that in the hottest of all summers.
Thanks to some office friends and others he trusts, he has managed to keep himself afloat, but trouble comes face to face when his parents pester him to meet his relatives more often..
He is asked time and again why he spends most of his time with friends.. He doesn't answer.. but the farway, distant and aloof look in his eyes says it all, "I know the inferiority complex still bothers me, but my comfort zone means the world to me!"
