‘Girl dad’ with four daughters reveals the one ‘worn out’ phrase he’s tired of hearing

‘I’m not sorry that I have daughters. I love being a girl dad,’ the parent says on Instagram

A “girl dad” has revealed the one phrase he’s tired of hearing when he’s with his family.

In a video posted to Instagram in February, a Texas-based father of four daughters, Austin, shared the words he wants people to stop saying to him. He started by specifying how often he hears the phrase “I’m sorry” and how it affects his children.

“Every single time I go out, if I have my four daughters, they’ll come up to me, and they’ll be like, ‘oh, I’m so sorry,’” he said. “All my kids can speak and understand English. They know what you’re saying. It hurts their feelings.”

He went on to emphasise how much he enjoys being a father of daughters, before criticising those who say “I’m sorry” to him.

“I’m not sorry that I have daughters. I love being a girl dad. I love having girls,” he added. “The joke is old. It’s worn out. It’s not original. It’s not clever. It doesn’t even make a lot of sense.”

After Austin emphasised that he’s “so tired” of people telling him that they’re “sorry that [he] has daughters,” he shared another phrase he hears a lot because he’s a girl dad: “Make sure your shotgun is ready.”

He noted that when he asked people why they were saying sorry to him, they weren’t necessarily sure how to respond.

“If you ask them why, they immediately get very uncomfortable,” he said. “Why are you sorry? What are you getting at here? I actually had one person get mad at me one time for asking why. Don’t ask me silly goose questions, and I won’t give you silly goose questions.”

Austin added that he’d even be open to having another daughter if he were to have more children. He then emphasised that people saying “I’m sorry” to him was pointless.

“Honest to God, if I had a fifth child, which is not gonna happen, god willing,” he continued. “If I had a fifth child, I’d hope it was a girl. I love having girls. I love being a girl dad. There’s nothing to be sorry about, there’s nothing to feel sorry about.”

He concluded by acknowledging how the phrase offends his daughters, before encouraging people to avoid saying it to any girl dad that they meet.

“It really is very hurtful to my daughters, so if you meet me in person and you see them, please stop doing that,” he concluded. “And if you say that stuff to other people, stop saying it to them too. Nobody says that stuff to my wife. They only say it to me.”

In the caption, he added: “I don’t think people realise how rude this is.”

Austin’s video has gone viral on Instagram, with more than 144,200 likes, as of 4 April. In the comments, multiple people agreed with the father, as they hit back at and criticised others who say “I’m sorry” to fathers of daughters.

“Why are you sorry? Why do I need a shotgun? B/c you didn’t raise your sons to respect women, their bodies, or their boundaries?” one wrote.

“I can’t believe people think it’s OK to just walk up to you and insult your daughters. That’s wild,” another commented.

A third agreed: “Keep asking people why. Because your daughters hear that more. They will do the same.”

Other people in the comments expressed that they could relate to Austin’s experiences while describing some of the remarks they’ve heard girl dads receive.

“I had someone ask about my pregnancy and I said it’s a girl. I was with my three-year-old girl. The lady said ‘poor dad!’ My three-year-old asked what she meant. So I asked her to explain. She found it quite hard to explain to an innocent little girl, funnily enough.

“My dad is a girl dad and he hated those comments too. He helped raise four very independent women,” another wrote.

“As a dad of three daughters, this is 100 per cent true. Yet my kids fly planes, travel on their own and game,” a third added. “Meanwhile, the ‘sorry’ guy’s son probably sits on his butt at home and does nothing.”

The Independent has contacted Austin for comment.