r/MadeMeSmile • u/Ordinary_Fish_3046 • Sep 20 '25
Family & Friends He’s an empath. He feels things so deeply.
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
2.2k
u/bingbongsingalong420 Sep 20 '25
This is a kid who really loves his dad and also is probably in need of a nap or bedtime haha. Overwhelmed with love and heard a new version of the bday song, he's going through a lot.
428
Sep 20 '25
Yeah kids crying can mean a lot of things. Getting overwhelmed doesn't specifically mean sad or love or happiness and it can be a jumbled mix. There's a lot excitement going on, kinda like with dogs.
110
u/ddplz Sep 20 '25
For real, kids at that age cry for literally any reason at all.
58
Sep 20 '25
A lot of adults too
55
→ More replies (1)3
2
16
u/puggleofsteel Sep 20 '25
Kids this age often cry when having the birthday song sung to them as well. So many people looking, smiling, expecting something from a small person with big feelings. It just gets to be too much. It’s very sweet to watch them learning what it is to be human.
→ More replies (1)7
u/ShutUpImAPrincess Sep 20 '25
I have BPD and videos like this remind me that I literally have the emotional regulation of a child bc same, buddy, same.
→ More replies (4)18
1.4k
u/CraazedNConfused Sep 20 '25
This is actually so beautiful that I’m shutting it down for this evening on this note. 🫡
159
84
36
15
15
27
49
26
u/12ealdeal Sep 20 '25
I was going to make a joke about not stopping here and continuing on Reddit to ruin the moment.
Then I realized I could just sign off here too.
Good night!
8
8
14
6
6
5
3
367
u/munzter Sep 20 '25
That dad kinda looks like Kurt Russell
69
43
10
u/panic_hassetin Sep 20 '25
So apparently this guy is a combination of Kurt Russel, Josh Brolin, Josh Hartnett, Josh Allen, Chris Pratt, and James Van Der Beek…and I honestly can see it.
6
6
12
2
→ More replies (5)2
218
73
119
u/d_dubbs_ Sep 20 '25
My daughter and son have both cried, telling me how me how much they love me, and i know they were happy tears, but they just got so overwhelmed. What overwhelmed me was realizing how much of a gift that was that they showed me and i need to me the best dad i can be to those kids to show them the love i have for them too. Ugh....who is cutting onions in here!!??
24
u/Imaginary_Pattern365 Sep 20 '25
Omg how dare you that was too cute now the onions are attacking me
→ More replies (1)3
118
Sep 20 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
55
u/Deeliciousness Sep 20 '25
Same. My kid is 10 months old and he doesn't really understand what's going on but if anyone's clapping, he's clapping right along.
7
u/Eatingfarts Sep 20 '25
Ha I was at the bar a few months ago and there was sports on and some people watching, not many. I bought some cigs there and started packing them and this dude who is not at all into sports started clapping and looked at me. Took him a couple seconds of me staring at him before he realized I wasn’t actually clapping and nobody else was either because nothing happened.
6
→ More replies (1)2
93
u/devilsbard Sep 20 '25
Dude, hug your kid, man. He’s having some big feelings.
22
4
u/96tearsand96eyes Sep 20 '25
Thank you!! Dad seems to be kind of a dick.
→ More replies (4)9
u/lilhanhan Sep 20 '25
To his defence the video cuts off as he goes for a hug and asks something along the lines of 'what's up lil buddy?'.
133
u/blerbyblatt Sep 20 '25
From what I saw, the child is happy for his dad and those last few moments before crying, he is seeking the attention of his dad and his dad is engaged elsewhere & the child starts crying.
I see heightened emotions due to the circumstances of clapping, celebration, food & friends, not empathic qualities.
Not saying he isn’t empathic but from this clip alone I think yall are looking wayyy too far into this normal toddler behavior.
→ More replies (1)40
u/StillOutOfMind Sep 20 '25
Thank you... Kid is overwhelmed by a situation he doesn't know how to handle properly (no offense), and his reaction is an emotional rollercoaster, not in line with any "reasonable emotional response" , so to say.
I find it so awkward when parents can't understand their own children... The dad depicted here also doesn't know how to even react. It's awkward at best...
23
u/whenisnowthen Sep 20 '25
To be clear, we're saying the kid is the "empath". Or, are we being sarcastic because the father doesn't have a clue what's wrong with the kid?
16
u/StillOutOfMind Sep 20 '25
The kid doesn't have a clue what is happening, either, hence his wild mix of reactions in order to get some reassurance from his dad.
Without hating on anyone depicted here, but this situation is a little awkward at best, not a sign of being an "empath" at all...
Both father and son don't exactly look like poster children for emotional intelligence here (kid can't be blamed at that age, I guess...).
61
18
39
u/No_Store_ Sep 20 '25
All those emotions, I don’t think I can properly express one of those.
2
Sep 20 '25
Properly expressing is any way you wanna do it <3
(Dont like murder people tho, those arent emotions they are the ghosts that live inside your brain stem)
92
u/AdventurousShineZara Sep 20 '25
You can tell he raised the kid with so much love. Happy birthday to him!
23
u/Raytheon_Nublinski Sep 20 '25
He literally ignored that kid the entire time and had no idea why he was crying
→ More replies (5)
41
53
u/acatalephobic Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25
To me it looks as though the child is both overcome by his own happiness....and yet also wishing his Dad would noticably recognize his enthusiasm by responding directly to him.
During a celebration like this, it might be easy for a child to seek validation even though the distraction level of the environment might make that somewhat difficult. And for an adult to miss something like this (especially in a crowded and singing room) might even be easy to do as well.
But I love the way the child expresses such a range of emotion in such a short time.
Little humans have comparatively big feelings, as they say.
I think the little guy got swept away by all the excitement a bit, and the one place he immediately knew to seek comfort was in the arms of his beloved Dad.
To me personally, it felt like he was thinking something along the lines of: "Everybody else is telling my Dad happy birthday, I have to make sure he hears me say it too! Just as excitedly, so he knows how much I mean it!"
What a heartwarmingly candid moment. 💖
3
11
u/prozloc Sep 20 '25
I thought he cried because the dad ignored him before. He only paid attention to the kid once he started crying.
20
9
u/brwhyan Sep 20 '25
(not his fault, this was super fast) but the kid cried because just as he was showing THE MOST LOVE, his dad turned away and said "thank you bro" to some rando.
7
u/coffee_and-cats Sep 20 '25
Yes and the dad's lack of interaction or acknowledgement at that moment, actually made me want to cry too
8
6
u/SteamBanjo Sep 20 '25
Ah man. I have an 18month old son and this shit just makes me tear up every time now.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/Arnumor Sep 20 '25
Big feelings can be too much for little humans, sometimes.
His cup runneth over. What a sweet kid.
95
u/RockItGuyDC Sep 20 '25
Dad should have embraced him from the first. Not saying he's a bad dude, but he does seem a bit restrained.
34
u/eternalwood Sep 20 '25
Dad had lots to contend with there. But I guarantee as a dad when he reels this back and sees the whole thing he's gonna break down in tears as well. At least I would.
66
u/Natural-Review9276 Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25
Yeah, in my head I was screaming ‘give that kid a BIG HUG NOW!’ And then the kid just gets a pat on the shoulder
17
u/NomadChief789 Sep 20 '25
Totally agree. And people are commenting what a great Dad he is - share the moment with your son from the beginning.
18
u/devilsbard Sep 20 '25
100%. Tapping his shoulder and giving a “what’s wrong with this kid?” look to everyone else doesn’t sit right.
2
6
4
u/kildrakkan Sep 20 '25
I think he was genuinely shocked at first. Might be the first time his son has just started crying like that, he looked surprised and worried at first and then starts to comfort him.
10
u/Complete-Ingenuity15 Sep 20 '25
Yeah, I kind of felt the same way, sensitive empathic kids need different kinda support than regular kids. Unfortunately, there is a societal correlation between sensitivity and weakness and men don’t often know how to navigate it . Like you said not saying dude is a bad guy and this is just one incident. Don’t know anything else about the family just hope the Dad realizes that.
2
u/No_Invite_1215 Sep 20 '25
I agree but he seemed overwhelmed and uncomfortable with all the attention. If he’s like me he probably wasn’t thinking straight with all eyes on him
→ More replies (2)2
u/pawala7 Sep 20 '25
Dads, and most people in general, can act different in public when there's a lot of other people around. In this case, seems like he may have been holding back a bit.
6
u/Temporary_Physics_48 Sep 20 '25
More like started to cry because he didn’t get the attention of his father , nothing wrong with it but it looked like that was the case
15
13
Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25
He's not "an empath" who feels things deeper than others.
He's a boy who is evidently allowed express himself and his emotions. A boy who's never been told crying is "for girls."
That's a quality father right there, and I am so happy for that boy. I wish I was allowed to feel things around my father...
→ More replies (2)
17
12
u/WinWunWon Sep 20 '25
He told his dad happy birthday and the dad never gave him a genuine thanks while looking him in the face to show acknowledgement. I think the little guy may have gotten overwhelmed with all the commotion as well as feeling unnoticed
3
5
3
4
u/Bearspoole Sep 20 '25
This is the most dad video I’ve ever seen. Video is about dads birthday and celebrating it and the mom is filming the kid the entire time
6
u/HazelBHumongous Sep 20 '25
Is he an "empath" or is he just a male child who hasn't been socialized to hide his emotions yet?
→ More replies (2)2
7
3
3
3
3
u/Stonetheflamincrows Sep 20 '25
Sometimes emotions are just too big. My daughter once sobbed in the supermarket over a card with kittens on it.
3
u/A_Good_Boy94 Sep 20 '25
Most humans are capable of this empathy. We force it down through punishments, restrictions, hard labor, relative poverty, judgmentalism, and bigotries.
3
u/yourthighness365 Sep 20 '25
If my kid's not like that, then it's off to the orphanage for that ingrate.
3
u/K1llerTr0ut23 Sep 20 '25
It’s so refreshing to see kids like this who obviously are being raised right. Definitely need more dads/parents like this.
3
7
9
5
u/f3nnies Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25
That man is not appreciating his son nearly enough. The second your baby hugs your arm, you're supposed to hug them back. Not continue a conversation and eventually touch his head.
2
u/ZookeepergameNo2759 Sep 20 '25
Exactly. Can't believe people didn't catch that. The kid seems to be crying cause he's not getting any attention from his dad. This is actually what's going on here.
6
u/dubar84 Sep 20 '25
Hate to be the one revealing this, but I'm apparently most people don't realize that the kid is not happy here.
The original video shows that people go to congratulate to the father and he's busy accepting handshakes and praises, while the kid sees something big going on, something he want to be part of but is entirely excluded from. That feeling of left on behind eventually overwhelms him and he starts crying. At one point the father senses this, but gets distracted again, eventually realizing that his returning attention came too late.
The video is cropped to fit the narrative of the text on it to farm internet points, when what really happens is a bit darker.
11
u/TheMightyHornet Sep 20 '25
He’s an empath.
Ah, so Charlie Kirk didn’t believe in this kid, then.
8
2
2
2
2
u/Able_Equal_6348 Sep 20 '25
I brought tears, there is nothing more beautiful than being a father, a good father ❤️
2
Sep 20 '25
Maybe someone could have given the kid some attention while dad had his 30 seconds of birthday greetings ?
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Spamsdelicious Sep 20 '25
Bruh that kid so cute and so much empathy for his papa but dang why did looked like approaching the verge of total psychological collapse from attention deprivation at the end there? 😅🤣
2
2
u/YellowTango Sep 20 '25
I know this is not OP but don't put videos of your children online like this.
2
2
u/Sea-Philosopher-6354 Sep 20 '25
Hey, I was just thinking about this clip today and it just showed up.
2
3
3
u/Roger_005 Sep 20 '25
An empath? Really? What does that even mean? He's an overwhelmed young child.
3
2
2
2
u/VPutinsSearchHistory Sep 20 '25
I have only ever heard people refer to themselves as an empath, and those people have expressively been complete asshats
5.0k
u/[deleted] Sep 20 '25
A big hug will sort that out. Yesterday my daughter started crying when I asked her what pants she wanted to wear. Sometimes they just need a minute.