Daughter covers her dad’s arms in stickers — each one with a special meaning. Now he refuses to take them off, even for work meetings

A dad’s playful moment with his daughter turned into something much bigger after she covered his arms in stickers and he refused to take them off. Each one had a story, and he explained them all with the same straight-faced sincerity. The moment was shared on Instagram by Nika Diwa (@nika.diwa), where it’s been viewed over 19 million times and liked more than 609,000 times. The short clip begins with the dad’s wife asking him to take the stickers off, but he refuses.

It comes after the previous video, where Diwa shows her daughter putting stickers on her husband while he is sleeping. When she insists, he laughs and says, "Don’t you dare touch me." She reminds him, "You literally have meetings tomorrow," but before she can say anything else, their daughter interrupts, saying, "I want him to stay like that. Just let him be. He gets to do what he wants." Her dad smiles and says, "Yeah, you get it." He then starts explaining what each sticker means. Pointing to one with a woman and a dog, he says, "Back in ’82, this woman and her dog were walking down the street really aggressive. It kind of made me uncomfortable, and I said to myself, I’m never going to be uncomfortable like that."

When his wife points to another that says "Gorgeous," he says, "You know, in high school, no one ever told me I was beautiful. And I was just like, if only one day I could just be gorgeous."

Another one reads, "Come on, let’s go party." He grins and says, "Yeah, that’s when I got in jail." Looking at his daughter, he adds, "If anybody in those meetings can’t accept me for me…" before his wife trails off saying, "Okay. alright." She later posted another video showing her husband going golfing, still with those tattoos on. His wholesome reaction showed the immense love and affection the man had for his daughter — another great addition to girl dads.

Moments like these are becoming more common as fathers take a more active role in their kids’ daily lives. As per a 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center, fathers reported spending an average of eight hours per week on child care, about three times what fathers reported in 1965. Despite the increase in time spent, many fathers still feel they don’t spend enough time with their kids: in 2017, 63% of fathers said they do too little with their children.

The video has since been flooded with comments from people calling it one of the most genuine displays of fatherhood they’ve seen. @shymamaprofit wrote, "Aww, this is the sweetest thing. Dads with girl dads hit different. He’s wearing that sleeve with pride." @lakebaby.pop commented, "Love how they remind him he’s grown and doesn’t have to listen to her." @john_patrick_original wrote, "If I’m in a client or team meeting with someone covered in temporary tattoos placed there by their children, then I know I’m working with the right kind of person."

@jenstagramlife added, "'Back in ’82…' 'Back in high school…' 'That one I got in jail.' Man had a story for every single one!" @cottoncandy_kitty commented, "This is healthy masculinity. Look how happy it made his daughters." @d.l.330 chimed in, "You earned those tattoos. She knew what she was getting into when she met you. Don't change for anybody. Even if your mortgage depends on it."

You can follow Nika Diwa (@nika.diwa) on Instagram for more family and parenting content.

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