Dad's Priceless Reaction to Son Picking out Doll at Toy Store

Would you let your son play with a doll? One parent is crushing gender stereotypes and breaking down the often built-in prejudices that many children face when choosing a toy or hobby. Gendered marketing for children primarily aims to put little girls in pink with a barbie doll in hand while little boys are in blue with an action figure in tow. To this day, many toys are still categorized as “for girls” or “for boys”. But one father couldn’t care less about the labels. Instead, his main focus is letting his child choose what he likes, regardless of who the toy is marketed towards.

His name is Mikki Willis, a California father who took his 4-year-old son Azai to a toy store so he could choose a new toy after receiving duplicates for his birthday. With an endless array of options to choose from, Azai’s heart was set on a Princess Ariel Little Mermaid doll. Azai’s dad filmed his reaction to his son’s decision, and the viral video received more than 14 million views in just four days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7rujK0iOJU

Sources say Mikki felt compelled to upload the video after a woman gave him, his son and the doll “disapproving looks” while dining in a restaurant. Meanwhile, in a Facebook update Mikki says he was not the least bit surprised when his son Azai chose the doll, which he carries around with him everywhere, because Azai is “equally fascinated by princesses and robots. One moment he’s all boy, the next he’s expressing a softer, more angelic side”. He says the Princess Ariel doll will likely “be on the battlefield with the Transformers any day now’.