Jill Struckman‘s son is indeed a little Iron Man who was able to bravely take on multiple bullies and find his smile again and now has adoring fans all over the world.
This week, the Missouri mother moved thousands to tears with an emotional photo that she shared on her Facebook page.
The image featured her 10-year-old son, Evan, crying inconsolably after being verbally attacked by children at his school.
Jill Struckman explained that she was angry because her boy went to school dressed as his favorite superhero, Tony Stark/Iron Man, and he was mocked.
The child looked adorable as he channeled his inner Robert Downey Jr. by wearing oversized glasses, a fancy suit, and used makeup for a fake goatee.
He was supposed to attend a Halloween party at his school, but that did not go as planned.
The mother revealed that 20 minutes after her child took the school bus, she received a phone call from the school where she could hear her son weeping in the background.
In her Facebook post, she explained that Evan was mocked by fellow students who told him that his costume was stupid.
The cruelty from the other pupils pushed the little boy to remove the makeup from his face.
She wrote: “Got a call from Evan at school 20 minutes after he left on the bus. Apparently, some kids on the bus (who weren’t even wearing costumes) told him he looked stupid. Evan got to school and immediately went to the bathroom and washed his face. ”
The mom continued: “When he called, he was crying and soooo hurt that He didn’t even want to stay for his party. Here’s what my little Tony Stark looks like now. We both have swollen eyes from crying and are on our way to try to find ice cream. Kids need to understand that WORDS hurt.”
She also posted several photos showing the fifth-grader smiling from ear to ear in his full Tony Stark-inspired outfit before taking the school bus.
Jill Struckman uploaded photos of Evans after the incident with the young tormentors.
Struckman went on to explain that after picking up her distressed son from the school, this is what happened: “He kept saying, ‘we worked so hard on it. He was really thinking about how I would feel, which tells you a lot about him.”
She took her son out for a tasty treat where he spoke about his feelings — he confessed that he was embarrassed and defeated over the teasing.
She shared: “He was a little scared walking back into school. But he had a great rest of the day. And he was so proud of himself. It was absolutely a defining moment in his life. If he hadn’t gone back, it would have broken his spirit.”
The story went viral, and thousands of people rushed to social media to defend the child.
Facebook users called out the bullies and shared encouraging words.
The grateful mother penned another message saying: “Thanks for all the sweet words (and offers to beat up 10-year-olds) lol. I do appreciate you all.”
Bullying is still a major problem.
