"That" child you want to discourage your DC's friendship with.........

[dashoflime]

was Me!!!

Just found out the reason one of my friends went on to a different secondary school to the rest of us was to get him away from me.

Honestly, my childhood is just littered with this sort of thing. Some of which I was (painfully) aware of at the time, some of which I only found out about in adulthood.

What on earth was wrong with me as a kid?

Whatever it was, I hope it isn't apparent to people now.

I was also one not to be played with as (horror of horrors) my parents were in the midst of a messy divorce. Much rarer then than now.
I guess my mate's parents were scared the 'divorce disease' was catching and I might pass 'single parentness' onto my mate. I was destined for the scrap heap, obviously.

She is in touch with me on FB, and dropped out of (different to me) school at 16, and had a few dead end jobs. I graduated and have had a great career with (one) company.
Obviously being a deadbeat child helped me along the way.

I was 'that child' to the mother of my closest friend. To her I was 'that council house kid'.

My DF and I were reunited when her mother realised she got into as much trouble with others as with me. DF had an impeccable middle class background - if you overlooked her mother's alcoholism and neglect. Then she got into drugs - not through me, through a middle class boyfriend.