Dad lauded for savage response after teacher tells his 3-yr-old son 'painting nails is only for girls'

There are still some people in society who look at boys in a negative light if they are wearing make-up or nail polish in public. This is generally because of traditional gender norms that dictate how make-up, accessories and nail paint are only for women. However, a Californian dad decided to stand up for his toddler son after the boy was told by his teacher that "painting nails is only meant for girls." In a video posted on Christian Shearhod's TikTok page, @mr.shearhod, he recalled an incident when his son came home from school looking extremely upset.

“Yesterday my son came home from school upset because his teacher told him that painting his nails is only for girls, so today I’m taking him to the nail shop!” Christian Shearhod said at the beginning of his video. Then Shearhod shared a clip of his 3-year-old son, Ashton, on the way to a nail salon in West Hollywood. Ashton recalled his teacher's negative remarks about wearing nail polish once again. As soon as Ashton entered the nail salon, he was captivated by the nail paint bottles decorated on a shelf and opted for a pink shade for himself.

Ashton sat down for a nice pedicure and manicure session. He even started blowing on his nails after it was done to let the pink shade dry quickly. By the end of the video, Ashton happily showed off his newly done manicure as an important message floated up on the screen. "Let little boys like what they like. Trucks, Spiderman, Paw Patrol or maybe, painting his nails," the overlay text on the video read. Shearhod was also invited for an interview with NBC News where he opened up about his son and his preferences. Ashton first started liking nail polish around the age of 2 and ever since then, Shearhod and his son both did their nails together.

When Ashton came home upset, he and his girlfriend Eden, did the best thing they could think of to cheer up the toddler. “I really just wanted to make sure that he didn’t have guilt or shame, because it is something that he enjoyed, and we had done together multiple times,” Shearhod mentioned, adding that he wants his son to enjoy life to the fullest at his age, without implementing strict gender norms. The following day, Shearhod also went to have a serious talk with Ashton's daycare teachers. “I just told them, 'Hey, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say that kind of thing to Ashton, kind of let him do his own thing,'” Shearhod recalled. 

The responses he received on his video were mostly positive. @__shenanigans wrote, "While my 4th-grade class is running a nail salon in my classroom using markers. Oh, and the boys are running it! Love that you did this." @elfyblue777 remarked, "That's so wrong for a teacher to tell a little kid to keep your thoughts to yourself and not judge how parents raise their kids." @dj_odendahl added, "That teacher is out of line! Most rock stars I know paint their nails! It’s for everyone!" 

@chahulk mentioned, "I just took my son and daughter today to the salon he had a pedicure his toenails are blue with sparkles now. Boys can paint their nails too." However, there were a few negative remarks where the sexuality of Ashton was questioned. So, Shearhod made a separate video to clarify this issue. “He is three years old and he can’t be gay because he doesn’t have a sexuality yet and you’re not going to assign him a sexuality because he likes feminine things or things outside of his typical gender norm," he boldly mentioned in his second video. 

You can follow Christian Shearhod (@mr.shearhod) on TikTok for more videos on lifestyle.