Video of the Day: Father's reaction to son choosing doll at toy shop goes viral

MANILA, Philippines —  In a society where being different comes with a judgment, this video of father reacting to his son's toy choice will remind us of how much "we all need to feel embraced and accepted."

In a viral video uploaded in Facebook, Mikki Willis (father) looks at the camera and asks, "How do you think a dad feels when his son wants to get this? (shows the little mermaid doll)"

Mikki and his son Azai together exclaims an enthusiastic "YEAAAAAH" in response.

“That’s how I feel. I let my boys choose their life,” Mikki  says. “Choose your expression, choose what you’re into, choose your sexuality, choose whatever. I let my boys choose their life, that’s how momma and I are, we just say whatever. We say yeah," he adds.

The video has raked over 13 million views since being uploaded on Friday. The same video was also uploaded in Youtube to which he answered people's comments, mostly about his reaction on his son's toy selection.

Many are asking me, "how did you feel the moment Azai chose that doll?" The honest answer is, it didn't surprise me at all. Azai is equally fascinated by princesses and robots. One moment he's all boy, the next he's expressing a softer, more angelic side. For me this behavior rings more authentic than playing one note all the time. That said, I did have a little reaction to Azai choosing that particular doll. When I saw the collection it was part of, and didn't see much in the way of variety of skin colors or body types, I had to resist my urge to say, "Why don't we chose a more realistic doll." I don't want my boys to adapt to the programming that a women should be built like a Barbie. I said, "Let's look at all the dolls in the store first, then you can decide." He was clear, "I want this mermaid." I backed off knowing this would be the catalyst for us to have a powerful conversation about the beauty of body-types and racial equality.