Single Ladies, Parenting Manuals, And Fatherhood
In fatherhood there are wins…and there are losses…
This my friends falls right in the middle.
It is a win because my 3 year old son now knows the devastating effects of singing Beyonce in front of his father.
It is a loss because with 6 words, I accidentally crushed his little heart!
He apparently loves the song Single Ladies by Beyonce.
Little did I know how much he loves that song.
I was simply making a point that he, in fact, is not a single lady.
And check out my daughters faces. One is pissed and one is devastated at what just transpired…
Where’s that parenting manual again?
Los
[UPDATE - Yes I held my phone while I drove. Just like I hold a coke can and drive. I wasn't looking at the back of my iPhone, I was watching the road. Just for you concerned parents. But the safe thing would have been to pass the phone to the wife. Of' course 2 hands are better than one.]
RAIN IT DOWN
That was hilarious and sad all at the same time. I’m glad I know what to look forward to
Story of my life.
I was going to type the exact same words. hahaha
Hey, i thought it was funny but at the same time he is a little dude and i felt sorry he got his little feelings hurt. he is a sweet kid. However seeing this vidieo on aol made me come to your website to check out your music, so i guess you did something right ..haha good luck
Ditto Ashton’s response…..I saw the video on AOL and ended up on your website….good for you! I wish you great success..you seem to have a wonderful family!
It was sad because the father and mother caved in when he started crying. Yes, his feelings were hurt and no one wants to intentionally hurt a childs feelings…but the truth does hurt sometimes. Once he calmed down you could have explained it to him in more detail and he would have understood. I came here looking to see some firm parenting but sadly I was disappointed.
yep. this is my favorite one yet. that kid is the cutest crying kid i’ve ever seen!
“you can be a single lady if you want. you wanna be a single lady?” i love heather! hahaha
Seriously. He is. Sometimes I make him cry just to see how cute he is.
Parenting 101: Make your kid cry to see how cute he is!
Awesome.
Awww…bless his heart! His face was priceless though when you broke the news to him! He’s too cute
Dude! Check the look your daughter is giving you! Is she calling you a tool? I only ask because that’s the same look my daughter (and wife) give me, AND call me a tool!
Do me a favor and if and when you find that manual…please pass it on!
[PEACE]
She totally is giving it to me.
This is…Fantastic. pahaha.
Funny! You are a bad man…
My 5-year old boy has been known to sing that song. He doesn’t put his hands up though, so I like to think he’s just narrowing down his options and identifying a potential future wife.
oh my goodness….how adorable. and i love how your daughter had her arms crossed after you made him cry. what a great sister.
Oh my what a riot on all fronts. PS love the glasses on the girls. Your oldest is totally a pre-teen already
Hey Hey there!!! SLow down.
But yes. She has grown up so much!
HAHAAHAHA that is awful! but hilarious. poor Losiah! but what awesome and supportive sisters he has!
They LOVE him.
Awwww!!
I love it!!! And hate it for him at the same time! Sweet boy just wants to kick it with all the single ladies!!
That was too funny! Oh, and I agree with 6yearMed above, Sohaila looks so grown!
Dadfail.
If this is any conselation to him I guess I am a single lady because I song that song every time I hear it.
Hahaha awww. Poor guy!!
Switch the genders of those kids and that is an EXACT representation of my family. Oh my, did I laugh.
BwAHAHAHA. Awesome family memory. Keep it and play that back in a few years-and again in a few more years-and again in a few years after that. Love in a .mov
Tanya
it’s hilarious that you guys kept trying to convince him that he could be a single lady. amazing what we say to get our kids to stop crying and recapture the fun moment that we just demolished! so been there.
Hahaha…. and how sad…. I love it that your daughters come right to his defense…..
That is priceless! Your oldest is a natural comforter too.
omg that is sooo funny and yes sad too. Poor Losiah! your not a horrible father Los… we should all be so lucky if we had a parent manual lol
loved this…..love your family!
What is it with little kids and that song? Mine love it, too.
You threw off his groove, Daddy!! Ya big meanie.
And Sohaila…if looks could kill! hehehehee
25 years from now Losiah will have a breakthrough in counseling when he remembers that Dad said he was a single lady, and that all of life’s woes trail back to this one moment in the car.
duuuuuuude….
first the elf, then the “no brakes”
now this.
dang!!!
*giggles*
i seriously just busted up laughing. this may be one of the best parenting videos you’ve ever posted.
oh my…bless his heart! That is so my son right there! all sensitive. I love it and he is downright adorable.
What awesome, protective sisters =) Y’all are cute!
I know that my turn at this sort of thing is right around the corner…
Oh so funny. And it happens to all of us parents.
Oh my goodness….that was so funny!
I’m linking to this on my blog because it is that great!
hilarious!! my daughters and i watched and were laughing out loud
then the biggest laugh came with “i am a horrible father”
is that because you made your boy cry or because you were video taping WHILE YOU WERE DRIVING!!!
oh my goodness los…
What’s video taping?
video taping
so i dated myself…big time!
yes, i video tape with my iPhone
dude, doesn’t it kill you when they melt like that. My 5 yr old did this the other day when I told him i didn’t like lady gaga…
BAHAHAHHAAH!!! Sohaila is PISSED, and its incredibly funny! I appreciate that Seanna, although clearly upset that her brother was sad, kept in mind that she was on camera and flashed a couple smiles. Little los….poor dude, all he wanted to be was a single lady! AHAH!!
Sohaila is like… WHAT DID YOU DO?? LOLOLOL!!!! hahhahaha!
love the last line… “do you want to be a single lady”
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!
Horrific and WAY too hilarious all at once!
‘you can be a single lady!’
You R a Bad Bad Man…that was a classic..
just can’t mess with them beyonce fans.
(:
bwahahahaha!!!
“you can be a single lady if you want… do you want to be a single lady?” ~ heather
hahahahahaha!!!
hilar!
That was hilarious!
One day that boy will be 15 and that video may come in handy.
haha! This is so hilarious!
P.S. he is adorable!!
Dang dude, they were about to whoop your tail.
Glad I’m not the only pop who breaks hearts. LOL
seriously.
Heartbreaker….
Totally. He is gonna own them.
ok. I am sitting in my son’s room in the dark on my laptop waiting for him to fall asleep and I watch this video and I burst out into a fit of hysterical laughter and he sits up looking at me.
I was slapping the floor in laughter.
Seriously funny stuff….
Your daughters are priceless. I mean what is the funniest here I have no idea…first Losiah and the cute crying, the serious looks looks on the girls faces and then “Losiah you can be a single lady if you want to.” Oh my word.
I am going to go watch that a few hundred times….made my night.
I can’t stop laughing either.
i read the comments to make sure my son didnt leave a comment about one of the times i hurt his heart… thankfully no comment.
you are a great dad… he (and your daughters) will remember that more yhan this one event… of course you may need to hide the recorded evidence.
This absolutely made my day. Thank you!
From this day forward, it shall be known as The Day the Music Died.
I laughed like crazy. I laughed largely because I recognize that scenario. As a Dad I would say or do something that I didn’t think was a big deal and then my kids would get that look. That second or two of a stunned look just before bursting into a flowing stream of tears.
That’s what made me laugh because I’ve seen it before and seeing Little Los do it almost made it look like something out of a movie.
You big meanie Los!
Ohmygosh I thought I was going to pee my pants I was laughing to hard! That was hysterical! You just crushed that boy’s dreams of being a “single lady”.
Where do I donate towards his counseling fund for when he gets older? It will all be your fault.
Cute
Don’t make me post the picture of him peeing in my backyard.
Love that boy.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
Instant classic!
This should go in your parenting 101 book.
OH. MY. GOSH.
That video. So priceless, los. I think this tops the elf.
I love it! The pause before the tears where we all try to save it. YES YOU ARE! YES YOU ARE! To no avail. I am not a parent, but have worked with kids and I soooo know the delicate line between saving it and losing it. This one was definitely lost, but so hilarious. That boy is too cute. And his sisters, so protective: one trying to console him and the other just angry. Way too cute!
Perhaps the greatest family video from you ever, Los. Love it. Totally seems to sum up who y’all are as a family.
Don’t worry, there’ll be no lasting effects!
It was well worth the entertainment value, I assure you! 
That is absolutely hilarious.
This is priceless! Poor little guy! Don’t you wish we had a crystal ball to see ahead of time all the little things that are going to set them off?!? Oh, well- live and learn!
Oh my word I have been there. I HAVE SO BEEN THERE! Never do I feel more like sucking words back into my mouth than when I see that look of heart break on my kids faces! Oy!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I think that’s my fave post/video you’ve ever put up!!! I’ve had WAY too many car rides like that except it’s reversed with my boys being older and my daughter crying about something…
I just spit water on my MacBook Pro as I broke out in laughter! Thanks Los!
This is too funny! May I share it on my blog?
Awww, poor guy
I can sympathize with you, though. We’ve all been there.
The look on your oldest daughter’s face, though, was priceless!
Los, I posted this to Buzzfeed. This is just too good.
oh my. izaiah loves that song too! you’re not a horrible father. =0)
hahaha. I like Losiah’s arm swingin there at the beginning of the song. gets his moves from his dad
Oh my word! Hilarious!
aww man watchin that made my heart laugh and hurt for both of y’all! What a tender heart Losiah has… a gift from God!
And you, my friend, are a true father at heart. Sometimes the outside doesn’t reflect that, but in your heart is a true desire to reflect the heart of our Abba, and everyone in this community can see that, and so can your Father in heaven. Keep workin it out, bro! You’re a pimptastic dad.
So sad and funny at the same time! Poor baby…he just wanted to be one of the single ladies
love it…the look of devistation!!!
our girls love that song too…it’s funny, after singing that over and over, they say, “mama, what’s a single lady?” so, i explain & then it was the never ending questions…”is ………. a single lady, is ………. single lady?, etc.” for like 20 minutes. so much for just singing the song.
HAHAHAHAHA!
HA! Your blog makes we want to video tape every moment of my young family. This made my day.
HAH! Oh my goodness, I almost died laughing. This is great. Poor little guy.
That is so funny!!! Bless his heart!
This video made my night!! I love how seanna and sohaila takes care of their baby bro. Look at how quick seanna grabs his hand and hold it tight giving him assurance its ok to cry. Sohaila is getting prettier!! You and Heather anyway did raise up them to love each other very much. Im very touched.
Oh my word that’s the funniest/cutest thing ever.
fyi. i have spammed this to every one of my friends.
Oh my gosh I am crying right now for that little boy!!!! I have done that SOOOOO many times to my kids. Doesn’t it just kill ya?
Dude, that’s a daily occurance at my house. We’ve stopped saving for college, and just put it into a therapy fund.
LOL. Memories of my childhood. I was the oldest girl, my sister the middle one, our little brother….who worried my Dad with his feminity! We had many moments like that one.
This just made my night. Poor little guy! But it gave me a good laugh…and I had to watch it again!
Parenting FAIL.
That right there? Is Parenting Comedy Gold! (And I don’t want to make you feel bad or anything, but I heard Jeffrey Dahmer’s parents did the exact same thing to him…)
Nothin’ like snagging some video for the blog while driving the family around!
Thats right!!! SOme of the best moments happen in the car.
Just when it seems like everything is good, open mouth and insert foot. Welcome to my world.
Los!!! This video was featured on Buzzfeed today! Expect it to go viral! http://www.buzzfeed.com/soomah/dad-tells-son-he-is-not-a-single-lady-19if
You’re totally famous now.
Your daughter is really good with nonvebal communication. That look could KILL!
Los!!
First time commenter, but LONG time reader. (since when you adopted Losiah)
BUT had to comment to tell you, this video is up on angry asian man!! SO freaking cool.
http://angryasianman.com/angry.html
You MUST show this to his future girlfriend.
What a monster you are, crusher of dreams!
thanks for the morning laugh. I’m sure Losiah will emerge unscathed.
Peace,
E
My wife is due tomorrow with our first child, and this makes me ever more anxious
.
uh-may-zing.
Looks like you made Dumb As A Blog. Not sure if that’s an honor.
http://blog.trutv.com/dumb_as_a_blog/2010/03/girls-just-wanna-have-fun-boys-just-wanna-be-single-ladies.html
I know those same looks very well from my wife and 4-yr old twins. Now, if my 17-yr old boy starts singing Single Ladies in the back seat…
I can’t see the video. =(
Please put the video back up. The groovin’ your boy did right before the devastation made my morning. His face shined unadulterated joy. I had to re-watch it several times throughout the day. I hope you didn’t take it down because of haters.
I wanna see but it won’t play for me!!!
WHY??????? lol
It’s saying that it’s private. Couldn’t play it on the Angry Asian Man site either. Boo.
Your video is on freaking PEREZ HILTON!!!!!!!!!!!! (btw I was able to see it there) Talk about craziness… I was going to get my celebrity crap fix and find your video! hahaha!
i saw it on perez too! also went to get my celebrity fix and was like….what in the world? are those the whittaker kids? lol. congrats…you are now super stars.
hey los, I’m sorry if you got all that publicity with that video when i posted it on buzzfeed. i should have asked you beforehand before making it viral.
OH DANG!!!! Hahahahaha.. This is way, way too funny. Seriously, I’ve been looking at it 5-10 times now. Will be in my parents’ inboxes by the time they wake up tomorrow, for sure!! (half past midnight here)
I just saw this video on PEREZ HILTON!!! That’s CRAZY!! WOW!
I’m adopted and 68 years old and the happiest camper ever. God blesses you when you adopt a child. The return in love is immeasurable. Your two girls will love him no differently than if he were a birthchild. God bless you all. Loved all of the video and I guess now I need to listen to the song more carefully. Thanks for sharing it all.
I teach preschoolers ages 2-5, and I see a lot of cute things every day. However…this could just be the cutest thing I’ve seen all week. I don’t have kids of my own, but I’ve SO been there with my preschoolers…I had a devastated little girl on my hands one day just because I told her it was lunchtime! She wouldn’t believe me…she had come to school really late, after we’d already had snack, and apparently she didn’t realize just how late she’d gotten there, because she started bawling when I told the kids to go get their lunchboxes and she kept telling me, “It’s NOT lunchtime, it’s NOT yet!” You never know what’s gonna set them off/hurt their feelings!
youre a great dad. heathers a wonderful mom! it shows in your kids.
soooo awesome. love you man!
Annnnnnnnddddd now you’re on Perez Hilton….
http://perezhilton.com/2010-03-31-devastating-2
He is too young to care about gender differences, and must already feel excluded and out of the loop. You ruined the song time for your daughter. Your son’s reaction was the final straw for him. He just felt very put down. My advice is quit pushing the guy/man gender concept. You are not cool.
It was a joke.
He was joking. He even told his son he is single lady when he started crying and was singing along too. You are not cool for trying to hang the man who was just having fun with his kids. just chill… it was a cute video. I’m positive his kids will love this video when they are older.
oh my goodness.
I don’t think this is a statement about gender differences.
I think it is a slice of life of super-cute kids.
Had to tell you…Single Ladies came on the car radio today while driving with the kids. My son (7) catches my eye in the rearview mirror and says(while laughing hysterically), “don’t you dare do to me what that man did to his son!” Yeah, I let him watch the video with me.
it’s on the AOL homepage now! woot!
My three year old son started singing Single Ladies in Walmart this weekend. Of course when he gets to the part “put your hands up” he’s got three sisters who join in for the next part.
Your video had my kids laughing simply because I have those “I’m driving and I just can’t make the world right again” parenting moments at least once a week.
This is definitely WEDDING VIDEO material for when little man ties the knot one day! Hang onto it – PRICELESS!
Actually, the little man may very well want to tie the knot with another little man, right?
Let’s hope that no matter who this fantastic kid wants to marry, he gets the chance and has the right to do so.
You Dad, you did nothing wrong in any way shape or form. However, you son is queer as a 3 dollar bill. I mean thats why he got so upsett when you made the comment that yoy did. However, you are soo correct: He Isnt A Single Lady. He Is A Single Man…A Faggot One At That.
No Worries, a, sure you and your wife will do a great job raising him to be a secure individual.
Keep up the great work.
Really?!? You’re going to say such crude things about a 3 year old? It’s disgusting that you would take the time to leave such a comment.
alan, darling, you give the rest of us a very bad name.
And your diaper needs changing.
don’t feed the trolls…
Alan, your comment and language is inappropriate and inexcusable. It’s too bad you felt the need to take it there.
Love the video…stinkin’ cute kids!
thanks
What a wonderful family, God bless all of you. When my son was that age he was rocking in his car seat to Paula Abdul song Straight Up….Oh Oh Oh, gosh he loved singing that song with me and dancing to it. Thanks for the memories, he is now 25. Time flies make lots of happy memories.
This was the funniest video ever. I absolutely loved your comment at the end and your wife’s face when she glared at you haha! I wonder what Losiah will say when he’s 16 and you guys recount this incident.
i got up early to watch y’all on the news….you were awesome. my kids LOVE this video.
they thought it was fun to see it on the news. good job whittakers!
Awwww….. poor baby… he’s soooo cu-ute and that was so sad. Funny, but sad….
I think both of ours sons would get along great!!! my 2 year old sings that song all the time, and he also got it from Alvin and the Chipmunks movie..
Los – you know what I love about this most of all? You continue to live this healthy faith life for Jesus, giving us all a window into your family – your ministry – your art, etc. Now you strike comedic gold in a way we can all relate, it goes viral, and BAM! A gazillion more people have an opportunity to see Jesus in you. I get this. It’s a big win, bro. Great video. I love your family. God bless, and keep living it out loud.
Yes!! My thoughts exactly!
The thing I noticed was your wife rubbing your sons hand and also his sister next to him trying to comfort him. What a lucky little boy to be in such a loving LOVING family! You obviously cherish your children and that is the greatest gift you can give them. You were all together and all singing……what a blessing!
dude, you just won america’s funniest home videos. seriously.
Hang up and drive.
I loved it. so random and funny. You and Heather are great parents.
They played this on my Country Music morning program this morning. Then I was reading through my blog reader and find out that it is a blog that I follow that was priceless.
When you write that book on parenthood let me know, I will buy it! We all make mistakes with out even thinking about it.
Hugs.
oh man. i loved it. because I was that kid! lol. its all about the feeling of being left out! and it never fails, what you as a parent believes is minuscule, is actually tremendous in the childs eyes! your just terrible just teeerriibbllleee!! lol
PS. you can see the awesome parenting in your children. the siblings came to the rescue and one is being comforting and one is giving you the look, almost the wife/mother look as in great job! now look what youve done!!
Only in the ATL! Your babies r ADORABLE! Thanks for the giggle!
I hope you play this at this wedding as one of the memories past!
Hey just sent a funny to your email . . . upload if you want. Or just watch and laugh at me. Either way . .
O!M!G! That is freaking hilarious!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing. I’m so posting this to my fb. Never heard of you – perhaps it will bring your single lady of a son great joy one day knowing how many people he lured into listening to daddy’s music…
Seriously, your daughter’s glare of death is priceless.
I love, love this video clip. We have two boys, both of whom love to dance to music. A friend saw this clip and sent it to me. I wonder if it’s because we have similar parenting styles…hmmm. Anyway, thanks for the laugh.