Our children are precious to us, and in our eyes they deserve the world – which is exactly why it is so devastating to find out that they are being disrespected and hurt by bullies.
This was exactly the case for US mother MaryAnn Parisi, who took to Facebook this week to call parents to action after finding out that her beloved son Michael was being bullied at school.
In an emotional and at times heart-wrenching post, MaryAnn revealed that she was recently informed by teachers at Michael’s school that he was being bullied by a group of kids. As she has since told local media, she was moved to intervene when she heard that he was - in his own words - ‘getting used to being bullied’.
Sharing a photo of Michael as a baby, then as the wonderful boy he is today, MaryAnn detailed his early struggle in life after being born three months premature.
This might be long winded. I apologize for that. We all have children in our lives in some way or another, I challenge...
Posted by MaryAnn Parisi on Monday, January 11, 2016
“He spent the first three months of his life fighting to survive. Shunts, blood transfusions, etc. His [biological] mother left him three months later. He has survived failure to thrive, and numerous other health issues to become the strong, healthy boy he is,” she explained.
Addressing the bullies who kick his chair, and call him ‘brace face’, the doting mother shared the following powerful message: “You don’t have to like him, but you do have to respect him. He’s a fighter, that’s a very small portion of his story.”
Admitting that “there is not one person he doesn’t like/love”, MaryAnn went on to urge parents reading her post to learn from Michael’s story and use it to educate their children, in turn, about how bullying destroys lives.
“Share, teach, grow. Most importantly, respect those around you; you never know what they have been through,” she added.
As you can imagine, Michael’s story and his mother’s words have touched hearts and minds around the world. We hope that things will get better for this brave boy, and we have no doubt that his story will change lives.
