Video Captures Adorable Send-Off From Kids Whenever Dad Leaves the House

A mom has told Newsweek of the heartwarming reasons behind her kids' special goodbyes with their dad, after her video of the boys waving him off went viral.

The TikTok video posted by Carlie Nolan (@carlhermommy) of her sons shouting a chorus of "I love yous" has received nearly 140,000 likes and over 400 comments. Nolan, 31, captioned the clip: "You know you picked the right guy to be the father of your children when they do this every time he leaves the house."

"We say goodbye to him at the door, do a family hug and give him kisses goodbye," Nolan told Newsweek. "When he walks out the door my kids always scream to him as he heads for his car."

Nolan's children are three and five years old, and she said that the routine happens every time her husband leaves the house. But there's another reason the kids are so enthusiastic about letting their dad know they love him—he is a doctor, and often works 24-hour shifts. The kids are not yet old enough to understand when he'll be back.

"Because they are so young, even if he is just going to the gym to play basketball for an hour, they want to give him a really sweet goodbye because they aren't always sure if he will be back again that day … oftentimes, after we actually shut the door and he drives off they cry, because they never want him to leave," she said.

Expressing love is encouraged

Nolan said that one of the most important things she models for her children is the love that exists within her marriage. Her and her husband intentionally let her boys see that their parents make their relationship a priority. And the couple definitely walk the walk, too.

"When I come downstairs for the morning, the first thing [my husband and I] do is have a long embrace, talk about our plans for the day and just take a minute to connect," she said. "We always do this when he gets home from work too, before jumping into chores or playing with the kids we just take a few moments to kiss and hug, ask and hear how one another's day was."

The connection makes an impact on their kids, who Nolan said ask for an intentional "family hug" several times a day. The family also has dinner as a family every night, playing a game they call "High, Low," where they share the best and worst parts of their day.

"It is a really special thing to me because I love that it gives us all a safe space to express how we are doing, and I can see how as the boys get older and might be less inclined to share on their own, it will be so meaningful to have had this practice ingrained into our days," she said.

The practice in open expression is good for everyone, Nolan says, and it's fascinating to get a glimpse into her young children's minds and learn what's important to them.

"Shocker," she said. "It's never how clean I've kept the house, or how nutritious our meals were … all this to say, it keeps me grounded in what is really important."

It seems the Nolan family always tries to keep what's important at the forefront. In their daily rituals of connection, they are building a bond that keeps everyone heard, respected and—loudly—loved.