A video titled ‘A father’s love‘ that went viral on TikTok last October has sparked massive debate amongst Singaporean netizens, both parents and non-parents alike.
In it, a little girl is seen doodling on her dad’s white car with colourful markers. Drawing cats and shapes and squiggles to her heart’s content.
People were generally positive about the message behind the video: letting your children express their creativity.
Others were not so open-minded.
The clip itself was hardly a few seconds long.
But it packed enough emotional and cultural weight to send comment sections into a frenzy. It tapped into something deeper.
How far should parents go in nurturing creativity, and where do boundaries fit into that picture?
Let’s Talk About It
At its core, the video does seem heartwarming – a loving dad giving free rein to his child to express her creativity by unconventional means.
This is what every parent should do, and how each family does this is entirely up to them.
But beyond that, it seems like a memorable and original experience that a father and daughter might share.
Many Singaporeans share this sentiment, expressing the dad’s willingness and sacrifice to give the daughter permission to doodle on his car. But they did hope it was not using a permanent marker: after all, a car isn’t cheap.
For many viewers, the gesture symbolised something rare in modern parenting.
With structured classes, enrichment programmes, and constant academic pressure, a dad choosing to let his child run wild with markers on a car felt almost rebellious.
Some even praised it as a refreshing reminder that childhood can still be playful and spontaneous rather than constantly curated or suppressed.
The Elephant in the Room
Of course, we can’t have a viral social media video without some certified haters.
The negative comments, while scathing, did have a few good points: Why was the dad doing this? What message was he really sending to the public? Should other parents do it too?
The video did not give much context about this doodle video. However, the child does seem old enough to understand that it might not generally be okay to do this without adult permission.
Some mentioned that the dad is condoning a future of vandalism and property damage for his daughter; others said that it’s allowing too much free rein to a child when there are many respectable art mediums available.
And this is where the debate gets interesting.
Parents often share “wholesome” moments online, but without context, the Internet fills in the blanks for them.
Was this an artistic experiment? A bonding exercise? A spontaneous moment? Or simply a one-off activity supervised and controlled?
Critics also raised a bigger point about modelling behaviour.
Children are observant, literal creatures. If doodling on one car is allowed, would they assume doodling on any car is fine?
A Teachable Moment?
A comment mentioned something about using this activity as an opportunity for teaching valuable lessons such as taking accountability.
They suggested that after the girl finished doodling, the dad should get her to clean it all up.
Whether the dad took this into consideration or not is unknown, as the original video has since been deleted.
This “teachable moment” angle appeared repeatedly in discussions.
Some parents felt the idea of letting a child make a mess and then guiding them to clean it could have been incredibly valuable.
A life-skills combo of creativity, responsibility, and accountability.
Others countered that perhaps this did happen off-camera and that the public simply didn’t get to see the full process.
To Each Their Own
At the end of the day, it was the father’s car and not anyone else’s.
If the child had gone and doodled on someone else’s car, then this would’ve been a different story.
Does letting your child doodle on your things give them a free pass to be naughty and to break rules? That’s entirely up to how you raise them.
Parenting is deeply personal, and no two families operate the same way. What looks reckless to one parent may look creative and liberating to another.
In the end, the debate may reflect more about us than the dad in the video: our anxieties, our biases, and our own philosophies about how children should grow, explore, and learn.
And perhaps that’s why such a simple clip sparked such a massive discussion – because everyone sees a different lesson in it.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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