A dad and TikToker is being applauded for taking his three-year-old son to the nail salon after the child was reprimanded for wearing nail polish at school

• A TikToker has gone viral after vlogging his visit to the nail salon with his three-year-old son.
• Christian Shearhod, who is a teacher himself, said his son was reprimanded for wearing nail polish to preschool.

After sharing that his three-year-old son was reprimanded at preschool for wearing nail polish, the TikToker Christian Shearhod responded by taking the child on a visit to their local nail salon. His video about the ordeal has gone viral and sparked important conversations about gender constructs.

In early February, Shearhod shared in a TikTok that his son, Ashton, returned from preschool "really upset" after his teacher said that nail polish was "just for girls." Rather than lashing out at the school, Shearhod – who happens to be a math teacher himself and has amassed 945,000 fans with videos about his profession – had a better solution.

"Today, I'm taking him to the nail shop," Shearhod said. He documented the trip, too, with Ashton opting for a mani-pedi in hot pink. That video has been viewed over 4.8 million times.

"For a three-year-old, it was really impressive because he sat there for the clipping, the filing – everything," Shearhod told Insider. "He had his hands all spread out and was blowing on his fingernails to dry out."

A majority of the comments were supportive, Shearhod said, though there were also trolls who criticized his parenting. He hopes this serves as a teachable moment for other parents or educators who may face a similar scenario.

'Life is meant to be enjoyed – and why not in color?' the dad said of his son's choices to dye his hair and paint his nails

Shearhod said Ashton first grabbed a bottle of nail polish when he was two, whereupon polishing sessions became a semi-common bonding activity for the two of them. In addition to painting his nails, Ashton loves expressing himself through color, including by dying his hair blue.

"Whatever we put in his hair is good as long as it's non-toxic," Shearhod said. "Life is meant to be enjoyed, and why not in color?"

These aren't the only conversations about gender norms that Shearhod is igniting on TikTok. He's currently dating the trans influencer Eden 'The Doll' Estrada and he has also made several videos about the hateful comments their relationship has generated, including Estrada being misgendered and Shearhod being called gay.

"When I met Eden, I got a lot of hate," he said. "I was like, 'Oh my God, if people will say this to me online, what are people saying to my students?'"

Shearhod doesn't want to "cancel" the school or the teacher

Even though he was troubled by the teacher's remarks, Shearhod, 28, said he didn't want to "cancel the school or the teacher" — especially as someone whose own reputation has been questioned by strangers online.

Last year, Shearhod was put on leave at his former school in the Dallas area for two days after he said "Karens" called HR to complain about his TikToks, specifically about his shirtless videos. At the time, Shearhod told The Daily Dot that his posts are PG-13 and that he maintains healthy boundaries with his students.

"I have definitely been on the other end where people are mad at me for something," Shearhod told Insider. "Most people are not malicious…Different cultures and different ages have different views on gender norms and [the teacher] doesn't know what my opinion or what my feelings are unless I express it to her."

He hopes people don't use his viral moment to retaliate, but to open their hearts and minds up more.

"If we're gonna make change, it's gonna start in the classroom with discussions like this," he added.