Dad takes son to nail salon after CA preschool teacher tells him it’s ‘only for girls’

When Christian Shearhod’s 3-year-old son came home from his California preschool one day recently, he was visibly upset.

Shearhod asked his son what was up as the boy rubbed his eyes and wiped at his tears in their car’s backseat.

“Your teacher said what?” Shearhod’s girlfriend Eden asks off camera.

“Um, not to paint my nails,” the boy manages.

“Why?” Shearhod asks.

“Because the teacher say … just for girls,” the boy said.

Shearhod posted the video to TikTok Saturday, Feb. 4 and explained he knew just the thing to cheer his kid up.

“Yesterday my son came home from school really upset because his teacher told him that painting your nails is only for girls,” he says. “So today I’m taking him to the nail shop.”

The next clip shows the boy excitedly pointing to a container of hot pink nail polish at the salon. Then he giggles in a chair and explains that he wants the color painted on “my hands and feet,” followed by “Yeah! I want pink.”

Shearhod explains in text that his son was happy his nails would match Eden’s.

As the boy shows off his freshly painted nails for the camera, text on the screen says: “let little boys like what they like… Trucks, Spider-Man, Paw Patrol &&& maybe painting his nails.”

The video quickly went viral and has over 4 million views.

Someone commented “this is amazing but I’d be having a talk with his teacher too. There was NO need in the teacher saying this to that sweet boy.”

Shearhod followed up with another TikTok video showing that he had that very discussion with one of his son’s teachers on Monday, Feb. 6.

He wrote in the caption that the video was a reply to that comment. “So before anyone tries to cancel his school; we have to remember that different cultures have different gender norms. & His teachers love him and are really so good to him! As a teacher myself I know his teacher probably thought she was helping him and I highly doubt there was any malicious intent. We’re all on the same page now, thank y’all for all the supportive comments.”

Shearhod explains to the teacher that he wasn’t sure which teacher it was, but one of them “keeps telling him that he shouldn’t paint his nails and it’s only for girls and stuff,” and they don’t want “that to be said to him.”

“He seemed really upset about it … like it’s kind of something that we do together and he’s always enjoyed … for him to come home upset about it just made me kind of sad, you know?”

The teacher can be heard in the video saying she understands and will try to get to the bottom of what happened.

Shearhod is a teacher himself in Los Angeles County, NBC reported.

While Shearhod received a lot of support for the way he handled the situation, he shared negative comments he received as well, including one in which a user asks if the 3-year-old is gay.

“My son is literally three years old,” Shearhod responds, visibly incredulous. “Um, he can’t be gay because he doesn’t have a sexuality yet. And I’m not gonna assign him and you’re not gonna assign him a sexuality because he likes feminine things? I dunno, things outside of his typical gender norm? Dude what? That’s literally sexualizing a child and that’s something we’re not gonna do.”

The caption on the video states: “Just because I let my son express himself without gender boundaries doesn’t make him gay.”

A comment on the video states: “People are so ignorant! Leave that baby alone and let him be happy.”

The next day, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, Shearhod posts a video of he and his son, Ashton, discussing the boy’s gender in response to another comment that insists: “If he’s born a boy he’s a boy?”

Ashton tells viewers his name, age, and includes that he likes to play with his garbage truck, Iron Man, “daddy’s glasses,” and that it’s OK to paint your nails, even if you’re a boy.

The latest video has been viewed more than 112,000 times. Nearly 400 people commented to show their support for Shearhod’s parenting and Ashton’s interests.

Shearhod wrote in the caption: “Umm he is a boy (and he’ll tell you himself). He just likes the color pink and painting his nails? I don’t think it should be read into too much, especially because he is really young. I just believe in fostering his interests to the fullest, because life is meant to be explored and enjoyed (and as you saw, painting his nails made him really happy).”

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