A mother brilliantly shut down critics mocking her son’s ‘girly’ socks
School days be tough for kids, especially for those who are thought of as ‘different’
Many gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender kids suffer greatly at the hands of school bullies – but for this little boy, it was just his ‘girly’ socks that drew attention to him, and a fellow pupil and his mother who mocked him.
Fortunately, his excellent mother had the perfect response for anyone who had beef with her three-year-old son’s heart-covered socks.
And, thanks to the internet, we all got to enjoy it.
So, what exactly happened?
Well, Shona Campbell was picking her son Harry up from school in Irvine, Scotland when she overheard another pupil mocking his socks, which were adorned with hearts, in the school playground.
They’re just children, sure – but in this instance, Shona was dismayed to hear the child’s parent agreeing and laughing too, setting a very poor example to their own offspring.
She was so outraged that she hit back online
Shona said she was left with no choice but to pen a response on Facebook. She wrote: “To the mother at nursery picking up your child. You may have thought I didn’t hear you but let me assure you I did!”
“When your child pointed out my SON had love hearts on his socks, and mocked them for being GIRLS socks you absolutely tore apart my faith in this world, because you agreed and laughed along with your child.
“My son is 3 years old, he loves love hearts, he loves the colour pink, he loves to play with dolls and prams. But what he loves more than anything, is having the independence to make his own choices. He chose these socks in the shop, and he chose to wear them today.”
And she made some very, very good points about gender stereotypes
Shona wrote: “Why should we teach our children that certain things are for girls/boys?? If my son wants to wear a dress, he can!! If he wants to wear a big fluffy hat, he can!! And if he wants to wear socks with love hearts, HE CAN!!
She continued to explain that she’s bringing Harry up “to be whoever he wants to be”, adding that she doesn’t appreciate people mocking him or dictating what he should wear.
“This is the perfect age to allow our children to make their own decisions and let them figure out who THEY want to be, not who society says they should be! This is MY SON. And I love him. Love heart socks and all!!
“Feel free to share. I’d really like to make sure she, and anyone else that thinks it’s ok to specify gender in clothes/toys etc, see’s this and hopes narrow mindedness is replaced with open mindedness.”
People were thrilled with her response – and it went viral
The Facebook letter has been shared over 90,000 times and Shona has received positive messages of support from parents around the world (via BuzzFeed).
Shona’s opinion is an increasingly popular one, with more and more parents taking to the internet in order to defend their children’s right to dress however they choose.
However, she also told BuzzFeed that some people disagreed with her, explaining: “One man told me I shouldn’t be a parent, and I quote: ‘You are the pinnacle of bad parenting in the modern world.’
“He also said Harry should be taken off me if I’m not prepared to teach him what is ‘normal’ for a boy.”
All images: Shona Campbell / Facebook
