How Facebook Helped Boy Stand Up to Bullies

Jayden Spalsburg’s mom thought a few family members would “like” a Facebook page meant to build his confidence to wear his new glasses. Was she ever wrong. (Photo via Facebook)

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Parents are warned to monitor their kids’ time on Facebook, Twitter and other social media because bullies increasingly lurk anonymously online.

But the social media giant Facebook is where Jayden Spalsburg, a Grand Ledge second-grader, found the support and courage to wear his new eyeglasses with pride and confidence.

The 7-year-old’s mother, Cody Marie Scroggins, 28, told the Lansing State Journal that she created the “New Spectacles for Jayden” Facebook page after he came home from school wiping tears from the glasses he had worn for the first time Friday.

“He was so somber when I picked him up from school,” said the Delta Township resident. “He wasn’t talking and he took them off. He said, ‘I don’t want these. I don’t want to wear them. People are making fun of me and calling me names.’ “

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Scroggins said the other kids’ reaction to her son’s new spectacles – which he had been excited about getting when his optometrist prescribed them – was surprising and unsettling to her.

Just days before when the glasses were fitted, Mom and son had bonded over their common experience of seeing clearly for the first time.

“He absolutely lit up when he put them on for the first time!” Scroggins wrote on Facebook. “What a feeling as his mother to see that giant smile knowing he too can clearly see me smiling back! He made a comment to me about how clear the trees looked as he moved his glasses up and down to compare. That moment I will never forget. I can recall my first pair of glasses and the trees and leaves being the first thing I noticed as well.”

Pain stabbed at Scroggins’ heart.

“I know life is full of lessons and heartache but at that very moment my heart hurt with his,” she wrote on Facebook.

“A couple of kids at school do not and will not decide my son’s level of happiness!”

“Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Joy”

She and Jayden’s 5-year-old sister, Brynnley, came up with the idea for the Facebook page to create an online community of support for Jayden. Within three days, more than 530 “liked” the page and its purpose: “Let’s stop the teasing and help Jayden feel good about his handsome new glasses!”

In a blink of going live, the page had 15 likes. Scroggins didn’t expect the viral following.

“I didn’t really think it would do anything. I just thought family could go like it,” she said. “Now we have people sharing the page from California, Florida, Chicago.”

Encouraging anecdotes like these continue to roll along in the newsfeed:

“Jayden, you look very handsome and intelligent in your glasses,” Daniell Champion wrote. “Anyone who says otherwise probably can’t see very well and you should recommend a pair. Keep rockin’ them!”

“I think YOU look awesome! AND you can see,” Michelle Weberling LeTarte wrote. “Don’t let anyone steal your joy, dear one!”

“Wear them with pride little man! And keep that handsome smile on your face!” Amber Householder wrote. “It’s an amazing feeling to be able to see all the things you were missing out on before! I wished I looked as cool as you do in glasses! You look fantastic Jayden!”

And bespectacled selfie after bespectacled selfie tells him he’s not alone.

Jayden proudly wore his new glasses to school Monday after spending the weekend reading the messages.

“It was just created to make him feel good but it did a lot more than that,” his mom said. “I think, if anything, he took away confidence from this. He’s realized, ‘Wow, my glasses are cool.’ “

Source: New Spectacles for Jayden Facebook page

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