Charlotte Garside, world`s smallest girl has first day of school
Baku, September 25 (AZERTAC). For a child attending school for the first time, being even a little different can be difficult, but for tiny Charlotte Garside, difference is a fact of life. The five-year-old British girl has a condition called primordial dwarfism, and is no bigger than a newborn baby, yet she has defied medical expectations by attending public school for the first time last week with her regular sized peers.
The Garsides live in the small British town of Withernsea, East Yorkshire, and her parents say Charlotte approaches life with a bold curiosity that often surprises people.
When the little girl was born, she weighed less than two pounds and her head was as big as a golf ball. According to the Daily Mail, her mom carried her around in the front pocket of her hoodie and dressed her in diapers the size of a credit card.
Garside`s form of primordial dwarfism is so rare that doctors don`t have a name for it. Primordial dwarfism itself is extremely rare — it affects an estimated 100 people around the world. Those with the condition have regularly proportioned bones and organs, but are extremely small and will never grow to more than 30 pounds.
Her sister Chloe says of Charlotte, "When people first meet her they are afraid she might break if they touch her - but she`s quite scrappy and doesn`t sit still for a second."
Be that as it may, integrating at school can be rough, without the added pressure of not looking like everyone else.
"I would first want to make sure that the child is comfortable answering questions about her situation," adds Lynn, who believes it is important to properly prepare the child for the first day.
She recommends helping the child to be honest and clear with her classmates.
"Her parents need to help her understand that the questions she gets asked are not malicious, just curiosity."
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