6-year-old gives away $600 to the homeless rather than get toys—dad’s unexpected reaction says it all

Children are unpredictable in many ways—at times, they leave no stone unturned in troubling their parents when their demands are not met, yet they can be the sweetest when it comes to helping others. A man felt this deeply after his son gave him an emotional surprise by investing in a cause greater than himself. The parent was moved to tears following his six-year-old’s spontaneous decision to help homeless people on the streets, as part of an experiment conducted by content creators Paul Klein and Paul Wood. The UK-based content creators—who go by “Woody & Kleiny” on Facebook—posted a heartwarming video showing young Bailey giving all his money to the noble cause instead of buying toys.

Bailey, along with his dad, was taken to a local Hamleys store as part of the social experiment. The six-year-old was given $600 to spend freely on his own, without any assistance from his father. “We're going to give you the money, and you've got 30 minutes to spend it,” the video creators announced. The young boy was visibly excited and exclaimed, “Let's do this!” As Bailey stepped inside one of the largest toy stores in the world, his father, Wood, waited outside with Klein. “I don't think a six-year-old really understands the value of money dropped in yet. He's going to go for whatever's the biggest and take that,” they discussed.

“Let's see how tactical he can be,” said Wood, as the footage transitioned to Bailey’s shopping spree. The happy kid, donning a sleeveless track t-shirt and a grey sports cap, was seen filling the shopping bag with remote-controlled and “Jurassic World” toys. “Oh my god! I've got more toys than Santa can be,” he remarked. However, the kid’s excitement was short-lived as he started putting back his selected playthings. Surprised by the young boy’s sudden change of plan, Klein asked, “What are you doing? Bailey, you haven't spent $500 yet. You can buy more toys.”

Bailey asked Klein for a $100 bill after he stepped outside the store. “I know what I want to spend it on,” said the boy, running toward a homeless man who desperately needed some money. “I feel happy,” he told the camera. “Lots of people don’t have that much money, so like, I just want to give it all away... Daddy always buys me toys and he needed it more than I did because he hasn’t got a house.” Instead of spending all his money on toys, the six-year-old thought of giving it to homeless people for their own good. Bailey’s dad was initially taken aback upon seeing his son empty-handed. When the kid was asked to explain, he said, “I saw a homeless man when we went in. I gave the money to him.”

Moved by Bailey’s kind gesture, Wood decided to donate the remaining $500 to help other homeless individuals. The nearly four-minute footage ended with all of them helping homeless people living under miserable conditions on the streets of London. The humbling act received massive appreciation on social media, garnering 73 million views and 1.1 million likes. Among the countless reactions, Emma Hobden emphasized, “What an amazing boy you have. You are obviously a fabulous role model.” “Bailey is the sweetest boy ever brought a tear to my eye,” Sam Hudson wrote.