AliceAnn Meyer's 2-year-old son Jameson has adorable wide-set eyes and a grin you can't help but fall in love with–especially when it's covered in s'mores! Looking at a picture of him makes my heart smile. However, reading AliceAnn's essay, "He's Not Scary, He's a Little Boy," detailing how the rest of the world receives her son, who was born with a rare craniofacial disorder, made my heart break into a million tiny pieces.
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Jameson was born with born with a rare genetic condition called Pfeiffer syndrome. Children with Pfeiffer syndrome usually have wide-set, often bulging eyes, a high forehead, a beaked nose, and weak jaw. They also tend to have short fingers and toes, on which their thumbs and big toes, respectively, are bent away. Little Jameson presents all of these features, which, naturally, means he looks a lot different than most of his peers–an observation made by all too many filterless children.
Jameson's mother knows that her son will always stand out in a crowd. She even understands that other children will stare and ultimately say something rude about her son. But knowing these things are inevitable doesn't make it any easier to bear, especially when it happens all the time. In her essay, Jameson's mother details several heartbreaking instances in which other children innocently called her son "scary," or observed that he "looks funny." Most people's kneejerk reaction would be to get angry, and even give each child's parent a piece of their mind. But not Jameson's mother.
As a mother of two other boys, she knows that children say the craziest things. She also knows that, as a parent, you can't always control the locuras that come out of your children's mouth. However, Jameson's mom believes that parents have a responsibility to at least say something more than "that wasn't very nice," before walking away. "While you are right, it's not nice, simply saying that and walking away still isolates my child," she explains. "Please, come introduce yourself and ask my child's name. I assure you, we don't bite!"
I cried when I read this, in large part because it reminded me of my younger sister. You see, all her life, my gorgeous, intelligent, kind-hearted sister has been singled out because she has cerebral palsy, a condition that causes her to walk on her tip toes. Kids have said some truly terrible things to and about her, but luckily, my sister has a big ol' personality, and has been able to confront these kids, head-on. But not in a mean way. On the contrary, my sister fights their ignorance with information–mostly about herself. I admire her for that. I'm sure Jameson's mother would too. I think she would agree that most parents should follow my teenage sister's lead and counter their children's temporary ignorance with a little info. Allow your children to get to know others who aren't like them. I promise you, your child will be different for it. I know I am, thanks to my Sisi.
Image via Thinkstock
