One dad’s compassionate reaction to his son’s outburst is touching hearts across the internet—reminding us all that masculinity and emotional intelligence can (and should) coexist.
In a now-viral video shared by TikTok family The Fitts’ (@jissel_fitts), husband and wife duo Aaron and Jissell capture a poignant parenting moment that has resonated with over 880,000 views. The video shows Aaron gently holding his young son’s head in his hands after learning he hit someone. But instead of reacting with punishment or anger, he chooses calmness, connection, and conversation.
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“You have to learn how to control your emotions. Just because you’re upset don’t mean you get to hit. Do you understand?” Aaron says, his voice steady and kind. His son, eyes brimming with emotion, nods in understanding.
“You can’t hit people because you’re angry. That’s a part of growing up, man,” Aaron continues. “You can’t just be mad because somebody said something you don’t like. You hear me? Daddy was just trying to tell you.”
Throughout, Aaron never raises his voice or shames. He maintains eye contact and gently strokes his son’s head, creating a safe space for reflection and learning. In one tender moment, the boy reaches up and strokes his father’s beard—an intimate, telling gesture that reveals just how secure he feels, even while being corrected.
“This is what every little boy needs, a father to teach them about emotions,” Jissell captioned the video. “As a mother, I wanted to step in but I have to constantly remind myself my husband is raising a boy and prepping him to become a man one day.”
It’s this co-parenting balance that many viewers also applauded. @jreycash wrote: “The mother saying she’s not stepping in is the BEST PART!!! Let the men RAISE their boys!!!” echoing with the sentiment, @mandeemama wrote: “Us women, we raise our babies, our husbands, they raise men.”
The video sparked an outpouring of emotion in the comments section, with many reflecting on their own childhoods—some thankful for similar father figures, others mourning the support they never received. “Not all dads are calm, patient, verbal like this 😭 love this for him 🖤,” @empatheticallywitchy wrote. @thick.ginger shared: “I love the fathers of this generation. Instead of telling him to man up he explains and lets his little boy have his moment of tears.”
One particularly moving observation came from @emrcarlson, who noticed the smallest yet most telling detail: “Notice how the little baby is playing his dad’s beard while being disciplined 😭💖 shows he feels safe with him and he’s really listening.”
The science behind gentle fathering
This viral moment isn’t just heartwarming; it’s backed by research. Studies show that fathers play a unique role in their children’s emotional development. According to a systematic review in BMC Psychology, “a good modelling of emotion regulation by fathers, supportive emotion-related parenting practices, and a positive father–child emotional climate were associated with higher emotion regulation skills in children” .
The impact of intentional co-parenting
Supportive co-parenting can buffer children against the negative effects of low self-regulation. According to a study in the National Library of Medicine, supportive co-parenting buffered children with low effortful control—a temperament trait related to self-regulation—from developing the expected increase in externalizing behaviors over time.
In a culture where we are actively rethinking how to raise emotionally resilient children, Aaron’s quiet but powerful parenting stands as a reminder: boys don’t need to be hardened; they need to be heard. Discipline can be rooted in love. Masculinity can embrace vulnerability. And raising kind, conscious men starts in moments just like these.
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