When 16-year-old Melissa Mccabe couldn’t find a babysitter for prom night, she came up with the sweetest solution—she brought her toddler son, Arthur, as her date. The young mom from the U.K. gave birth at 15 and says her son has been a "little blessing" ever since. "When prom came around, no one could really have him and I wanted him to be a part of my prom day. I ordered him a suit and took him with me. All of the teachers were saying how gorgeous he looked," Mccabe told The Liverpool Echo.
She added, "It was amazing to take him along and also have good pictures taken of us. We don’t really have any nice up-to-date pictures of us. He loved it and he particularly loved all the snacks!”
The TikTok video Melissa posted of their prom adventure has now been viewed over 1.6 million times, racking up more than 227,000 likes. While there were a few critical voices, the overwhelming response has been positive. “I’ve had the odd couple of negative comments but I’ve also had messages of girls who are pregnant and are still in school and are worried about going back to school. I’ve mainly had loads of people being really supportive which is really nice because it's coming from people I don’t know,” she shared.
“Arthur is genuinely the most kind-hearted little boy. He loves everyone around him and he’s so spoiled,” she added.
Following her pregnancy during the lockdown, Mccabe recalls the difficult reactions she faced. "When I found out I was pregnant obviously I was really young. It was hard because everyone told me I was ruining my life and I wasn’t going to get my GCSEs," she said. “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."
Despite the criticism, the support from her teachers and classmates made prom night unforgettable. “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 recalled. "I couldn’t have asked for better support from my teachers at school. My deputy head and my form tutor especially have been so supportive throughout it all. They’re the people who’ve got me through the bad times being a mum.”
Melissa completed her GCSEs in June 2022 and is now planning to study Health and Social Care at college. “I am proud of myself," she said. "Especially considering Arthur only has one parent, I think I’ve done a good job.”
You can follow Melissa Mccabe (@melissaabby14) on TikTok for more adorable content featuring her and Arthur.
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Representative Image Source: Pexels | Vera Arsic
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