Adorable moment teen invites tot with no legs to join game of catch

By Fiona Jackson via SWNS

This is the adorable moment a teenager invites a three-year-old boy who was born with no legs to join in his game of catch with his dad.

Toddler Oliver Buckingham finds it hard to play with other children his own age, so mom Brooke Buckingham, 24, was overjoyed when the stranger offered for him to join in.

The adorable clip of them throwing an American football between them now has nearly three million views on TikTok.

Brooke, from Mesa, Arizona, USA, said: "Oliver is an incredibly social and curious little guy.

"When we go to the parks, or really anywhere, he loves to interact with people.

"Oliver just went and sat near them, and he was watching the ball go back and forth and was fascinated by it.

"The teen stopped and got down to Oliver’s level, and offered the football - he asked if Oliver wanted to throw.

"Our family just wants to thank this teen for being so wonderful."

Oliver was born without his legs, is nonverbal and is also is hard of hearing in one ear which makes it hard to communicate.

He was born at 36 weeks, weighing 5lbs 7oz, but only had a 19-day NICU stay after having surgery the day he was born.

At only ten months old, Oliver started rolling over and scooting around by himself and has been growing in strength ever since.

Mom-of-two Brooke said: "Oliver is such a warrior!

"Now he can still get around extremely well on the ground, and he’s fantastic at driving his wheelchair that he received just before he turned two.

"He can do handstands, flips, hold himself like a plank, transfer to and from surfaces with his chair - he’s so amazing.

"He truly does not allow anything to slow him down."

The tot loves to play at the Mesa Riverview playground, visiting at least once a week.

His mom said: "Because he can’t really talk, it makes it pretty hard for him to interact with kids his age.

"I think he is definitely starting to notice the stares though, and kids just don’t have a filter.

"We just do our best to educate, despite age, that people can look different."

Last week (12/30/21), Oliver wandered over to a teenage boy playing catch with his dad, as he loves to play basketball with his dad Jacob Buckingham, 25, at home.

He sat down to watch, when the teenage boy stopped throwing the football and approached Oliver to ask him if he wanted to play too.

"Oliver was SO excited!" said Brooke.

"Every time the teen threw the ball back to his dad, Oliver mimicked him."

They continued their game for another five minutes before saying goodbye - but it was enough to make Oliver's whole day.

Stay-at-home mom Brooke said: "He was actually bummed when they had to leave!

"The teen never did ask me why Oliver doesn’t have legs or anything really.

"In that moment, Oliver was just a kid, that’s how it should be!"

Brooke and Jacob didn't manage to get the stranger's information, but Brooke hopes that by posting the video on TikTok she may find him.

The clip went viral, and now has over 380,000 likes and nearly three million views.

Brooke said: "We are just so thankful for families like this who teach their kids about inclusion and diversity.

"I also want to just encourage others to just be kind!"

The video was taken on December 30, 2021.