'Genius': Singapore dad frames up toddler's vandalism, warms netizens' hearts

A stroke of genius breathed life into this piece of 'art', but this 'genius' wasn't the artist himself - it was his son.

TikTok user Afiq Omar had a unique response to his toddler doodling on a wall at home, sharing it in a viral video on the platform uploaded on Tuesday (Jan 9).

The video has since garnered over 24,600 likes and more than 262,000 views.

In the video, Afiq began by showing messages received from his wife about his son Ilham Ariz's wall doodle and a clip of the boy crying.

When he reached home, Afiq went to the wall and told Ilham to come over.

"What is this a drawing of?" He gently asked.

In response, Afiq's son said: "It's a finger, one finger."

While most would expect parents to berate their children for damaging the wall, Afiq had a different take on the matter.

Instead of doling out punishment, he pulled out a picture frame instead, sharing his plan with Ilham.

"What we're going to do is frame it (the doodle) up," he told the toddler, shaking his hand in agreement afterwards.

True to his word, the father whipped out a drill and put a frame around the damaged area of the wall, even adding a label under it with Ilham's name as though it were an art exhibit.

Upon seeing what Afiq had done, Afiq's wife began to laugh.

"This will just encourage him to draw more on your wall," she commented.

Afiq replied: "That is the whole point."

@afiqomarali This is me as a parent. Feels like just yesterday I was doing the exact same thing at my parents' home. #parenting #ikeahack #fypsg ♬ Little Things - Adrian Berenguer

Many netizens praised Afiq for his innovative approach to solving the matter, describing it as "genius".

Said one: "Every child has their own creativity. Great idea, dad, for framing your kid's art work."

"You handled that with class," another commented. "My late parents would have already twisted my ear."

Some also shared their methods of dealing with wall doodles, saying that they would simply dedicate a wall to doodling and repaint it at the end of the year.

Although comments did express support for Afiq's actions, some felt that it wasn't necessarily a good precedent to set.

"This is so cute, but teach him and redirect him to draw on paper. Start a scrapbook for him. Or get him an easel," a user suggested.

AsiaOne has reached out to Afiq for more information.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com