A California dad recently shared a video on Facebook of his reaction to his son choosing a doll for his birthday gift.
Azai Willis, the 4-year-old son of Mikki Willis of Ojai, California, loves princesses and robots, so it was no surprise to his father when he picked out a Little Mermaid doll as his replacement for a duplicate birthday present he received during his July 26 birthday party, according to a recent report by ABC News .
While most fathers would have been embarrassed or would have refused to purchase the doll for their son, Mikki was completely supportive of his son’s choice, and let him take the doll home.
“I really wasn’t shocked at all because he’s equally fascinated by princesses and robots and I think that’s really [great] behavior,” Willis said. “I kind of smiled, and the guy in the toy store smiled and we said ‘Alright, cool!’ ”
“It’s just not working to prohibit the rules of kids expressing themselves and conforming to what society wants,” he added.
Following the trip to the toy store, Mikki decided to share the video, in hopes of helping to dismantle the prejudice that children face when picking out their toys, and proving that little girls are not the only ones who like to play with dolls.
“How do you think a dad feels when his son wants to get this?” Mikki said, while holding up the mermaid doll that Azai had chosen. “I let my boys choose their life.”
“Choose your expression,” he says in the video. “Choose what you’re into. Choose your sexuality. Choose whatever. You have my promise right now, both of you, as we sit in this car, in the hot car, in this parking lot, you have my promise forever to love you and accept you no matter what life you choose.”
Since Willis shared the video on Friday, August 21, it has been viewed over 16 million times, with over 200,000 likes and shares.
The touching video has sparked an outpouring of support from viewers all over the world.
“I see so much negativity being shared through social media that this is my way of bringing a little balance, at least to my friends,” Willis said. “To know we’ve touched people beyond our immediate community is both humbling and awesome. My boys fill my wife and I with so much joy that it would be selfish of us not to share them.”
What do you think about the dad letting his son buy a doll? Leave your comments below.
[Photo via video screenshot]
