What do you do when your child says he doesn't want a birthday party because he has no friends? You create a Facebook page in his honour and invite well wishers to wish him a happy day.
According to an article in Yahoo, the mom (known only as Jen) had no idea that her surprise gift for 10-year-old Colin would go viral.
"I thought if I could create a page where people could send him positive thoughts and encouraging words, that would be better than any birthday party," she wrote, in a gesture reminiscent of this one.
Even though Colin's birthday isn't until March 9, the touching messages—more than 40,000 of them—have literally flooded the page. So much so that she is struggling to keep it a secret. Some have even offered special gifts, from a ride in a Corvette to a cash gift of $200 so that his mom can take her son out for a birthday dinner.
Frankly, this fifth grader, who's into Nintendo 3DS, Pokemon, and Doctor Who, sounds pretty typical to me, yet the impetus for the page was borne out of the rejection that Colin, who has Asperger's Syndrome, has suffered at the hands of peers (and their parents) ever since he was in kindergarten.
"The main thing was finding out that a lot of parents were trying to get their kids out of Colin's class and the teacher told him," Jennifer said.
"I think that this is a big problem right now, that kids are being misunderstood and don't have friends . . . I think too many parents are allowing their kids to exclude others because of weirdness."
Unfortunately, I can relate. My son sounds a lot like Colin. Even in kindergarten kids called him names, excluded him from parties and play dates, and I even fielded abusive comments from certain parents. Kids don't learn in a vacuum, they take their cues from their teachers and parents.
Visit Colin's page to wish the lad a happy 11th birthday.
In this heartbreaking story, a B.C. man became a dad and moments later had to say good-bye to his wife. Following a massive brain hemorrhage shortly after Christmas, Robyn Benson was kept on life support until the baby she was carrying could be safely delivered.
The couple's firstborn son was brought into the world by Cesarean section. His mother died the following day.
“On Saturday evening, my beautiful and amazing son, Iver Cohen Benson, was born," wrote dad Dylan Benson. "Iver is healthy and is the cutest and most precious person I have ever met . . . On Sunday, we had to unfortunately say goodbye to the strongest and most wonderful woman I have ever met. I miss Robyn more than words can explain.”
At 22 weeks pregnant, when the hemorrhage occurred, Robyn was declared clinically brain dead. According to an article in the Toronto Star, she was kept alive at Victoria General Hospital thanks to "breathing machines."
Our hearts go out to Dylan, whose site raised more than $155,000 to help cover the costs of caring for his son and of Robyn’s funeral.
Click here to contribute to baby Iver's fund.
Attention people who use stock photos—gather round and rejoice! Sheryl Sandberg & Co have teamed up to replace those outmoded photos that are supposed to represent women—"skinny white ladies laughing alone with salad"—with more accurate depictions of the diverse lives we lead.
According to an article in the Huffington Post, Sandberg's company, Lean In, and Getty Images have released a new gallery of some 2,500 images called the "Lean In Collection."
"The stock imagery around women is embarrassing," said Lean In's contributing editor, Jessica Bennett. "You can't be what you can't see, so if women and girls are not seeing images of powerful women and girls who are leaders, then they may not aspire to become that."
Good riddance to all those sexist and stereotypical shots of women. Roll on images of women as bosses. Women who are not necessarily thin OR white. Hard to believe it's taken so long to update our visual repertoire.
Click here to peruse and use the images.
Have you seen this brilliant ad about double standards women face at work?
Printer-friendly version