Bristol mum Shannon Coombs and her little boy Ollie were out shopping when something caught the little boy’s eye.
Ollie spotted a pair of pink sparkly fairy wings and was keen to try them on. Shannon was happy to oblige her son but the reaction from other adults left her feeling horrified.
As Ollie proudly admired himself, Shannon overheard some nasty comments from two adults.
“They decided to discuss between them how I’m a bad parent that’s going to get my son bullied because I let him dress and play with ‘girls stuff’ and that he’s going to be gay,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
“I literally could not believe my ears.”
She was disgusted to see other adults pointing and laughing at the innocent little boy.
“It’s always been normal to us for him to play with any toys or wear what he wants to so I felt a bit disappointed that people, especially adults, would go out of their way to actually point over and laugh or make fun of him,” Shannon told Kidspot.
Shannon said these people had no right to speculate on her son’s choice of toy, writing: “For a start there would be absolutely nothing wrong if he was gay.
"It makes no difference whatsoever to me or anyone else I love and support him unconditionally, no amount of toys or clothes will make a difference to that - it’s not a lifestyle choice.
“And if he wants to dress up or play with ‘girls stuff’ then so be it, I don’t care if they’re supposed to be for boys or girls, if it makes him happy then who cares.”
Ollie loved the wings so much Shannon decided to buy him a pair and the little boy loved them so much that he even wore them to bed.
Shannon decided to use the stranger’s nasty behaviour to set a positive example for her son.
“We picked up an extra pair of wings and had a pink glittery fairy race down the aisles and a chat walking around the shop about how people think differently to others and how we should always be kind,” she says.
“It’s so confusing to me that people have those opinions and why they would make such a big deal out of it or be so judgmental.”
Shannon later shared the experience to Facebook where she and Ollie received praise and support from friends for their mature reactions to the bullying.
We hope the story will make others think twice before making fun of an innocent child.
