‘The bullies stopped – but the damage was done’

Steph Roberts*, 41, from Nottingham, says, “When lockdown hit in March, I was furloughed from my job in a clothes shop though, luckily, my husband, James*, was able to keep working in the supermarket where he was a manager.

“I home-schooled my children, Joe*, eight, and Ruby*, five, and relished the extra time we spent together. Joe and Ruby get on really well and Joe, who is quiet and gentle, always gave in to Ruby’s demands of making him play with her dolls or putting on dance shows.

“For a bit of fun we started making TikTok videos and both the kids loved it. I noticed Joe growing in confidence as he performed in front of the camera.

“But then, in June, I noticed he’d become really subdued. He wasn’t interested in making videos any more and didn’t want to play with Ruby either, preferring to just sit in his room. He just shrugged me off when I asked what was wrong.

“Then, one day, I was looking at his homework diary online when an email popped through and the words ‘gay boy’ caught my eye. I opened it up and there were several messages from boys in his class who were mocking him for making TikTok videos and saying they thought it was weird he was hanging out with his little sister so much.

“I was so upset and felt guilty I hadn’t realised sooner. Joe asked me not to speak to his teacher, but I felt I had to and the boys were spoken to. The messages stopped but the damage has been done.

Joe has gone from growing in confidence to being painfully shy. When he went back to school in September, he said the boys completely ignored him because they’d got in trouble.

“I wish I’d regularly checked all his emails and messages as I could have nipped this in the bud sooner. Kids are online so much now, parents need to be constantly checking all their devices.”