Sometimes, family takes a little time to feel like family.

What would you do if your new stepson was too nervous to call you Dad? Would you push him? Or would you let him know it was okay to take his time?

In today’s story, one new stepdad finds himself in the very scenario, and his patience pays off. Here’s what happened.

New Parents

About an hour after the store opens, a family is the first customer. The family is multicultural; the parents are Caucasian, while the kids looks local (Filipino).

The mom and very young daughter go to the little plushie section of the store while the Dad and preteen son look at PS4 games. So the son looks at the new Watch Dogs game and comes over to the dad, and says, “Uhm Sir, can I, uhm, buy this?”

Dad looks over and says, “You can call me Dad, Daniel.”

“But, Sir–“

The daughter seems to have adapted a lot quicker.

The young daughter comes over, hugging a Pokémon plushie, “Daddy, Daddy, can I have this, please?”

“Of course, sweetie. Why don’t you go over to your Mommy so she can help you pay for it?”

“Okay, Daddy!”

Mom and daughter pay for the things while Dad looks back at his son, “Look, Daniel. I know it’s a big change for you, but it’s alright. You can call me whatever you like until you’re ready, okay?”

He and the boy choose some video games, but the boy suddenly apologizes.

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, what did you want to buy?”

Dad and son pick up a couple of games, and after they buy something, the kid looks kind of depressed.

Dad says, “What’s the matter, son? Did you want something else?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

Here’s where it all turned around for the dad.

Dad asks, “Why?”

“The games are too expensive, I’m sorry.”

“Nonsense, it’s your birthday, right? You deserve it. You’ve been a good kid taking care of your sister.”

The kid looks over to mom and sister, then to Dad, with the biggest smile, “Thank you, sir, uhm, Dad.”

The Dad had the widest grin all the way to the parking lot.

Wow! The kid sure changed his mind pretty quickly.

Let’s see how the folks over at Reddit relate to this story.

As an adoptee, this person can relate to the child.

Here’s someone who teared up a little.

This is probably what most people expected.

Yet another person who was deceived by the title.

What a great man!

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.