Father rejoices as his adopted daughter called him 'dad' for the first time in years

Hearing a child say mom or dad for the first time is a special moment for all parents. It can be even more special and emotional with adopted kids because it is a sign of acceptance. Reddit user u/dataninja_of_alchemy recently shared his story about his adopted daughter and how hearing her say "dad" for the first time made his heart sing. The excited dad's caption read, "She called me Dad, (sort of) and I can't stop smiling."

The dad shared, "My daughter's best friend (we'll call her Beth) and her younger siblings moved in with us after Beth's mom passed away from COVID 2 years ago. We adopted Beth in March as an adult." The parents are still working on adopting her other siblings, as the process is tougher for minors. "Beth had already been adopted before and she has never had a good father figure in her life, so the word 'Dad' does not have positive connotations for her. She has also always called me Mr. DataNinja (Mr. my first name) since she was 5," the man expressed.

"We've had many conversations about it and I told her she can call me whatever she wants because I know she loves me," the dad warmly pointed out. He tried to get his daughter to drop the "Mr." as she is in her 20s now, but it was quite challenging for the woman. Nonetheless, the man got really happy when the woman indirectly called him dad on a late-night McDonald's run. "She was rocking the aux in the car from her phone and was playing some Demi Lovato. All of a sudden, she turns it off and says, 'You're my Dad. I can't play that!'" The dad admitted that he smiled as he thought about it for two days straight. "I know she will likely never call me 'Dad' directly and I'm happy with that. She has even introduced me to her friends and co-workers as her dad, but there was something about her saying it when it was just the two of us that made my heart sing," the man concluded.

People in the comments celebrated the dad's big moment. u/uhhhheriam wrote, "Congratulations! Happy that she's already comfortable admitting that you're her dad! This brings happy tears to my eyes. I believe she's happy and proud to have a dad like you. Also, your child is so lucky to have her best friend(s) as sibling(s)! Thank you for being a good father to all of them." u/__Severus__Snape__ remarked, "As someone who has never had a father figure either, I'm so happy for both of you. And a little jealous of Beth. You must be a fantastic person."

u/MrsManuka commented, "This is the best thing I've seen in a while. I don't have a good relationship with my dad and my stepdad, who I thought I was close to, completely cut contact with me after my mom passed away and he remarried. I've come to realize over the last few years that not ever having a good father figure in my life was really detrimental to my self-esteem and affected every relationship I've ever been in. It's really beautiful that you've been a steady presence in Beth's life and truly seem to love her as your own daughter. You sound like a great man!"