No matter what some people will say, parenting is no easy job, and one of the key reasons for that is the amount of criticism that comes with it.
Mothers aren't the sole bearers of the criticism, either—fathers will often be critiqued for not being present enough in their children's lives, or when they are perfectly present, they're instead critiqued on the how.
Recently, conservative TikToker Jake Chocholous shared a video on his Man Up Daily podcast, now called the Flawed and Forgiven podcast on TikTok, of a dad taking his daughters to a Taylor Swift concert.
Chocholous openly criticized the father, all the way down to what he was wearing—but fellow TikTokers did not take this sitting down.
One TikToker, in particular, Todd Kale (@thetoddkale), had a lot to say in response to the Man Up Daily challenge.
Chocolous did not hold back when he critiqued the anonymous dad for being a father.
"I would say that any dad that takes their daughter to a Taylor Swift concert is not the kind of dad I'd want raising my kids."
Kale's response? To each their own.
"Okay, raise your own children then. Because all I see in this video is a dad, a present dad, taking his daughters to a concert that they will remember for the rest of their lives."
Chocolous was already pulling at straws with his next point: the father's apparel.
"[And the] dude's wearing a 'Twilight' t-shirt? Bro."
Like the rest of us, Kale didn't see the point of this comment.
"I wouldn't wear it, but God didn't put me on this earth to judge this man."
The Man Up Daily podcaster then tried another approach—tearing down Taylor Swift's dating history.
"Better yet, let's take our daughters to a concert with a track record of 95 percent of her relationships are straight-up dumpster fires. Fun fact: Taylor Swift has had 12 known exes by the age of 34."
In response, Kale went with the "separate the artist from the art" approach.
"I've never once researched any band or artist that I liked to make sure that I agree with their relationship status. This might be a hot take, but I don't care what you believe. If I like your music, I like your music."
But the podcaster continued to double down with the dating critiques.
"What your kids listen to has a pretty significant impact on their behavior."
Kale argued back:
"Taylor Swift sings about failed relationships. I grew up listening to Eminem, and I've never once beat a woman. I grew up listening to Marilyn Manson and Slipknot, and I've never worshipped the devil."
Kale's final point was gold.
"The only time you should look down on somebody is when you're trying to help them up."
"Kudos to this dad for spending time with his daughters!"
Fellow TikTokers heartily agreed with the points that Kale made.
@thetoddkale/TikTok
@thetoddkale/TikTok
@thetoddkale/TikTok
@thetoddkale/TikTok
@thetoddkale/TikTok
@thetoddkale/TikTok
@thetoddkale/TikTok
@thetoddkale/TikTok
@thetoddkale/TikTok
@thetoddkale/TikTok
While every parent is going to parent differently, even somewhat differently from their own partner, that does not mean they deserve someone else's criticism for parenting their own way.
As long as a child is healthy, happy, and safe, as these girls clearly were, it seems that other people would be better off staying out of the way and letting this dad and his girls make those core memories.
@kileywrestling/Bluesky
