Jameson is a little boy with a rare birth defect, but even though some cruel kids have called him “scary,” he is just like any other kid. His mother has written an impassioned piece asking parents to respond appropriately when their kids make hurtful remarks about her son.
The story of this little boy with a rare birth defect called Craniosynostosis begins in his mother’s womb. According to the Mayo Clinic , this condition means that Jameson’s head is misshapen.
“Craniosynostosis is a birth defect in which one or more of the joints between the bones of your infant’s skull close prematurely, before your infant’s brain is fully formed. When your baby has craniosynostosis, his or her brain can’t grow in its natural shape and the head is misshapen.”
The little boy also suffers from another related birth defect, Pfeiffer Syndrome, which is related to Craniosynostosis.
Jameson’s family recently moved to a new city, and when his brother’s new school had an open house to meet teachers and other families, things became awkward, to say the least. In an article — published in Huffington Post , the little boy’s mother chronicles what it is like to have people pointing at her son.
Although Jameson’s courageous mother doesn’t hold anything against the people that should know better, she asks that parents, specifically, think about how they and their kids are reacting when they first see Jameson.
“I understand that it can be extremely awkward when your child is the one making fun or being mean to another child. But, the next time this happens I hope these parents do more. Because although I cannot take offense, I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. It does. It hurts to see my child be made fun of, knowing that this will be a big part of his world the rest of his life.”
After a particularly hard week, Jameson’s mom had enough and put pen to paper and wrote a column about what it is like when kids call her son names. As they were walking down the hallway of her son’s new school, a child nudged his mother, and, looking at Jameson, said he looked “funny.”
“Shortly after we sat down two little girls and their mother sat across from us. One little girl looked at us, turned to her mother and said ‘He looks scary,’ pointing to Jameson. Her mother told her that wasn’t nice to say, and turned around.”
To make things even harder, while shopping at the grocery store recently, a kid laughed at how the child with the birth defect looked.
“I see the little boy look up; I smile at him. He starts to laugh, and tells his mom, ‘Look mom, that baby looks funny,’ laughing. I look at his mother and she cannot even muster a word, her jaw hanging open.”
As parents, we have all been on both sides of the issue. Our kids making fun of other kids and our kids being the ones picked on, but when a family has a child with a birth defect that is apparent for all to see, it’s heartbreaking to hear rude comments.
Jameson’s mom rationalizes that from the time we are infants, we are taught to pick things that are different and that carries on to all aspects of life. So, it’s no surprise that when kids see another child who doesn’t look like everyone else, they point it out. Many parents do too.
“If you are the parent whose child says another child looks funny or scary, don’t simply say, ‘That isn’t a nice thing to say.’ While you are right, it’s not nice, simply saying that and walking away still isolates my child. The next time follow that statement up and tell your child, ‘I’m sure he’s a very nice boy, let’s go meet him.’ Please, come introduce yourself and ask my child’s name. I assure you, we don’t bite! My child is just like yours; he can be sweet, loving, throw temper tantrums, and be a handful. And I assure you, I am just like you; I am a parent learning my way through this.”
While many kids and parents walk away as if Jameson was scary because of his birth defect, others don’t and his mother is eternally grateful to them. If you want to learn more about this little boy, visit his website called Jameson’s Journey and his Facebook page .
[Image via Facebook ]