‘My son was brutally bullied for sewing’

Shilo was trying to be a good mum by showing off her son Nate’s sewing skills on Facebook. When his classmates found out, his life became a living hell.

Most parents spend their days desperately fighting to get the kids to put down their screens for five minutes.

So when Nate started taking an interest in sewing, his mum Shilo was understandably thrilled.

Although the 17-year-old was already a talented musician, the Queensland mum-of-five thought sewing was another good hobby for Nate to have.

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Especially as Shilo has her own business selling handmade baby clothing.

“Nate spent a lot of time with me while I create pieces and started offering to help finish hems and seams,” she tells Kidspot.

“Then he started making basic shorts, skirts and bloomers. He sold quite a lot of his simple pieces once he started making them on his own.”

Shilo and Nate started sewing together last year. Picture: supplied

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‘KIDS SAW IT AS INAPPROPRIATE’

Shilo shared some of Nate’s incredible designs on her business’ Facebook page, where they were quickly spotted by parents of kids at his school.

Soon enough the kids themselves had seen posts about Nate’s sewing and started bullying him about it.

Nate started receiving messages online from kids calling him “homo” and “gay’” and asking if he was “going to be in the mardi gras”.

“It was obviously something that kids saw as gender inappropriate,” Shilo says.

“A boy sewing little girls’ clothes was something they saw as a justification for their nasty words.

“Sewing obviously isn’t acceptable to have as a hobby when you’re a 17-year-old boy.”

Nate was cruelly made fun of for his sewing creations. Picture: supplied.

Nate had a natural talent for sewing. Picture: Supplied

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‘HE STOPPED SEWING STRAIGHT AWAY’

Shilo found out about the bullying when Nate showed her some of the messages he had been sent.

“If my children were that unkind to another child I would be beyond horrified!” she says.

“I was truly shocked that older kids could be so unkind and taunt him because of what they felt was wrong of him to be doing.

“At least it wasn’t physical — it was all verbal taunts and name-calling.

“But being at an impressionable age, he didn’t take kindly to their comments.

“He stopped sewing straight away.”

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‘I WANTED TO NURTURE HIS TALENT’

Shilo made Nate delete the messages so he wouldn’t see them every time he went online.

She thought about speaking to the school — but quickly realised it would be out of their control as the bullying was done outside of school hours.

Instead, she simply told Nate to ignore the bullies and do what he loved.

“I’ve always told my kids that the opinions of others are invalid and make you no less a person,” she says.

“We spoke a lot about the kids finding out.

“Although we encouraged him to continue sewing, it took him a long time to again become comfortable doing something he enjoys.

“I wanted to nurture his talent — so I had to give him time.”

The bullying hasn't stopped him from making kids’ clothes. Picture: supplied.

‘NATE IS TRULY TALENTED’

Shilo was overjoyed when Nate finally returned to her sewing room the other day.

“Nate came and sat with me and asked if I had some spare fabric and if could I show him how a dress was cut,” she says.

“Of course I said yes! I was so pleased.

“I shared his first piece on a handmade page and the response was truly amazing.

“My own customers have gone crazy wanting to grab one of his pieces.

“Nate is truly talented.”

NOW HE HAS FANS!

Even more importantly, it seems Nate is developing a fan base at school.

“On the weekend a message came from a girl at school. It simply said, ‘Hey Nate, saw your sewing, you have mad skills’,” Shilo says.

“Picking up sewing again was daunting — but Nate is a perfect example of just simply doing something you enjoy and rising above others opinions!

“I am SO proud of his creative side and artistic/sewing abilities.

“Nate has skills and creativity so many others don’t have.

“He’s an absolute natural.”

If you or someone you love is suffering from bullying, please reach out to:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800

Contact triple-0 if you are in immediate danger

— Madeline Cox is a journalist for Kidspot

This article originally appeared on Kidspot.com.au and was reproduced with permission