Being a mom is tough at the best of times. But it becomes increasingly so when you’re a young single parent, still figuring out the path you want to take in life, and then you have a little person fully dependent on you. One that can’t walk properly or feed itself. The pressure to do the best you can for this tiny human is enormous. But hey, where there’s a will, there’s a way!
A teen mom decided to take her baby boy to prom as her date. She shared the idea on TikTok, and it quickly went viral with over 1.6M views.
Before we dive into the details, dear panda, let me ask you this - what would you wear to prom? We’ve seen a boy wearing a red sequined gown, a girl with a self-made dress made out of torn-down Harry Potter books, but what do you fancy? Can’t wait to read your answers, and don’t forget to upvote and follow the author as it makes their day much better. Now, onto the story!
16-year-old Melissa McCabe decided to take her baby boy Arthur as her prom date as she wanted him to be a part of her special day
Image credits: melissaabby14
A 16-year-old mom, named Melissa McCabe, from Merseyside, UK, decided to take her one-year-old to prom as her date for the evening. She told the LiverpoolEcho: "When prom came around, no one could really have him and I wanted him to be a part of my prom day.”
She told Bored Panda that she got the tiny suit off Amazon, for all those curious. The night was just as magical as she’d hoped it would be, with all of the teachers cooing over the adorable boy, relishing at how gorgeous he looked. “It was honestly so cute having him with me and getting pictures taken together because we don’t really have any nice up-to-date pictures of us,” Melissa said. “He loved it and he particularly loved all the snacks!”
“Everyone is going to prom with their boyfriend whereas I took my biggest blessing,” she said in a now-viral TikTok video, showing the mom-son duo
Image credits: melissaabbymccabe
“It was so nice because people who I don’t normally even speak to were coming up and saying how cute Arthur is and saying how proud they are of me,” she rejoiced. “I couldn’t have asked for better support from my teachers at school.” The two people she’s most grateful for from the school body are her deputy head and her form tutor, who’ve been nothing but supportive and helped her through the toughest times she’s faced.
She shared pictures of herself in a light blue, Cinderella-esque gown and her baby in a snazzy gray suit, the TikTok caption across the screen saying: “Everyone going to prom with their boyfriend whereas I took my biggest blessing.” Said video quickly went viral and at the moment sits at 1.6 million views.
The night was just as magical as she hoped it would be, with the teachers cooing over the adorable boy and him having a fun time eating all the snacks
Image credits: melissaabby14
Although her relationship with her mom is rocky, her dad continues to play a part in his daughter's and now grandson's lives. "It definitely influences the way I bring Arthur up. I don’t want him to be exposed to manipulation and inconsistencies in relationships," she explained.
The relationship with the boy's father is also difficult, as he's proven to be very inconsistent with care for Arthur. Regardless of all the turmoil, the one thing that keeps Melissa going is "seeing Arthur first thing in the morning, when he wakes up with a beaming smile."
Image credits: melissaabbymccabe
Many people expressed their love for the family, praising the mom for the creative solution and 'awwing' at the adorableness. However, there were some who criticized her, both for becoming a mom at such a young age and for bringing her son to prom, potentially ruining the night for others. This wasn’t the first time she’d been critiqued.
Melissa was just 15 when she gave birth to her son in November 2020 and has raised him as a single mother ever since. Thankfully, she had her brother and sister-in-law’s support. She told the Liverpool Echo: “It was hard because everyone told me I was ruining my life and I wasn’t going to get my GCSEs. So many people make comments when I’m out with him.”
“Often people think he’s my little brother and when I tell them he’s mine their attitude completely changes. Older people especially find it disgusting because obviously their way was to get married first and then have kids.”
Melissa was just 15 when she gave birth to her son and has been raising him as a single parent with the help of her brother and sister-in-law
Image credits: melissaabby14
Lee SmithBattle, professor at the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing, explains that teen mothers are stigmatized by stereotypes that portray them as are unmotivated, irresponsible, and incompetent parents. Although there are efforts at restoring dignity and reducing the stigma regarding the teens’ well-being and their capacity as mothers, negativity persists.
A study by Kyla Ellis-Sloan, a professor at the University of Brighton, looked into the experiences of multiple teen moms. One stated: “Some treat you more older and respectful and others just look at you like you're stupid and that you don't know what you're doing.” Another shared that most think “you're a worse mum just because you're young… But that doesn't mean you're going to be a bad mum. There can be a forty year old that's a terrible mum.”
What follows each of these stories is a sense of shame. E. Goffman believed that a deeply felt shame, caused by stigma, may lead an individual to minimize their chances of exposure, causing moms to isolate further from an unwelcoming society. This in turn can quickly deteriorate the mother’s mental health.
Image credits: melissaabbymccabe
Where the disdain originates from can be linked to the social perception of a woman’s purpose. Kyla explains that in the modern world, women are expected to plan their pregnancies so that they fit in with careers and life goals. This is why we see such statements as ‘you’ve ruined your life’ when it comes to teenage pregnancy as people cannot see a teenager as capable of handling something as demanding as raising a child.
"I wish that people would treat us teen mums the same as they would a parent, who would have a baby a little bit later on," Melissa said. "There is no 'right time' or 'wrong time' to have a baby, in my opinion. A baby will always stop your work when you go on maternity leave, so why should people’s opinion change when it causes a gap in education?"
She has successfully completed her GCSEs and will be starting college in September, determined to break the stigma surrounding teen moms
Image credits: melissaabby14
The negativity has not held her back, as Melissa has successfully completed her GCSEs and will be starting college in September to study Health and Social Care. She aims to break the stigma around being a teenage mother, or a single mother in general.
“I am proud of myself because when I found out I was pregnant I thought that was it,” she explained. "I was thinking I wouldn’t be able to go back to school but when I looked into it I realized there’s ways that you can do it. [...] Especially considering Arthur only has one parent, I think I’ve done a good job.”
Ever since having Arthur, her "life has changed so much for the better" and Melissa's been loving every second of it. "I would never have imagined it in year 7/8 but, as soon as I knew I was going to prom, he was the most important person to me that was there," she said.
Image credits: melissaabbymccabe
She regularly posts videos about her life with Arthur, discussing both the challenges and blessings of motherhood, describing Arthur as her “best friend.” “I’ve mainly had loads of people being really supportive which is really nice because it's coming from people I don’t know,” Melissa explained.
Melissa told LiverpoolEcho: “I’ve also had messages from girls who are pregnant and are still in school and are worried about going back to school.” She would like them to know that "it’s not as scary as you think and your parents won’t be as mad as you think they will be."
"There is support out there to help you get back into your education. It doesn’t end your life," she assured.
It can be overwhelming to know where to start and how to address all the different factors. Some people feel pressure to make the ‘right’ decision, but there are always options available. Here and here are some links to resources which might prove useful.
We wish them both a very bright future with nothing but joy and we can’t wait to see what adventures they have next!
Image credits: melissaabbymccabe
It is clear as day that Melissa adores her baby boy and he in turn loves his momma. As she said herself, “Arthur is genuinely the most kind-hearted little boy. He loves everyone around him and he’s so spoiled.”
She will hope to teach him to stay kind and keep on winning, regardless of the people that might want to keep him down.
We wish them both a very bright future with nothing but joy!
You can watch the viral video here
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and make sure to answer the question posed at the very beginning of the article. I wish you all a wonderful day!
People have been incredibly supportive of her decision to take Arthur to prom. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
