A short TikTok conversation between a father and his six year old daughter has been making people pause and smile for all the right reasons. In the clip, 62 year old David Davies talks with his daughter Serena about how to handle unkind comments. The moment spread quickly and drew close to 300,000 views, with viewers praising how calmly the lesson lands. What hits hardest is how Serena answers with the kind of self respect many adults are still trying to learn.
The video was shared with a caption that can be summed up as, “Raise a daughter who loves herself enough to walk away from negativity.” Davies starts with a simple scenario and asks what Serena would say if someone mocked her outfit. Serena’s response comes out as, “It’s okay, I don’t wear this for you, I wear it for me.” When he follows up with a harsher line, she does not flinch and answers, “It’s okay, I love myself.”
That confidence did not appear out of nowhere, and Davies has been open about why these talks matter. Serena, who is of English and Filipino heritage, was targeted by other children because of how she looks. Davies told Newsweek that she had been dealing with uncomfortable moments from a very early age, saying, “She faced discomfort from the earliest age.” He also described one incident from her time in kindergarten where a child threw a toy at her because she had “slanted eyes.”
According to Davies, those remarks and moments changed how Serena saw herself, and not in a small way. He said the experience made her more withdrawn and insecure, and it even affected how she felt about her own reflection. That is the quiet damage bullying can do, since it can turn everyday life into a series of small alarms. For a child, repeated teasing can start to feel like a rule about who they are, instead of a cruelty from someone else. Davies decided he did not want that message to be the one that stuck.
@daviesdailydiaries We’re not raising a perfect child — we’re raising a confident one.#daddysgirl #raisingconfidentchildren #selfworthstartsyoung ♬ original sound – daviesdailydiaries
He is a father of three from Basingstoke in England, and he says he has tried to teach Serena not only confidence but also forgiveness. After Serena changed schools, she slowly began rebuilding her sense of safety and self worth. Davies said their ongoing conversations about self love played a big role in that shift. Looking back, he explained how hard it was at first because she was worn down by what had been happening so often, saying, “When I first started talking to her about these things, she listened, but she was discouraged because at her old school she had to deal with abuse almost every day.”
One of the most striking parts of his story is that he says the lines in the video are not rehearsed. Davies put it plainly, “Today she answers on her own, we don’t teach her anymore.” He added that Serena’s replies now come naturally, and that they do not coach her on what to say before filming. Watching your child begin to believe their own worth is a different kind of relief, and Davies admitted it openly when he said, “Her answers make me very proud.”
The public reaction followed fast, with the clip earning more than 17,000 likes and a wave of supportive comments. One viewer praised the parenting approach with, “Excellent parenting skills.” Another admitted they wished they had learned that level of confidence earlier, writing, “It took me my whole upbringing to reach the level of self esteem this beautiful little girl has.” Even without knowing Serena personally, people recognized the way a single steady adult can change a child’s inner voice.
Davies has also been clear that the goal is bigger than a viral moment. He said he wants Serena to understand that life is not always fair, and that she will still be okay when it is not. In his words, “I want to show her that the world sometimes isn’t fair.” He also explained that he has a strong moral compass and hopes his daughter develops one too, adding, “These talks are meant to teach her respect, understanding, and accepting differences, because not all people are the same.” He closed with a promise he seems to take seriously, saying, “I’m consciously trying to be the best father I can be.”
Beyond one family’s story, this video taps into something many parents and educators think about often, how children build self esteem when the outside world can be sharp. Peer bullying is generally described as repeated aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance, whether that power comes from popularity, size, age, or social dynamics. It can be physical, verbal, or relational, like exclusion and rumor spreading, and online harassment can intensify it by making cruelty feel constant. Research and child development experts often emphasize that strong protective factors include a supportive caregiver, a safe school environment, and skills for emotional regulation and boundary setting. A child who can say, “I love myself,” is not claiming life is perfect, they are claiming they still deserve kindness.
Practical tools can be simple, which is part of why this clip resonates. Parents often start by naming feelings, validating them, and then helping kids practice short responses that do not invite a back and forth fight. Role playing helps, since it turns a scary unknown into something familiar, and it also teaches children they are not alone in handling it. Teaching self respect does not mean teaching kids to ignore everything, it means helping them know what belongs to them and what does not. If you have thoughts on how parents and schools can better protect kids while building their confidence, share them in the comments.
