Tears at Reason Why Little Girl Calls Butterfly 'Dada' in Viral Clip

A video of a toddler chasing a butterfly has racked up 4 million views on TikTok.

The tear-jerking clip shared by Santana McElroy, 32, (@santanatown) shows her 3-year-old daughter Jayana McElroy shouting, "come back dada" followed by, "we miss you" at the insect. The text layered over the poignant footage explains, "I told her that her deceased dad is now a butterfly."

"It is such a bittersweet feeling," McElroy, from Vancouver, Canada, told Newsweek. "It is beautiful to see her talk to butterflies but it also hurts my heart when I consider all the factors that lead up to these moments."

On July 13, 2020, McElroy's partner Amin Shahin Shakur was shot to death outside of his workplace, reports the Vancouver Sun. His killer was charged with manslaughter and will spend 15 years in prison, states the local newspaper.

McElroy told Newsweek: "I didn't know I was pregnant until after her father passed away. So she has never known her father other than through photos, videos, and stories we tell her. I have told her that he is in heaven, and whenever we see butterflies we think that is his way of telling us he is still with us, saying hi."

Gun crime is increasingly becoming a major issue in both America and Canada, affecting public safety and societal well-being. According to Statistics Canada, the rate of firearm-related violent crime in 2022 was 36.7 incidents per 100,000 people, up 8.9 percent from 2021's rate of 33.7 incidents per 100,000. This is the highest rate since data collection started in 2009. In Vancouver, the rate increased to 23.6 incidents per 100,000 people, a 24 percent rise from 2021.

One day McElroy will be forced to tell her daughter why she grew up without her father, a difficult conversation and undoubtedly a mother's worst nightmare.

The heartbroken mom told Newsweek that her daughter hasn't grieved for her dad as she never knew him. "But she knows we don't have a standard family with a mom and dad—our family is unique compared to her classmates and friends."

What Is the Effect of Grief on Children?

While Jayana hasn't had to deal with the loss of her dad as she never met him, she has had to learn that her family is different to her peers.

"She knows we don't have a standard family with a mom and dad—our family is unique compared to her classmates and friends," told her heartbroken mom.

Newsweek previously spoke to Dr. Elizabeth Rogers, associate clinical director at Bupa, one of the U.K.'s leading health care specialists, about how grief affects children.

"While we would love to shield children from grief, unfortunately it's not always possible." she said. "The difficult part is their understanding of emotions and thoughts is still developing, and they don't quite process things in the same way as adults. For a child, grief can feel like an awful, whirling, sickening 'thing' going on inside their bodies, which can be quite scary.

TikTok Reacts

So far, the video has amassed over 469,000 likes and more than 7,500 comments.

One user wrote: "As a father, this is the most heart breaking thing I've seen."

"This would simply break me every time. I'm so sorry for your loss," said another user.

A third commenter said: "This made me start crying and hyperventilating because I might be all grown up now but inside I'll always be the [nine-year-old] girl who lost her daddy."

A fourth said: "As a father of a 14-month-old girl, this just broke my heart, I have no words!"

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