A mum has been left heartbroken after her son's entire class rejected their invites to his birthday party, despite him trying to win them over for years. She explained how her son has always been the odd one out - and has previously been nastily told he couldn't play with his classmates because of his weight.
Despite their cruel words, he still tries to join in the fun at break times and really thought he was starting to make the friends he so desperately wanted. The mum said: "I've always felt horrible when I read about this happening to a kid, and never imagined it would happen to mine. Literally every time a kid in his class invited him to their birthday party, we went, even if it meant rearranging our schedule, for exactly that reason.
"Then it was his turn to hand out invitations- not a single RSVP.
"He's turning six and thinks he’s having a big party with 'all my friends.' I don’t know what to do. I'm crushed."
She went on to explain how she has been "installing kindness" into her son to "help him understand the importance of inclusion and bucket filling".
She added: "[I'd tell him] to look for the kid nobody is playing with; to speak to the kid even if he/she is nonverbal; to say 'Hi' to the kid who looks different from him.
"My child is the person who, when he was told by two classmates that he couldn’t play with them and that he’s fat, went home and made/decorated them construction paper hearts, hoping it would make them like him. It didn’t.
"I was so busy teaching him how to be inclusive that I didn’t consider giving him the tools to cope with being the one who’s excluded."
She describes her son as a "sensitive" soul who would be crushed if nobody turned up to his birthday party, especially as he's so excited for his special day.
Taking matters into her own hands, she asked the school to move him into a different class, hoping this would give him a second chance at making friends.
She then started handing out invites to the 'new' parents and changed her party location to make it even easier for people to attend.
"We got an RSVP! I was upfront with the mum and said so far she was the only one," she added.
"[I told her] I was concerned the indoor venue was the issue, and that I was thinking about moving it to an outdoor park.
"She thought that was a good idea and was on board, so we’re going to move forward with that plan and focus on inviting the kids in his new class.
"I will ask his teacher to update the parents in his old class in case anyone planned on coming and just didn't RSVP. I would hate for someone to show up for a party and not know we’d moved locations."
After sharing her heartbreaking situation on Reddit, most users wished her son all the best with his birthday party, while others asked whether they could send him cards and presents in the post.
One user said: "I was a fat kid and relate to this post a lot. My little dude will turn seven in October, and like you, I've gone to great lengths to make kindness the foundation of his value system, and it shows.
"I'm so very sorry you're experiencing this. I wish my little dude knew your son because I know he would want to go to his birthday party even before I could suggest it.
"How much time do you have before his birthday? If there is enough time, I'd love to talk with my little dude about making a birthday card for him. If interested, let me know!"
Another user added: "That’s very sad but as someone who never had anyone celebrate her birthday, I would focus less on getting others to come and make plans to do something fun with just the two of you.
"I now prefer birthdays that involve just me and my husband doing an activity I love whether it’s a museum or something else."
A third user said: "Coming from a person who is pretty much the female equivalent of your son - I was taught by my mum to be nice to everyone, talk to the excluded kids.
"I was often placed next to special needs kids because I was the only one who didn’t wail like an ambulance siren sitting next to them (except I was not nearly as nice of a human being as your son seems to be).
"My advice would be to explain to him that while you may want to be everyone’s friend, not everyone is going to be your friend.
"This isn’t an excuse to be mean or horrible to anyone, but understand that not everyone has been taught the same way you are - to be kind and respectful."
Do you have a story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
